Race-day weather · Sunday, May 2, 2027

Pittsburgh Marathon weather.

20 Pittsburgh Marathon race mornings since 2000, measured hour by hour: temperature, dew point, wind, rain, and what the weather cost runners. The forecast for the 2027 race goes live here on Apr 26, six days out.

99 Typical score
at the start The median race morning since 2000: 54°F air + 46°F dew point at 7am, across 20 race mornings at the Allegheny County Airport weather station. No adjustment needed.
Start · 7am9954° air · 46° dew point
+2 hours · 9am10556° air · 50° dew point
+4 hours · 11am11261° air · 51° dew point

The Pittsburgh Marathon course, mile by mile: the elevation, every climb, and how I’d run each stretch.

Your goal pace on a typical race morning

Built from the median race morning since 2000, averaged across the hours you’d be running. Where the weather costs time, each cell gives the adjusted finish time and the pace per mile to run instead. Six days out, the real forecast replaces it.

Goal on a cool dayStarting 7amStarting 7:40am
2:456:18/mi2:45 to 2:466:18–6:19/mi0% to 0.5% slower · score 1032:45 to 2:466:18–6:19/mi0% to 0.5% slower · score 106
3:006:52/mi3:00 to 3:016:52–6:54/mi0% to 0.5% slower · score 1043:00 to 3:016:52–6:54/mi0% to 0.5% slower · score 106
3:157:26/mi3:15 to 3:167:26–7:28/mi0% to 0.5% slower · score 1053:15 to 3:167:26–7:28/mi0% to 0.5% slower · score 107
3:308:01/mi3:30 to 3:318:01–8:03/mi0% to 0.5% slower · score 1053:30 to 3:318:01–8:03/mi0% to 0.5% slower · score 107
3:458:35/mi3:45 to 3:468:35–8:37/mi0% to 0.5% slower · score 1053:45 to 3:468:35–8:37/mi0% to 0.5% slower · score 107
4:009:09/mi4:00 to 4:019:09–9:12/mi0% to 0.5% slower · score 1054:00 to 4:019:09–9:12/mi0% to 0.5% slower · score 107
4:3010:18/mi4:30 to 4:3110:18–10:21/mi0% to 0.5% slower · score 1074:30 to 4:3110:18–10:21/mi0% to 0.5% slower · score 109
5:0011:27/mi5:00 to 5:0111:27–11:30/mi0% to 0.5% slower · score 1075:00 to 5:0111:27–11:30/mi0% to 0.5% slower · score 109
How I’d race a typical year

Run your goal pace. The weather will cost you a few seconds in the last 10K, not the first, so bank nothing early and take water at every station after mile 10.

Race week, start to finish: how I’d run the three-week taper, what to take in during the race, how much to slow down in heat and humidity, and what the four weeks after should look like.

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Pittsburgh Marathon weather history: every race morning since 2000

Every row in the table below is a measurement from the Allegheny County Airport weather station, taken nearest 7am (today’s first-wave start) and again three hours later. Start times have moved over the years, so treat 7am as a clock time, not always the gun. Across 20 race mornings:

  • A typical 7am reading is 54°F with a 46°F dew point, a combined score of 99.
  • The warmest was 2010: 66°F with a 62°F dew point at 7am, a score of 128.
  • The most humid was 2010, with a 62°F dew point.
  • The coldest was 2026, at 35°F.
  • On 9 of 20 race mornings the 7am score was above 100, enough to call for a pace adjustment. Three hours later, 13 of 20 were.
  • The weather changed the race itself in 2012 (red flag for heat by late morning).
  • The windiest start was 2017: WSW wind at 9 mph.
  • Rain fell in the first 5 hours on 8 of 20 race mornings (2 more saw only a trace). The most rain measured was 0.53 inches, in 2022.
Pittsburgh Marathon weather by year · air / dew point (°F), combined score, wind and rain
YearDateAir / dew at 7amScoreAir / dew at 10amScoreWind at 7amRain
2026May 335° / 30°6546° / 29°75WSW 8 mphDry
2025May 457° / 56°11361° / 57°118ESE 5 mphDry
2024May 558° / 55°11363° / 60°123SE 7 mph0.07 in
2023May 758° / 42°10063° / 47°110ESE 5 mphTrace
2022May 159° / 37°9657° / 53°110ESE 7 mph0.53 in
2021–Virtual only (COVID-19), no race morning
2020–Virtual only (COVID-19), no race morning
2019May 554° / 54°10855° / 55°110N 6 mph0.07 in
2018May 653° / 53°10655° / 53°108ENE 3 mphLight rain
2017May 742° / 37°7948° / 32°80WSW 9 mphDry
2016May 158° / 56°11462° / 58°120S 8 mph0.02 in
2015May 351° / 38°8964° / 40°104S 9 mphDry
2014May 452° / 36°8853° / 39°92CalmTrace
2013May 551° / 39°9058° / 37°95E 9 mphDry
2012May 6Red flag for heat by late morning57° / 52°10965° / 55°120NNW 5 mphDry
2011May 1561° / 59°12063° / 57°120SW 8 mph0.02 in
2010May 266° / 62°12866° / 64°131S 8 mph0.24 in
2009May 352° / 42°9451° / 47°98Calm0.03 in
2008–Not held (race on hiatus)
2007–Not held (race on hiatus)
2006–Not held (race on hiatus)
2005–Not held (race on hiatus)
2004–Not held (race suspended)
2003May 450° / 49°9956° / 47°103E 6 mphDry
2002May 541° / 41°8254° / 46°100S 8 mphDry
2001May 650° / 27°7761° / 35°96ENE 7 mphDry
2000May 763° / 60°12373° / 65°138S 7 mphDry

Readings from the Allegheny County Airport ASOS weather station (NOAA/FAA, via the Iowa Environmental Mesonet), the observation nearest each hour. Scores above 100 call for a pace adjustment. Rain is the total the station measured in the 5 hours after 7am. Download every hour as a CSV.

How the score works

Add the air temperature to the dew point, both in Fahrenheit. That combined score is closer to what your body feels than the temperature alone, because dew point decides whether your sweat can evaporate, and evaporating sweat is how you shed heat at race pace. The bands below are the same ones my heat pace calculator uses, and that page has the full chart and the physiology behind it.

Combined score → how much to slow down
  • 100 or lessNo pace adjustment
  • 101 – 1100% to 0.5% slower
  • 111 – 1200.5% to 1% slower
  • 121 – 1301% to 2% slower
  • 131 – 1402% to 3% slower
  • 141 – 1503% to 4.5% slower
  • 151 – 1604.5% to 6% slower
  • 161 – 1706% to 8% slower
  • 171 – 1808% to 10% slower
  • Above 180Hard running is not recommended

The bands are a coach's rule of thumb, not a lab measurement. Treat each range as a starting point and let effort make the final call.

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Other race-day weather pages

Twin Cities MarathonSunday, October 4, 202695Race day at the startNo adjustment needed Chicago MarathonSunday, October 11, 2026113Race day at the startSlight penalty: 0.5% to 1% slower Columbus MarathonSunday, October 18, 202664Forecast at the startNo adjustment needed Detroit MarathonSunday, October 18, 202672Forecast at the startNo adjustment needed Marine Corps MarathonSunday, October 25, 202694Typical startNo adjustment needed NYC MarathonSunday, November 1, 202683Typical startNo adjustment needed Philadelphia MarathonSunday, November 22, 202673Typical startNo adjustment needed California International MarathonSunday, December 6, 202683Typical startNo adjustment needed Honolulu MarathonSunday, December 13, 2026136Typical startReal penalty: 2% to 3% slower Houston MarathonSunday, January 17, 202784Typical startNo adjustment needed LA MarathonSunday, March 7, 202799Typical startNo adjustment needed Boston MarathonMonday, April 19, 202784Typical startNo adjustment needed Eugene MarathonSunday, April 25, 202789Typical startNo adjustment needed Flying Pig MarathonSunday, May 2, 2027102Typical startBarely a penalty: 0% to 0.5% slower Rock 'n' Roll San Diego MarathonSunday, June 6, 2027119Typical startSlight penalty: 0.5% to 1% slower Grandma's MarathonSaturday, June 19, 2027112Typical startSlight penalty: 0.5% to 1% slower San Francisco MarathonSunday, July 25, 2027109Typical startBarely a penalty: 0% to 0.5% slower

Course guides, mile by mile: Twin Cities Marathon, Chicago Marathon, Columbus Marathon, Detroit Marathon, Marine Corps Marathon, NYC Marathon, Philadelphia Marathon, California International Marathon, Honolulu Marathon, Houston Marathon, LA Marathon, Boston Marathon, Eugene Marathon, Flying Pig Marathon, Rock 'n' Roll San Diego Marathon, Grandma's Marathon, San Francisco Marathon. All race-day weather pages.

RunFitCoach is not affiliated with the DICK'S Sporting Goods Pittsburgh Marathon or its organizers. Observations from the Allegheny County Airport ASOS station (NOAA/FAA) via the Iowa Environmental Mesonet. Data updated Saturday, October 17, 2026.

Heat is one variable. I plan for all of them.

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