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Yo, youse runners! Everything to know before the 2025 Rocky Run in Philadelphia

The Rocky Run is back in Philadelphia. Here’s what to know about race times, routes, medals, road closures, parking restrictions, and where to pick up your packet.

The Rocky statue is shown on Dec. 3, 2024, outside the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
The Rocky statue is shown on Dec. 3, 2024, outside the Philadelphia Museum of Art.Read moreJose F. Moreno / Staff Photographer

Yo, youse runners! Get your filthy gray sweats and raw eggs ready: The Rocky Run is approaching!

Philadelphia’s annual running event dedicated to the only fictional southpaw (the only one with three statues, no less) takes place Nov. 8.

Now in its 11th year, the Rocky Run offers three events — the Rocky Run 5k, 10 mile, and 13.1 Italian Stallion Challenge — giving runners a chance to channel their inner Rocky and show the world they can go the distance.

It’s also a great chance to break out the rockin’ red bandanna buried in your top drawer — and maybe, possibly get thousands of school kids to cheerfully chase you through the city streets, like Sylvester Stallone did in Rocky II. (OK, that last part probably won’t happen.)

Sponsored by Athletifreak, the popular run is already sold out, with 30,000 Rocky-loving runners expected to race through the heart of Philly. So crank up the “Gonna Fly Now” and get ready to cheer them on. Plus, there will be plenty of Rocky swag and a fun medal ceremony.

And runners, just remember, as the good Rock once muttered: “Every champion was once a contender who refused to give up.” Now, get out there and eat lightning!

Here’s everything you need to know about the legendary Philadelphia Rocky Run.

When and where to pick up registration packets for Rocky Run

Packet pickup

All three races are sold out.

Location: Rivers Casino, 1001 N. Delaware Ave., Philadelphia, Pa. 19125

Dates and times:

  1. Thursday, Nov. 6: Noon–8 p.m.

  2. Friday, Nov. 7: Noon–7 p.m.

Start time & route for the Rocky Run

All races start on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

  1. 5K: 7 a.m.

  2. 10 mile: 8 a.m.

  3. 13.1 Italian Stallion Challenge: Run both the 5K and 10-mile events.

In the real Philadelphia world, Rocky Balboa’s famous training collage would wind through 31 confusing miles from Kensington through the Italian Market, along the Schuylkill, and eventually the Art Museum steps.

The Rocky Run is a bit more realistic, looping around the Parkway and Kelly Drive instead. Unlike Rocky, the course does not include running up the Art Museum steps. Runners will have to do that on their own.

Runners in the 10-mile event will have to survive “Mount Drago,” a punishing hill inspired by Rocky IV’s Ivan Drago, as a hill on the course is called. The unforgiving hill “must break you,” the event site quotes from the film. And like Drago, who utilized the best running technology the collapsing Soviet Union could muster, runners will go up the hill using state-of-the-art timing mats.

What will the weather be like on Saturday, Nov. 8?

AccuWeather predicts a mostly cloudy morning with a high around 63 degrees later in the afternoon.

The Rocky Run is a rain-or-shine event. In the event of inclement weather (e.g., lightning) or other conditions that may affect the safety and health of participants, race officials reserve the right to delay, postpone, or cancel the race.

Yo, Runner! You did it! Now, go get your Rocky Run medal.

Awards will be presented to the top three overall male and female finishers in the 5K, 10 mile, and combined 13.1 Italian Stallion Challenge. Participants must be present to receive an award.

The medals do seem pretty cool, even if you’re not a Rocky die-hard.

According to the Rocky Run website, the 5K and 10-mile finisher medals are a “heavyweight, gleaming tribute” to Rocky’s dramatic victory over Mr. T’s ferocious Clubber Lang character in Rocky III (one of the most underappreciated Rocky films, in this author’s humble opinion.)

“Inspired by Rocky’s epic comeback, his eye of the Tiger Spirit, and his return to championship glory,” the site states.

Meanwhile, the site describes the medals awarded to finishers of the 13.1 Italian Stallion Challenge as “one of the largest in all of running.” That medal and the race T-shirt are also tributes to Rocky III.

The fastest 100 male and female finishers up Mount Drago will earn the Mount Drago finisher medal.

Road closures for the Rocky Run

According to the city of Philadelphia, the following streets will be closed starting at 6 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 8:

  1. 2200-2400 Benjamin Franklin Parkway between 22nd Street and Eakins Oval

  2. Spring Garden Street between Pennsylvania Avenue and 24th Street

  3. Kelly Drive between Eakins Oval and Brewery Hill Drive

  4. Lansdowne Drive between Girard Avenue and Sweet Briar Drive

  5. Sweet Briar Drive between Lansdowne Drive and MLK Drive

  6. Greenland Drive between MLK Bridge and Chamounix Drive

  7. Ford Road between Chamounix Drive and Greenland Drive

  8. Chamounix Drive between Ford Road and Greenland Drive

  9. MLK Drive between Falls Bridge and Sweet Briar Drive

All streets (with the exception of Eakins Oval and MLK Drive) are scheduled to be reopened no later than noon on Saturday, Nov. 8.

Eakins Oval will be fully open to traffic by 2 p.m.

MLK Drive will remain closed as part of its regular weekend closure for recreation.

Public transportation

🚌 SEPTA bus routes 7, 32, 38, 43, 48, and 49 will be detoured from their normal routes on Saturday, Nov. 8, from 5 a.m. to about 4 p.m.

Detours will be posted, and specific route changes are available on the System Status Page at septa.org.