Month: December 2024

Philadelphia Marathon 2024 – Race Recap – A Very Special Day

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The Philadelphia Marathon is such a special event for me. As well as being considered my ‘local’ marathon (I live about 40 minutes from the start line) it was my very first marathon back in 2011. This year’s event was a deferred entry from 2023 so it was very important to me to get back here after the events of last year and having to defer this race through necessity, not choice.

This would also be a special marathon for me as it would be my 10th Philadelphia Marathon and would be my 30th full marathon overall. Looking back to when I started running in 2010 I would never have dreamed of such a thing. I remember when I registered for the 2011 Philadelphia Marathon shaking as I hit submit. I was so nervous. I did not know if I would be able to do the marathon. I’m sure I was a bag of nerves and I remember that special feeling of crossing my first marathon finish line. As a wonderful surprise that day, my father-in-law had brought my eldest son (then just about 5 years old) to meet me at the finish line. It has always been one of my favorite memories and indeed one of my favorite photographs that I keep framed on my desk.

My first marathon finish and my biggest supporter

For some reason this year I started to get really nervous before the event. It wasn’t due to my running fitness, having just completed the Atlantic City Marathon just a month before. This would be the first marathon since 2021 when I would be running a marathon without the company of my wife, but this was not the reason either. Neither was it my current pace…I’m a long way from my fastest times but I was not out there looking for a personal best this time. It was just that it was the number 10 and 30. In my head I had a lot riding on this. I saw this as my real comeback from 2023 and I put pressure on myself and started worrying what would happen if for some reason I didn’t finish. The 10th Philly and 30th marathon seemed so big in my mind. My wife noticed my nervousness in the days leading up to the race and she kept encouraging me and reminding me that I could do this.

The weekend of the race I travelled down to the expo with my youngest son. I had been to the expo many times and believe me when I tell you I have plenty Philadelphia Marathon gear to wear so I was just intending to go in, pick up my bib, take a picture or two and then leave. I was also hoping that I may bump into a few running friends also running that weekend. Usually I head down on the Friday when lots of the half marathon and 8K runners are there to also pick up their race packets. It seemed quieter on Saturday with mostly just the marathoners in attendance.

The expo was very similar to prior years. It was smaller than it had been in the past but I think that is more common these days unless it’s a major world marathon. It was well run. I had my details saved on my phone, the marathon app and communication from the race had made sure I would be prepared, and picked up my bib and my race shirt very quickly.

Expo set up as in previous years. Bib pick up on the side and vendors set up in the main part of the hall.
This year’s race shirt showing all the landmarks we see
Bib pickup was quick and easy.
Bib picked up and ready(ish) to go

After the shirt pick up I wandered into the race merchandise store. My son kept throwing himself in front of anything that had the word ‘Finisher’ on it…remember, he was there with me in Mont-Tremblant, and generally discouraged me from buying any more race gear. It’s as if my wife had given him instructions. I did look at a couple of things but the prices seemed so much higher than in previous years.

I quickly walked up and down the aisles of the expo to see if there was anything interesting or unique to look at. I did stop and buy a fun ‘Run Philly’ shirt with a Rocky Balboa logo on it from Charm City Running. I had purchased a shirt from them at the Atlantic City Marathon and the shirt was really soft and good quality. Overall, we were in and out of the expo within 45 minutes and headed home for a relaxing afternoon, an early family dinner and then off to see ‘Wicked’ at the local theater before heading home for an early night…at least for me. More to come on that front.

‘Flat Ian’ ready for the next morning’s adventure
My movie snack was my usual pre-race cookie

After the movie (and putting up with plenty of people in the movie the singing along…my wife included) I tucked in for an earlyish night. I knew I wouldn’t get that much sleep but wanted to get as much as possible. My alarm went off at 4am and I grabbed myself coffee and breakfast and got ready to head out the door. The weather, while cold, was not freezing so I felt good going with a couple of layers and a pair of shorts. I’ve run in colder for sure.

As I headed out the door I discovered a good luck sign left by my boys by the front door. That made me smile as I left and I sent everyone a thank you text that they would see when they woke up. The ride down was easy and I was able to park in my usual parking spot for the race, a couple of blocks away from the athlete’s village area. The City closes the roads in the area around 6am so best to be there early.

My front door greeting from the family
Early arrival in my ‘regular’ marathon parking garage (the time stamp for the photograph reads 5:51am)

Luckily I made it to the race early. Usually when I get to the starting area it is a quick check through security and then it’s that nervous energy waiting around for the race to start. Today was different. As I walked towards the starting area everyone was wearing long pants and tights and I was there in shorts. I started chatting to another runner also in shorts and we joked that everyone knew something we didn’t plan for. As we approached the security we were met with exceedingly long lines. It took close to 30 minutes to get through security. Wow. That has never happened to me before. It’s funny, as I think, other than the New York City Marathon, I have never had to go through security at another race. Just Philadelphia. I don’t usually give it much thought but it was unusually long this year.

Heading to security and the start line area
Long lines to get through security
Lots of long lines for bathrooms once inside the start village

It felt a little rushed once I got through security. Now I had only 30 minutes to make a quick bathroom stop, check my bag (always a mess in Philadelphia) and get to my starting corral. There were some really long lines for the restrooms so I decided I would forgo them and just went to check my bag. Fortunately on my way to bag check there was a row of restrooms behind another set where no one was waiting so that was great. I then headed to check my bag. I was in line for the bag check beyond 7am. So were many others. Crazy. We heard the national anthem and we were still nowhere near the front of the line. I think there was an announcement that there would be a small delay due to backup at security and there was going to be a 5 minute break between corrals to space everyone out. I was in corral D so I had a little extra time to get in place. Ultimately I got into the corral that I thought was corral D but apparently was corral E with many late corral D participants. The race was set to start at 7am and I did not cross the start line until 7:31am.

The lines for bag check before the race as start time was nearing
Finally made it to almost the correct corral
One of my favorite views as the day started
We were cheered off the start line by Bill Rodgers and Bart Yasso

And with the count down complete and the horn signaling the start we were off. It wasn’t too cold at the start so I did not need my usual disposable trash bag layer. The run was on and I headed down the Benjamin Franklin Parkway to start mile one. I’m definitely slower than before my accident and I need to get back to better fitness. I have broken 4 hours twice at this race but today I would be happy to just finish….preferably under 5 hours!!! I was using a run/walk ratio of 2 minutes/30 seconds and I intended to stick to it. People look at you very strangely if you start walking in the first mile but I just used it to catch my breath and keep an eye on my heart rate. That was my plan and today I was going to stick with it. Plus walking and drinking at each water station and with a gel at every 5 miles.

I had not run this race since 2021 and I know there were a few changes to the course so I was looking forward to what the day would bring. The crowd support from the beginning was great. This is a great race for anyone taking part.

I sometimes, but rarely, purchase race pictures, but this year was a special race for me and the photos were fantastic (it also helped that it was Black Friday sales the following week!!). Below I am sharing a few of the professional photos with a couple of little surprises mixed in.

What a great shot with the Benjamin Franklin Bridge as a backdrop
This does look I’m leading the pack (I wasn’t) but it is a cool shot
Clearly happy to be taking part. My nerves seemed to have disappeared.

As I ran back into Center City Philadelphia from Old City, and as usual people are reading my bib and shouting my name, when all of a sudden I hear a familiar voice…a familiar loud voice…and I looked around and to my complete surprise I see my wife in the crowd yelling my name. I had no idea she was planning to come down and cheer…what’s more, and the even bigger surprise, was that both my boys were behind her also screaming for me. I was absolutely shocked and I navigated across the stream of runners to see them all and give them big hugs. Apparently my eldest son had made the suggestion to come down and cheer me on and they had been up late the evening before making signs for me when I had gone to bed for the night. That is why there was a sign by the front door on my way out the house that morning.

I will add that the next mile after my surprise cheering squad appearance was probably my fastest of the day. I was on such a high. This has never happened to me in all of my marathons and I was delighted. You can see by the next few pictures that I look so happy.

The changes made to the course from what I can remember from the last time I ran the race were between miles 12 and 15. Once getting to Fairmount Park past the Philadelphia Zoo, we spend some time running past the Please Touch Museum, by the back of the Mann Center, and past the Japanese Gardens and back up towards the Please Touch Museum. In previous years, you would then go down the hill to MLK Boulevard and back towards the Philadelphia Museum of Art, then around the front of the Rocky Steps to Kelly Drive for the out and back to Manayunk. This year (remember I missed 2022 and 2023), we headed past the Please Touch Museum, but instead of heading down to MLK Boulevard, we headed across the Schuylkill River and up towards the other side of Fairmount Park and took a 3 mile loop around the reservoir before joining Kelly Drive a little further up around mile 15. From there it was the out and back to Manyunk.

Still enjoying my racing experience

There was surprisingly a lot of support on the other side of the park as we rounded the reservoir which was great and really lifted my spirits. The time we spend in Fairmount park from mile 8 to mile 15 is probably the hilliest part of the marathon and around mile 15 I was overtaken by the 4:30 hour pace group. Oh well, my goal today was to finish and for me the time did not really take precedence over finishing.

As we entered Kelly Drive for the out and back to Manyunk the wind picked up a bit and it was the first time I started to feel a little colder, more cool than cold, but the wind was a factor. Added to that, the road to Manyunk just feels long when you hit mile 15. Nevertheless I kept my pace, noticing all the people around me and keeping it going as we all moved towards the turnaround. By the time I hit Manyunk around mile 19 I was beginning to tire a bit, but I knew the turnaround was close and the crowds in Manyunk are always a great pick me up. My feeling as we leave Manyunk around mile 21 is that we really are heading home towards the finish. I have done plenty of 5 mile training runs and I just settled in and took the last 5 miles knowing I could finish. I always get a smile on my face running back to the Art Museum when I pass the Sunoco gas station on the left side of the road in East Falls as I know the miles are counting down and we are nearing the finish. I’ve done the race 9 times before so I am familiar with some of the landmarks (even the not so glamorous ones). Again, the crowd support was great for as far out on the course we were.

Looking focused on Kelly Drive as we neared the finish line

From here it is just a matter of counting down the miles. 3 miles to go. 2 miles to go. You could hear the crowd cheering as you make your way closer to the finish line. My time at this point didn’t matter. I was going to make it.

Down the home stretch. The last mile and the crowd cheering us all to the finish.
Truly happy to cross this finish line

You can see my expression as I crossed the finish line. I was so happy that I had completed this. I looked upwards to the sky to say thank you. Of all the events I have taken a part in since my recovery from the Ironman, this truly had been the one I thought of the most as it was such an important milestone for me. I was truly thankful for finishing today. I was still partially on a high from seeing my family and I did not expect to see them again as I knew my son had plans at 1pm and there was no way he could be in two places at once.

There it is. my 10th Philadelphia Marathon medal
I saw Bart Yasso handing out medals at the finish line and grabbed a selfie

Once I received my medal I bumped into Bart Yasso and we had a quick photo together. All of a sudden I hear my name being yelled from over the fence. I turned around and my wife and boys were there again. They had spent the morning in the city and were waiting for me at the finish line. While they could not get to the finish line proper, my two sons are taller than my wife and they saw me cross the finish line.

I was so shocked to see my family again. So thankful.
My boys patiently waiting me outside of the security fence.

My family was still outside of the security line but we could see each other and they told me where to meet them, so I grabbed my gear bag (pick up was way quicker than drop off) and headed over to the Washington Monument in Eakins Oval to see them.

Finally back with everyone to celebrate. I couldn’t be happier.
My son and I reenacted our finish line photo from 2011, my first marathon
My wife picked up a special cookie for me from the Reading Terminal Market while they were in the city.

They had taken the train down to see me so they had to find me as I was their ride home. It was a fun journey. I could not get over how surprised I was to see them. I was close to tears every time thinking about it. What an amazing gift. I was so grateful. My wife has been my guardian angel over this last year and my kids were so supportive. I was blown away by the cheering on the course.

Celebrating a marathon finish at our usual post race place, the Pop Shop in Collingswood, NJ. If you look at the size of everyone’s desserts you would be surprised by who actually ran the marathon. They deserved it.

What an amazing day. I thought my highlight would be completing today’s Philadelphia Marathon, but my true highlight was my family surprising me on the course and at the finish line. So blessed and emotional from today’s experience.

Next up…my wife and I are running the London Marathon in April 2025!!!

Thank you for reading

Princeton Half Marathon 2024 – Race Recap

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Finally !!! What? Yes, finally…

I originally signed up for this race in 2016 and finally I got to run this race. Only took a few years to make it to the start line.

My wife had run this race back in 2015 and enjoyed the event and recommended that I do it. Also, she had a really cool medal with a squirrel on it…I was in!!! So I signed up for the race in 2016 and was all set to run when my wife was accepted into the 2016 New York City Marathon which happened to be on the same day. I decided to forgo the half marathon and race chase her around the Big Apple. However, I was now on the Princeton Half Marathon mailing list and was always being sent emails to register. In 2017 I had planned to run the race and then I got accepted into the New York City Marathon too. However, we had a family event and I had to defer New York until 2018. Not sure why I didn’t register in 2019 but that was the year I ran two marathons and completed a half marathon among other events so I may have wanted to rest a bit. Then came 2020… In 2021 I completed an ultra marathon, a marathon and two half Ironmans so I think it was an idea to rest again. In 2022 I was in Athens, Greece running the marathon. I finally registered to run in 2023 and then I had my ‘incident‘. Luckily I was able to defer and finally this year I got to run the event. Phew!!!

The event itself was fairly low key. The race packet pickup was at a local running store on Nassau Street opposite the Princeton University campus. In addition to the race t-shirt I received a running hat. Bright orange. Most things in Princeton it seems are orange (Princeton Tigers) so that seemed to be the theme. No squirrels on the race merch as far as I could see. Oh well. My wife and I had planned to head up late on Friday evening and we made plans for dinner in the area and then walked around the Princeton campus. It was a nice relaxing evening and I was looking forward to Sunday’s race.

Date night any way we can get it
Evening stroll around the Princeton University campus

We had a family event on Saturday which led to a late night getting home, however I still had to be early as I wanted to arrive before the roads closed at 6am so I could park close to the start/finish line area. Let’s just say I didn’t max out on sleep the night before the race. The race was scheduled to start at 7am. I left home around 5am and made it to Princeton and parking around 5:45am. I was not the first one there…plenty of people had the same plan and there were a number of cars already in the parking lot.

‘Flat Ian’ ready to run the Princeton Half Marathon
Up early and ready to start my day

It was a cold morning, probably the coldest morning in a while, and I headed over to the athletes village at the local YMCA. I was able to check my bag easily as there were plenty of volunteers and they were very helpful. I felt bad as they would be out in the cold for a few hours while everyone was still on the course. I had brought a large plastic bag to wear and keep myself warm so I just put it on and walked around the area until everyone headed out to the start line.

Early morning in the Athletes Village
Well organized race set up
A beautiful morning awaited us

We all headed out of the athletes village and self seeded in the starting corral and waited to head out for our 13.1 mile journey.

I dressed up along with the orange theme
Wearing my race best!!
Heading off with everyone to my corral

The race itself was a really pleasant run. There was nice scenery to run through. We started off running through some neighborhoods before running out into some open areas. There was a turnaround at Princeton Battlefield State Park and then back up towards the university campus. The first few miles were pretty much downhill. Once you did the turnaround and headed up towards the university you rediscovered the hill you had just run down. We crossed Nassau Street around mile 6 and then headed into North Princeton and through Herrontown Woods and the Autumn Hill Reserve. There was about a mile where we ran on a gravel surface but it was not too bad or uneven underfoot. The back half of the course was definitely more hilly than the front half but it was really beautiful to run through.

Looking focused…clearly one of the hills

Finally we made it back up to the neighborhoods near where we had begun the day. I was not in my best shape…it’s been a while since I can say I really was, but I held my own and even beat my expected pace. I’ve definitely run faster half marathons but I was happy with my time on the day. I didn’t want to push too hard with the Philadelphia Marathon just a couple of weeks away and I was technically in my taper to race day.

There were plenty of water stops and all well managed by the volunteers. There were more than I had actually anticipated and I think I only skipped one. They were all very well located on the course. While the crowds were not plentiful along the course, there seemed always to be people out to cheer us and there were definitely bigger crowds around the university grounds and Nassau Street and towards the finish line. I really enjoyed my run out there.

Made it. The race provided free photos too.
I definitely look like I enjoyed the run
Not my fastest, but better than I had expected
All the volunteers were great
Not a squirrel on the medal but still happy to receive this
Plenty of post race food for runners

After grabbing my bag from the finish line area it was still early morning so I decided to go find a cup of coffee in town before I had to drive home. There was a Starbucks up on Nassau Street so I headed there….apparently so did everyone else. Wow, never had to wait that long for a cup of coffee at Starbucks. But seeing as I had been up early with little sleep I ordered a double espresso on the side. That helped.

Say hello to my two little friends

I really enjoyed this race and I would happily do this again. I’ll see if I can coax my other half in joining me as, after all, she was the reason I signed up way back in 2016. It was worth it.

Thank you for reading.

Atlantic City Marathon 2024 – Race Recap

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On October 20th, my wife and I ran the Atlantic City Marathon. This was another of the races that was deferred due to my ‘incident‘ last year, but it was good to finally get to knock this off our list.

My wife and I have run a couple of half marathons in Atlantic City and I have participated in the Ironman 70.3 in Atlantic City in 2019 and 2021 but for some reason we had never signed up for this event.

We often vacation in the area so running down ‘the shore’ is something we are used to. We have spent many years treading the famous Atlantic City Boardwalk but this was the first time we would get to run over to the marina and back. Indeed, we spent 10 days down in Margate City, NJ this summer and ran the roads and the Boardwalk everyday during the vacation so there would be some familiarity to our adventure.

We headed down to the race expo on the Saturday afternoon and checked into our hotel. We chose to stay at The Claridge Hotel which is where I stayed when I participated in the half ironman events. It was connected to Bally’s Resort and Casino which was the home base for the event so it was easy to navigate around over the race weekend.

The Expo was easy to find and very busy
Getting ready to grab our race bibs and race shirts
Looking forward to tomorrow’s race
We found our names on the participants list

It was a small expo but well run. They had a lot of finisher gear available…but my rule after Mont Tremblant is not to jinx myself and buy anything with ‘Finisher’ printed on it before the race. I’ll stick with that plan. We did stop and buy ourselves a few souvenirs at the store and then dropped our gear and gifts back in our room. As it was early afternoon we decided to walk along the Boardwalk before we headed for our pre-marathon dinner reservation.

We chose a place for dinner which we knew from many years down here. Although it had changed names from the time I first knew it back in 2001 when I first visited, the original sign to the restaurant was on display inside. It was a nice and relaxing evening and we were just enjoying ourselves and glad to be here this year after missing the 2023 event.

After a quick stop for my pre-marathon cookie tradition we headed back to the hotel to set up our race gear for the next day and try and get an early night….although we got sucked into a CNN documentary about the 2000’s…but eventually we did fall asleep.

The pre-marathon cookie tradition cannot be missed
‘Flat Ian’ prepped and ready to go

We knew that the day would be fairly warm but were not sure how cold it might be at the start line. As we were close to the start line we dropped our overnight bags off in our car and walked through the resort to the start line just outside the Casino doors. The nice part of the start line being so close to the casino was that there were nice indoor heated bathrooms. We waited inside the lobby of the casino until just a few minutes before the start time to stay warm and luckily it was pleasant outside so we were okay heading out without needing to wear any extra gear.

Heading to the start line on the Boardwalk

At just after 8am we crossed the start line. The first few miles of the course would be fairly new for us. We normally would just run on the Boardwalk but the course sent us off the Boardwalk early and over to the Marina. Usually this would be accessible by car so we had to run through a tunnel to get there. Once through the tunnel you run around the Borgata, MGM, Harrah’s and Golden Nugget casinos. Well…you run around the back of them. Views of parking lots and back of house entrances. Eventually you head back towards the Boardwalk near the far end of Atlantic City near the aquarium (we didn’t know there was an aquarium there!!) and run up the ramp to the start of the Boardwalk.

We got some unique views running around here and it was busy with all the half marathon runners and marathon runners all in one pack for now.

Heading back from the Marina we had to stop for this photo
Passing the historic Absecon Lighthouse

Once back on the Boardwalk it was a straight run down to the end of the Boardwalk which takes you past the finish line and the half marathon turnaround ending where the towns of Ventnor City and Margate City meet. It is a long straight run and narrows up once you get out of Atlantic City and head into Ventnor City, but it was a beautiful morning and the sun was shining. We made sure to stop at every water stop as there is not much shade along the route. One thing to be aware of is that the Boardwalk is made of wooden planks. While they are all secured, the ends can sometimes be a little raised and it is something to be aware of as you can sometimes catch your feet if you are not careful (more on that later). It is bouncy though so a little easier to run on than the hard top surfaces which would be coming up.

View of Steel Pier from the Boardwalk

Once off the Boardwalk (actually most of the time on the Boardwalk too) we were in familiar territory. We had run this almost every day of our summer vacation. We were paying for the privilege this time. The half marathon runners had turned round before the end of the Boardwalk so now there were less runners on the course and as we had passed by the finish line area it was much quieter with few spectators.

Lucy the Elephant in Margate City

Now we were tucked in on the side of the road which was coned off for runners and heading to Longport for the turnaround. As I said, we had run this frequently during our vacations…but not with 13-14 miles already under our feet. It seemed a bit further to the end of Longport today. The good thing about the course, as familiar as it was, is that it is essentially flat. Yes, I know that isn’t the most exciting thing, but as it was getting warmer it was good not to have to factor any hills into the course. As we were heading through Margate City we were close some of the buildings and it was still early enough that we were able to get some shade from the sun.

Finally!!!

Once we hit the turnaround in Longport, which is a nice and logical turnaround point at the end of the island, we headed back the way we came before veering off to add some extra mileage by completing an out and back near the back bay. Once off the Boardwalk you are essentially running past people’s homes so it is not exactly the most scenic route and spectators were pretty limited. The volunteers were doing a great job though and the water stations were well managed. I kept us entertained by pointing out all the cool cars and big houses we would buy if we ever won the lottery jackpot. Hey, I can dream, right?

On the way back from Longport we turned left to the back bay for what was a few miles of out and back through neighborhoods. This was not the most exciting part of the run as it we essentially ran out and back on the same street. Some people were out cheering but as this was the off-season it was not very busy out. We did however bump into some family members who live down in Margate City and were tracking our progress. We met up with them at the perfect time of the race and it lifted our spirits around mile 20 and would power us on for the remainder of the race.

It was getting very warm by now and I think we were both getting a bit tired. With little on course support and entertainment for the last few miles it was just a matter of keep moving back towards the Boardwalk. Once on the Boardwalk it was still another 3.5 miles or so to the finish line. As it was just marathoners left on the course and by this stage of the race we were all pretty scattered, based upon everyone’s pace, so it was fairly quiet. We just kept running, occasionally counting the lamp posts so we could take walk breaks every few for about 30 seconds at a time.

We knew where we were and how much distance was left while running along which was good but it was getting hotter. I don’t think we expected it to be as warm as it was and there is no shade on the Boardwalk. This was the same place I struggled during the Half Ironman races. It’s just a slog at this point. This is when our infamous close shave with the Boardwalk wooden planks caught up with us. You could hear us occasionally scuffing our feet on the edges of the boards as we had tired legs and just before mile 25 it happened. My wife’s foot finally clipped an edge and she went over…like she was sliding into home. Ouch!!! Luckily she was okay (although she would be pretty badly bruised for the next few days) but at the moment she was just a little shaken so we walked for a couple of minutes. There was not much left to go.

Finally we both could see the finish line and powered through to the finish. This was our first marathon finish since Athens in 2022 so it was our longest run for a couple of years. I think it kind of showed, but we had done it. We finished another marathon. My wife’s 16th marathon finish and my 29th. We have still got it when we need it.

The post race village was just past the finish line. As this was not our fastest marathon (by far) some of the vendors had packed up. I am sure the faster runners had moved on as most people we saw just looked hot and tired. We grabbed a bagel and some Powerade and sat for a few minutes to catch our breath. There was a guy lying on the floor between the tables and he looked absolutely beat. At least I was still standing up (or sitting at this point).

We knew we had to get home so we walked (slowly) back through the casino and grabbed dry clothes to change into. Wearing our finisher jerseys and medals we made our way back to Margate to a fun restaurant we liked, before heading home (via one last stop for ice cream).

I’m glad we finally did the Atlantic City Marathon. We can check it off our list. Was it our favorite? Probably not because of the lack of crowd support and the familiarity of our run, however, it was very well run and for someone who has never been down to Atlantic City I would absolutely recommend. I would add that it was great to stay near the race staging area so you can just walk out in the morning without the stress of getting to a race, parking, etc. We had fun and we were all smiles.

Thank you for reading.