Race-day weather · Wyndo for runners
Detroit Free Press Marathon weather
October 18, 2026 · Detroit, MI · scheduled start 7:00 AM (America/Detroit). What the start usually feels like, year by year — and a live start-time read once the race is inside the 7-day forecast window.
Countdown
88 days to race day
The live race-day forecast unlocks 82 days from now, when October 18, 2026 enters the 7-day forecast window — a start-time read for the scheduled 7:00 AM start. Until then, live hourly data is not available; the history below shows what race morning usually looks like.
Typical start temp
46°F
median of 20 years
A warm year
52°F
75th percentile start temp
Rain at the start
5%
1 of 20 measured years
Race-morning weather history
Known for cold pre-dawn starts — runners summit the Ambassador Bridge at sunrise, often near freezing with wind over the river. Wyndo tracks what this calendar slot has actually served up at the start hour — temperature, dew point, wind, and rain — including the years when weather canceled or disrupted the race, and reads the live forecast for the start once race week arrives.
Median start temp
46°F
p75 (a warm year): 52°F
Median dew point
40°F
at the start hour
Rain at the start
5%
1 of 20 measured years
Warmest start
69°F
in 2017
Scroll sideways to see all columns.
| Year | Start temp | Dew point | Wind | Precip (start hr) | Day's high |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 64°F | 60°F | 22 mph | 2.5 mm | 67°F |
| 2024 | 44°F | 40°F | 7 mph | dry | 71°F |
| 2023 | 48°F | 43°F | 11 mph | dry | 53°F |
| 2022 | 44°F | 37°F | 8 mph | dry | 60°F |
| 2021 | 47°F | 39°F | 8 mph | dry | 62°F |
| 2020 | 53°F | 36°F | 12 mph | dry | 56°F |
| 2019 | 48°F | 46°F | 6 mph | dry | 65°F |
| 2018 | 36°F | 26°F | 10 mph | dry | 44°F |
| 2017 | 69°F | 64°F | 17 mph | dry | 71°F |
| 2016 | 65°F | 60°F | 15 mph | dry | 68°F |
| 2015 | 37°F | 29°F | 8 mph | dry | 50°F |
| 2014 | 37°F | 32°F | 7 mph | dry | 51°F |
| 2013 | 43°F | 36°F | 10 mph | dry | 58°F |
| 2012 | 43°F | 40°F | 7 mph | dry | 59°F |
| 2011 | 52°F | 41°F | 10 mph | dry | 58°F |
| 2010 | 48°F | 42°F | 10 mph | dry | 63°F |
| 2009 | 33°F | 28°F | 6 mph | dry | 49°F |
| 2008 | 42°F | 35°F | 4 mph | dry | 54°F |
| 2007 | 58°F | 46°F | 15 mph | dry | 75°F |
| 2006 | 35°F | 29°F | 5 mph | dry | 53°F |
Slot climatology: each row is the weather at this race's usual calendar slot and start hour (ERA5 reanalysis at the start line) — including years when the edition was canceled or moved. A computed slot date is not a claim the race ran that day.
Your heat-adjusted goal for the marathon
The same cited model as the full calculator, pointed at this race: the median start-hour conditions this calendar slot has served up — climatology, not a forecast.
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Race facts
- Start line
- Fort St between the Lodge Service Dr and 3rd Ave, downtown Detroit
- Scheduled start
- 7:00 AM (America/Detroit) — Marathon, International Half, and relay start Sunday 7:00 AM with waves at 3-minute intervals by projected pace; 5K/1-mile Saturday Oct 17. Course crosses into Windsor, Ontario via the Ambassador Bridge and returns through the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel — passport required.
- Field size
- 2025 full marathon finishers 3,569 (20,000+ across weekend events)
- Registration
- open (2026 marathon already sold out)
Wyndo is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Detroit Free Press Marathon (officially the "Detroit Free Press Marathon presented by MSUFCU") or its organizers. Race names are used descriptively to identify the event; schedules and start times belong to the race — always confirm details on the official site. Weather guidance here is informational, never medical advice, and event alert flags on race day belong to the race's own medical team.