Philadelphia Marathon

Each time I go to Philadelphia with a lot of uncertainty, I leave that City with the uncertainty left behind. In 2006, I showed up at the Jefferson Hospital Half Marathon in Philadelphia after being thoroughly beaten by the hills of the Runner’s World Half Marathon in Allentown, PA (now known as the Lehigh Valley Half Marathon) just a few months prior. I officially declared that if I didn’t finish strong in Philly, then I would only run for my own enjoyment and bow out of these half marathon events.

After the Jefferson Half Marathon, I not only felt great, but I really believed that on that day, I could have finished a full marathon. I remember seeing the 10th and then the 11th mile marker after a mere blink of the eye. Not only was I without uncertainty after that race, but I signed up for my first marathon shortly thereafter.

I ended 2006 with the Marathon of the Palm Beaches. Ground temperatures had reached 90 degrees by 10 AM on that course, and nothing more than stubborn pride made me cross that finish line. In 2007, a return trip to Allentown was made, and I had to redeem myself by ripping those hills to shreds. With that item checked off my to-do list, a more daunting task was ahead of me - the Quebec Marathon. Although I did beat my Palm Beach time, I did require medical attention after stubborn pride delivered me, once again, to the finish line.

Discouraged, a little heart broken, and uncertain about myself as a marathon runner, I half heartedly attacked my already relaxed training schedule for the Philadelphia Marathon. I left a lot of things get in the way of my training as I skipped numerous tempo and speed sessions. I clung on to my distance runs and some of my strength training, but I would go without those at times as well.

I’m amazed by how calm I was the night before the race. It even featured an unfriendly discussion regarding my marital arrangements with my fiancé. The morning of the race, I was a little panicky. I was unsure about how many layers of clothing I needed, and what I should strip at the half way marker, which ultimately asks the question, “So, where should I pin down this freakin’ bib number?” When everything was finally set to go, I had 15 minutes to show up at the starting gates. And I found myself, a marathon runner, mixed in the gate for the half marathon. I eventually figured a way to the proper gate, and five minutes later, we were off and running.

Me just before I got lost amidst the half marathoners gate

Feeling a bit more optimistic after the start horn

Course Highlights

1. Near mile marker 5 in South Philly

We were running through a residential neighborhood and there was a hand written sign that said something to this effect –

Running 26.2 miles for a t-shirt and a soft pretzel??

I thought to myself, Wow, there’s a soft pretzel too? Bonus. And at that, I laughed out loud.

2. Near mile marker 7

This is part of the downtown area emerging from South Philly. There were a lot of locally owned mom & pop type stores. One of the stores is called Condom Kingdom, and it had a very elaborate store front with a huge sign above the entrance. A group of middle-aged mothers were really interested in the store, and decided to gather around for a picture. Low and behold, one out of the ten of them had packed a digital camera. Again, I laughed out loud, and so did the guy next to me.

3. Around mile marker 8

This is when the outermost layer got stripped – the water repellent windbreaker. I also opted to take off the gloves, but within seconds, had to retrieve them. Right before my little strip, one of the volunteers on a Segway had a malfunction. She was spinning in circles, her battery pack was in tangles, and a spectator was trying to help her out, but he only got further tangled into the Segway mess. That one got a quiet internal giggle. Those Segway things seem a bit silly to me, but it would be wrong to laugh at somebody else’s struggles. Bad karma while in the middle of running a marathon just didn’t seem like a smart thing to do.

4. Drexel Frat Houses around mile 9

I wasn’t a fan of frats until this marathon. These college kids were out bright and early, banging away at pots and pans on their porches. This one guy completely won my heart within 25 paces. He would use his wooden spoon and point at a cute girl running by, and say, “You, I love!” and bang away at his pot just to point again when another chick passes by. I, of course, laughed out loud at this, and so, of course, he pointed at me and threw out a “You too, I love!” before banging away.

5. Somewhere in the midst of the 10th and 11 mile … was a hill

It was mild hill, nothing to really complain about, but you did become aware of your quads and a slight increase in the heart rate. Then a sign emerged saying something about the last hill before fast track hos, with a super tiny 2 in between the h and the o. That one got a chuckle.

6. A little bit after the half marathon point

I was very happy to see my picture taking fiancé at this point because he had a Snickers Marathon Bar ready for me. Out of all the protein bars out there, I’m a fan of the Cliff and Luna Bars, but the ones by Snickers tend to last a bit longer. It probably has something to do with the preservatives, but one bar for every marathon that you run can’t be too bad.

And then the test appeared without a notice- miles 18 - 21.

This was by far the most difficult part of the course. We were heading out to Manayunk, PA, which did not offer much in terms of spectators or infrastructure along the way. It was just a long stretch of road on a cold, wet, rainy day. I didn’t even notice how miserable of a day it was until I was heading out of Philly. I tried to focus on my breathing, took a few sips of my Gaspari Size On from my CamelBak, nibbled on the Marathon Bar, and tried to let go of my fears. Eventually, as we started to cross over on to Main Street, a little laughter was just around the corner.

7. A beer stand prepared by the local neighborhood bar.

I, of course, abstained.

And then, we crossed over to Main Street Manayunk, and were greeted by Navy Veterans declaring the view that we were about to see by the waterfall is the most beautiful view that the entire marathon had to offer.

I do believe the man was quite accurate in his statement. A little while later, mile 19 was right there.

8. And a few staff members of Le Bus were handing out brownies to the runners at miles 19 and 21!

Admittedly, the circumstances may have had an impact on my assessment, but I swear that those were the best damn brownies I have ever had.


So, now came the home stretch. Armed with a belly full of Creatine (compliments of Gaspari Size On) and brownies, I was confident that crossing the finish line without the need of medical attention afterwards was entirely achievable. I checked my time, and it was even feasible for me to finish this 26.2 mile sucker in less than 5 hours. If I could just get my mind to work with me, I can EASILY get in by 4:45 / 4:50. The problem was that the way back into Philly was just as desolate as it was getting out. I could not conjure up any positive thoughts, even though I saw the miles winding down. Even at mile marker 23, I was still holding back. It was until I actually saw the Philadelphia Museum of Art well after the 25th mile marker that I snapped out of my funk and started to turn it on. I bolted after the 26th mile marker and had more than enough left to sprint it in.

I felt like I could have done maybe another 5 miles, but certainly at least another 2. I wish I had given it up earlier at 23 miles, and I kicked myself for not doing so … but I was smiling the whole time.

I did cross the finish line strong at 5:00. It was a PR. I know I will do better next time around, and I will eventually get to Boston. And quite possibly, by way of Philadelphia in 2008.