I’m a couple of weeks away from my next marathon (Coastal Delaware Running Festival) so it’s about time I caught up with my last marathon.

In November 2025 I ran the Philadelphia Marathon. It’s my hometown race and I am now in double digits with this race. It was my first marathon back in 2011 and back in 2024 this was my 30th marathon as well as my 10th running of this event. This would be my 11th time running. For me it is both familiar and always different and hopefully will always be on my calendar unless there is a real conflict (Athens 2022 was a nice alternative that year).

A small unexpected part of my usual marathon preparation was that my son (a freshman at the University of Maryland) invited me to Dad’s Weekend at his fraternity the same weekend. I had signed up for this race before we even knew which college he had decided upon and he admitted that the Dad’s Weekend is not usually scheduled this late. I felt bad that I could not go for the whole weekend but not wanting to miss out time with my college student I drove down after work on Friday to join him and his friends at their bonfire to open the weekend and stayed overnight so we could have brunch early Saturday which would leave me with enough time to get back to Philadelphia for the race expo so I could pick up my bib and shirt before race day. It was a bit of a mad dash but worth it as it was a fun (and short) visit.

After seeing him off to his weekend activities it was the drive back to PA and heading over to the Philadelphia Convention Center for the expo. I made it around 2pm, a few hours before the expo ended, so I had plenty of time to spend in the expo should I need it.

The expo was as efficient as in prior years. I picked up my bib and my shirt with no issues. I did look around the race store to see if there was anything unique or new that I was interested in, but being my 11th time here I did not leave with any new race swag this year. I did take a quick walk around the expo but there was nothing that I really needed and as I had been driving a few hours I just wanted to get home, carb up and try and get an early night.

One additional wrinkle in this weekend’s schedule, and very typical for all our family adventures, was that my wife was away visiting her old college (University of Pittsburgh) with friends so I was also the weekend chauffeur for our 15 year old who happened to have a full weekend of plans. We fit it all in somehow. Luckily I was able to get him a ride home from his friends house and he promised to be as quiet as possible when he got home…thankfully he was.

I got up for my usual Philadelphia routine. I aim to get to my ‘regular’ parking garage just before 6am as that is when they start closing the roads near the starting area. I park in a lot on Arch Street between 18th and 19th streets and walk to the athletes village which is up near 22nd and the Parkway. I wanted to get there a little earlier after the security line fiasco of last year. It was a little chilly to start the morning. The weather would not warm up much over the race morning so I was prepared with layers and wore something warm to wear before I had to check my bag. Security however was much smoother this year and I was through fairly quickly.

I headed over to the bag check which was in a new location this year. In the last few years it was a free fall all just past Eakins Oval to get into a UPS truck. Always slow and a couple of times I was still in line when the National Anthem was sung and just made it to my corral before it went off. This year they had tents set up with orderly lines around 21st Street and the Parkway. The aim was to get in a line and they would give you a wrist band to match the numbers labeled on the tent. Bag check was fairly orderly. Pick up was a different matter….but that would be a few hours later.

Once my bag was dropped, I lined up for the porta-potties with what seemed like everyone else. The lines were nuts!!!! Just so long and slow but I made it to my corral before go time. I was already in my trash bag outer later and was listening to my music while waiting for the race to start. People were definitely dressed for warmer weather. It was barely at 32 degrees. I felt bad for the tank top and shorts folks….the elites wear that with no problem…I don’t line up with elites. I was shivering under my layers and some of the people around me were visibly shaking from the cold. I know the basic rule is to dress 20 degrees warmer and wear something that allows you to run cool to not over heat. There was no chance of overheating this morning! Some of these runners were clearly weather ambitious.

And then at 7:26, Corral E was sent off over the start line and the day officially started. Unlike a couple of weeks previous in the Harrisburg Marathon my plan was to run my own race and not be around a pacer or a pace group. I wanted to enjoy my run, not necessarily race for any specific time but wanted to know I did my best and was generally in a reasonable time for what I thought I was capable of. Any marathon is a challenge and I always want to make sure I finish regardless of how great or tough my day is. It’s a matter of persistence. Crossing the finish line for me is more important than my time sometimes as it proves no matter how well I run or how hard the day may turn out, I will grind it out to make sure I finish which to me proves my training got me to where I needed to be.

Philadelphia is a very familiar race for me at this time so while there may be some changes from year to year I know the course and what to expect, so I know when I can push, when I have to preserve and when to expect fluid and aid so I can pace my race. While not going for a specific time, this allows me to gauge where I am on the course and how I expect to feel at certain points in the race. I know where I usually feel tired or when I need to dig in to get through, but every race is unique and so my reward is just crossing the start line knowing I have put the training in and seeing what the day brings.

Being surrounded by a few thousand people I don’t know with family and friends around the course allows me to read signs that are funny and inspiring. It’s always fun to see a runner running up to someone they know. It happened to me last year when my family was on the course and surprised me. I love that. It shows that people care and it can really put a pep in your step. It’s great to see. It’s also great to see the volunteers and thank them. Some dress up for the occasion, some are teams/groups that are volunteering together. They are always encouraging, although some are not always as attentive at handing out water cups and I got splashed more than a couple of times mid race…luckily water and not Powerade.

The first few miles felt good. Running down the Parkway down to Columbus Avenue and up through Old City is a great flat start. It is usually the fastest part of the race as everyone is running on fresh legs and there is a lot of adrenaline fueling us all. I was using my run/walk strategy as usual and keeping pace with many runners. As I took my walk breaks, runners would run past me and I would pass them once I started running again. I was running an average pace around 10 minute miles for the first few miles. I slowed a bit around mile 8 but that is the hilly section up to Fairmount Park. While I was still running, I was just slower that mile. That was my slowest mile of the race (by one second over mile 20!) but showed that I was still moving forward. I had a few sub 10 minute miles scattered in the first half of the race and was feeling good. The run up to the hill from University City up to the Philadelphia Zoo is the for the most part the longest uphill stretch which is where many of the runners start to separate in the first half.

Once into the park you are essentially off the City streets as you run past the ‘Please Touch Museum’, the back of the ‘Mann Music Center’ past the Japanese Gardens and then back behind the Please Touch Museum again before heading back down the big hill to the bridge taking you over the top of I-76 over the other side of the river back into the park where we run around the reservoir. It’s a big stretch from mile 8-15 where you are running through the park. Then it is back down onto Kelly Drive just before mile 15 and turning right to run to Manayunk. This is a decent stretch where you can see the runners on the left hand side of the road on their way back to the finish line. There was good crowd support for this stretch but not as much as when you hit Manayunk around mile 19.

In Manayunk it is essentially a 2 mile out and back down to Kelly Drive but the crowd support here is great, especially in the last half to three quarters of a mile before the turnaround as many people are outside the restaurants and shops cheering the runners on. Just after the turnaround, a work colleague of mine was high-fiving all the runners who were passing and I got to say a quick hello to him and his family before heading back out of Manayunk onto the last stretch along Kelly Drive alongside the river and back towards the Philadelphia Art Museum and towards the finish line.

I always feel that once I am out of Manayunk and back on Kelly Drive, other then a little climb up from under the overpass, I am on the home stretch, even if there are still around 5 miles to go. I have familiar landmarks that I remember from my first time running the race back in 2011. When I see the Sunoco gas station and the Dunkin Donuts on the left hand side of the road I know I am in the last few miles. As you get closer to the finish you start to pass the boat houses and the crowds start to pick up. The last mile or so is pretty well supported and as you reach the Art Museum you can see crowds lining both sides of the road behind the barricades. As you pass the Art Museum just around mile 26 you can start to see the finish line and it’s a nice gentle downhill that it seems everyone finds that energy to sprint down.

In terms of pacing, I was feeling good for the second half of this race. Coming off Harrisburg a couple of weeks earlier where I was really slowing down in the second half of the race, I was feeling comfortable and happy to be running at a steady pace for my current level of fitness. Around 10:15 to 10:30 minutes per mile pretty consistently. As I ran towards the finish I could see from my time that I was a little faster than a couple of weeks earlier and that was a much flatter course in comparison. My legs felt fine and this marathon felt a little easier.

I crossed the finish line with an official time of 4:34:28. Not my fastest race by any means but it was my fastest marathon since before I had my accident in the Ironman in 2023. It felt good to cross that finish line having run three marathons in the year, including two in just the last two weeks. This was marathon number 33.

I made my way over to receive my medal. I have started to ask the volunteer to take a picture with me and the medal and I make sure to say thank you for volunteering.

The medal this year was great. So much detail. The Liberty Bell (which rings), the LOVE Statue, the Rocky Statue, the Art Museum. It seemed to have all the key landmarks we passed. Great job by the design team.

From there I made it through the refreshment tent, grabbed some water and some snacks and made the slow walk back to the parking lot to get home and have a well deserved hot shower.

However, before I could set off back to the car I had to pick up my gear from the gear check tent. Remember how I said it was much improved this year…well, I take some of that back. I went to the correct tent number, I showed them my bracelet ID with the number, but the volunteer could not find my bag, nor for some of the other people around me. Not sure how this happens if you are stacking the bags by number order. The volunteer was checking every bag on top and under the tables. It took a very long time to find my bag. Thank goodness I had a thermal blanket to keep me warm as I was standing around for a very long time. I feared they may have given my bag to someone else and it had my car keys in it…thankfully it was found but it was a disconcerting experience for sure.

Once in the car, I made my way home for a celebratory family dinner which was a nice way to finish a very busy weekend. I’m already signed up for 2026 so it’s a do over again this year and I’m happy to be doing it again. See you at the start line this November.

Thank you for reading.