London Marathon 2025

August 1, 2025ianesenior Leave a comment

Back in April this year my wife and I ran the TCS London Marathon. This was a bucket list race for us as neither my wife and I were runners when we both lived in the UK and once we starting marathoning it was a goal to be able to run such an historic and high profile race.

I will back up for a bit. This was never anything we had set out to do other than back in 2011 I tried to register for this event to be able to run it for my 40th birthday but I didn’t get through the lottery. This time we did not need to go through the lottery as we participated as part of one of the approved London Marathon travel partners (RunBuk). This came about as we had a family event in London to attend and my sister mentioned it was the same weekend as the London Marathon…this got my wheels turning and my wife was up for the event so we registered together through the group and started planning with lots of excitement. The sign up for the 2025 race opened up almost immediately after the finished of the 2024 event and we jumped at the opportunity knowing if we waited we may miss out on the chance.

This would actually be quite a logistical exercise for us as as when we looked at the calendar my wife had a work event that ran right up to the marathon weekend. This would mean she would not be able to fly into London until the day before the race. I would be flying out a day earlier and would need to go the expo to pick up both of our race packets. What we do for the sake of running…

As we were attending a family event, I flew out with my boys on Thursday night before the race with the plan to visit the expo on Friday (before the craziness of the weekend). We had an easy flight and made our way to our hotel near Waterloo Station. We were staying right by the London Eye and across the river from the Houses of Parliament. This would be a factor for us in returning after the race. The travel company had chosen this location due to its easy access to transport, to the starting location and the ease of returning after the race. It was a great location and a wonderful hotel. We had a family suite so there was plenty of space for all of us.

Arriving in London and heading to the City

The view just around the corner from our hotel

Once checked in to the hotel and dropping off all our luggage we grabbed something to eat before heading to the expo at ExCel London. It took us about 35 minutes and gave us a short window to get off our feet. What I did not realize at the time was that race aimed to break the record for the number of marathoners to finish a marathon (over 56,000 runners). As a result the expo was fairly busy.

As we were still missing one of our party, I had to pick up the race packets for both my wife as well as myself. The race instructions provided clear details on how to pick up a race packet for someone else. Interestingly the pick up was straight forward. Usually at a race you go to pick up your race bib by last name or by number and head to the relevant desk. Here, we were directed to the first available desk and the volunteers printed and electronically tagged the bibs as you provided them your details. What a great idea. I guess due to the size of the race this was the most efficient way to do this but it made checking in easy.

While not there in person I made sure my wife represented at the Expo

Plenty of desks to check in all the runners

Check in was well managed and straight forward

From the check in desk we headed through the expo over to pick up the race shirts for the event. The shirt pick up was on the far side of the expo hall guaranteeing that everyone had to go through the full expo floor. Here is a tip…the sizes listed are universal. My wife and I thought based upon previous experiences, European sizes would be smaller than US sizes so we both opted for a larger size than normal. They were not ‘European’ sized and while not able to change down to a smaller size they still fit, if just a little big. One thing I missed, and only discovered after we left the expo from other peoples’ social media posts, was the list of participants. It would have been great to find my wife’s and my name on the participants wall. I blame the jet lag.

Bibs obtained and heading into the expo hall

On our way through the expo we stopped in the official merchandise area which was really busy. My boys helped pick things out for both my wife and me and we used the resources we had to take pictures and send over to my wife to review and ‘approve’ before I paid. My boys went ahead into the expo to look around while I took pictures around the area before heading into the expo hall and meeting up with them. They found a place for a quick massage. It’s hard work being a non-runner at a race expo!!!

My boys enjoying the massage opportunities at the expo

Following the expo we went into Central London for a bite to eat and some tourist activities before heading up to North London to meet with our family. A fun day but very tiring (not all of us slept on the flight over).

View from our hotel room as we settled down for the night

Saturday was mainly spent with our family and waiting for my wife to arrive. She travelled up to North London and we were all reunited and excited about the rest of the weekends activities. We planned to get a fairly early night and my sister walked us to a local Italian restaurant where we had a really nice pre-race dinner before traveling back to our hotel to get an early night.

Our boys spent some time investigating the area while my wife and I got our gear set out for the next day. As the race started later in the morning (my start time was 10:40 and my wife’s start time was 11:00am) we were able to get a decent amount of sleep that night.

All our gear set out for race day – we were going for a ‘James Bond’ and ‘Ginger Spice’ look

As we had more family time scheduled for the Sunday our boys would not have the opportunity to come out and spectate for us, so they planned a day of sightseeing before heading up to meet with the family. They got up early with us and had a really full day. Good for them. It was their first time in London for almost 10 years and they are old enough to be independent and they did a great job navigating the London Underground on their own.

My wife and I prepared for the race and headed down to the lobby to meet with the tour group and coordinate heading to the train to get to our starting corrals. This is a really big race (56,000 as I mentioned earlier) and in addition to having different start times, my wife and I also had different starting locations. My wife was starting in the blue area at Blackheath and I was starting in the red area at Greenwich. We were advised to travel together to Blackheath and I could then walk a little further to Greenwich which was not too far away but it would have been a different station and train line for me to use had we not been advised by the tour group on how to travel to the starting area.

Heading out early Sunday to catch a train from Waterloo Station to Blackheath

Arriving at Blackheath before going our separate ways

My wife was starting in the blue corrals at Blackheath

It was made clear before the expo that it was not possible to change corral or start times so as we had different starting times I planned to hold back to start at 11am when my wife’s corral would be setting off. Based upon the information in the race guide, all the starting areas (there were 5) and corrals merged around mile 3 so we planned to meet around there as were should have all been starting at the same time. Just to jump forward, the merge was actually after mile 3 and thankfully we both had our phones to connect so we met up at mile 4 instead. Funnily enough my wife was 7 minutes ahead of me but we both had the same time on our watches (she had paused her watch when she arrived at mile 4).

I left my wife in her starting location and made my way to mine. It was well laid out with clearly marked gear drop locations, plenty of space to move and stretch out and plenty of bathrooms for all participants. They were very methodical in shuffling everyone into the starting corrals. There were three entrances and once a group moved off they updated it with the next scheduled corral. It was all based upon the number/bib information and the volunteers were very clear to confirm you showed your bib to make sure you were in the right starting area and in the right corral. You could drop back, like I did, not forward. Also, if you were in the wrong starting areas, for example red but with a blue bib, you would be turned away. This is probably for means of people flow for 56,000 runners.

It was not a far walk to Greenwich where my corral was located

Finally it was time to load into the corral. This was a pre-loading area and we had to wait until the prior group were on their way before they would let is in to the starting chute. Once allowed through the first area we were held into another area before finally being let into the chute. There was still a decent walk to the starting line but eventually we made it there.

Once the horn went and we started it was such a joyful moment. What I noticed from the very beginning, as we ran through the early stages of the race and through local neighborhoods, was that there were people out supporting us almost from the first step. We ran through the local streets and people were outside their houses cheering on runners. This continued throughout the race. It was incredible. I do not think I have ever been part of a race that had crowds lining the whole route.

View from the start line as we approached

The early miles breezed by supported by the crowds as we went through local streets which were a mix of residential and small town, almost village like high streets. As we got closer to the merge point it was getting busier as the streets opened up (you can now see why they had to split up the mass of runners in the early stages).

From what I had read and understood, the merge point was just after mile 3 which is where my wife and I planned to meet up. It actually was a bit further than 3 miles, while the runners merged, there was still some barricades separating us all. Eventually and closer to mile 4 we fully merged and as the crowd swelled but my wife was easy to spot as she was waiting my the 4 mile marker. Miles 1 through 6 were fairly flat (actually, most of the course is flat) and although the early miles were congested, the course opened up for all the runners.

It was already a warm day and a late start. There were hoses spraying water on the runners every few miles and some of the local fire station as also lent a hand spraying water over runners which was great. What my wife and I noticed was that water stops were not as plentiful as you see in some of the other races we have participated in. Water was not given in cups but in small plastic bottles. There was clear signage for recycling of the bottles but similar to our experience in Athens, the small bottles were handy and we held on to them between water stops so we had more than just a quick sip. As the day got warmer we would hold onto the bottles as long as we could and pour them over our heads.

The route of the marathon takes us along the bank of the River Thames, although through the crowds in the streets you could not necessarily see how far away you were from the river. You knew you were close to the river based upon the names of the many pubs lining the route. They all had a a nautical or British naval themed name. However, as we approached the Maritime Museum and the Cutty Sark clipper ship it was clear where we were in relation to the river. The course had some amazing sights and experiences.

Running around the Cutty Sark in Greenwich

From my 7 through mile 12 we were still on the South Bank of the river and running through the neighborhoods surrounded by pubs, loud cheering crowds and many DJs. We headed into Rotherhithe which was a bit quiter as it was mainly residential neighborhoods we ran through and in some places it became a little narrower to run through, but there were still many people out supporting us.

Then as we approached the halfway mark the crowds started getting louder and louder. We were approaching Tower Bridge (the half way mark is just over the bridge). Wow. What can I say about the views, the crowd support and just the overall experience of running up to, and crossing Tower Bridge. It is an iconic landmark of London and an amazing part of the race. The sky was a clear blue and the crowds were so amazing as we ran over the bridge which was lined with spectators.

My wife doing what she does best and having a blast

One of the professional photos as we crossed the bridge

After crossing the bridge we turned right and passed over the half way marker where we started the road to Canary Wharf (the business district of the City of London). This is a mostly out and back part of the race where we would see some faster runners coming back the other side of the road as we would ran through the neighborhoods surrounding this side of the river. There were many tall buildings around as we approached the business district but our GPS devices were able to hold their signal without wildly deviating our route or distances. While the crowds were smaller over here (as it is not too residential) there were still plenty of people out here cheering us along. There was some twists and turns in this area, some narrow streets and open spaces but it was so fun to see the scenery around here.

We were following along the river still as we headed around the City and back towards the final part of the race. As we approached the last 10K of the race course support seemed to ramp up. As we were heading back from the business district the streets widened and opened up with bigger crowds throughout. At mile 21 we ran through ‘Rainbow Row’ which was so loud, flamboyant and fun to run through. It was like a mile long party and was so uplifting at this part of the race.

Once past Rainbow Row we were now on the part of the out and back where we were passing some of the later runners so it was great to be able to cheer them on and provide some support knowing what they had ahead of them over the next few miles.

Now we headed up towards Tower Hill and past the Tower of London. Honestly, you probably could not match this race for views. The crowds were so dense and loud at this point it was like a wall of sound. We only had a couple of miles left and the sights were making us so excited as we ran along the Embankment towards the finish line. On the left side, over on the other side of the river you could see the London Eye coming into view and up ahead you could see the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben. This was pumping us up as we knew we were close to the last mile. Again, the crowds, the views….nothing could beat this.

Heading into the last part of the course and enjoying the crowds

Heading along the banks of the Thames on the Embankment (see the London Eye on the right of the picture) and on towards the Houses of Parliament

Our view of Parliament – we knew we were getting close to the finish

As we turned right, with Parliament on our left, we headed up through St. James Park along Birdcage Walk and headed up towards Buckingham Palace. We stopped to take some pictures and fully soak up the atmosphere and excitement before finally turning right and heading up The Mall for the last few hundred yards to the finish line.

Heading past Parliament to St. James Park and Buckingham Palace

Reaching Buckingham Palace and only a 385 yards to go

Running down The Mall to the finish line

We received our medals – what an experience

Wow, what an amazing experience. We both received our medals and made our way down The Mall to grab our gear from the trucks. Interestingly, while we were given a bottle of water, there was no post race food or electrolytes at the finish line. In the race program it had advised us to bring something to eat so thankfully we had prepared with some snacks in a race gear bag. This could be due to the limited space on The Mall and the sheer number or runners taking part that they wanted to clear the area of runners.

We headed over to walk back to our (thankfully) close hotel. It was still a good 15-20 minute walk from the finish line, through Horse Guards Parade and then back along the course past the Houses of Parliament back to our hotel. As the race was still going on and the crowds were intense we had to ask a policemen how to cross the road. We had to go back on ourselves a bit to find the Underground Station entrance that had a tunnel we could use to get ‘under’ the route and to the other side of the road. It took us longer than the planned 15-20 minutes but it was great to be able to keep moving our legs.

Making our way back to our hotel through Horse Guards Parade

We stopped to take a picture with our medals with the London Eye in the background. This was where my wife and I had our first date back in 2000. Almost 25 years later we were here having run the London Marathon. It felt amazing.

A special picture – 25 years in the making

Having made it back to our hotel, and with a family obligation to attend, it was a blur with a quick shower and dressing up before we headed out to our event for the evening. While we did not wear our medals to the event, everyone knew why we were a little late. Our boys had taken a car service earlier in the afternoon to represent us, but it was great to finally be with everyone to celebrate.

Quick showers and off to our next activity of the day!!!

Our next day was spent doing some sightseeing with our boys and spending more time with our family before we had to head home on Tuesday morning and back to work and school. It was a whirlwind trip.

What an incredible race. What an incredible experience. One we shall remember for a long time. Bucket list item checked off. Where to next?

Here is my recap video of the actual race. Enjoy.

Philadelphia Marathon 2024 – Race Recap – A Very Special Day

December 10, 2024ianesenior Leave a comment

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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

December 8, 2024ianesenior Leave a comment

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.

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

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.

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

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

Not a squirrel on the medal but still happy to receive this

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.

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

December 7, 2024ianesenior 3 Comments

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.

Getting ready to grab our race bibs and race shirts

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

Don’t call it a comeback…it’s business as usual

May 11, 2024ianesenior Leave a comment

It has been a while since my last (somewhat dramatic) post…That was back in mid-October 2023 and we are now almost mid-May 2024. Lots of positive change and plenty to be happy about.

The challenge of my recovery from the bike crash was something I approached the same way how I prepare for a marathon or a triathlon. I know what needs to be done and I set myself to the task. In fact, I probably was more diligent with my recovery than any other race I have ever taken part in. Primarily as I wanted to get back to normal as soon as possible. Whatever was required, I made sure I stuck to it. I was doing my required rehab exercises up to three hours every day. I could feel I was getting stronger and looking forward to the future with a renewed and fresh outlook. The best part was when I saw the surgeon in mid-November. He was astonished about my progress.

My appointment with him was to determine if I needed the surgery on my clavicle which would have set me back another few weeks of recovery. Earlier that week I had to meet with the physiotherapist for a final report. The physiotherapist was really happy with my progress. Everything he set me to do I achieved if not a bit more. He put me through all the same tests we had performed from our first meeting six weeks earlier and declared that had he not known what and where my injury was he would not have known I had one. I was very hopeful when meeting the surgeon later that week. He declared that what I had achieved was amazing and based upon the x-ray and the tests his aide put me through there was no need for the follow up surgery. He even said he wouldn’t stop me if I wanted to ‘drop and give him 20 pushups’. That didn’t happen. He told me I had no restrictions and just try not to do anything really dangerous for a few months!!! I was elated. I came home and celebrated…by going for my first run in three months. Even if it was only around the neighborhood it was a victory.

I had told my wife earlier during my recovery that my ultimate goal was to make it to the start line of our annual Thanksgiving 5 miler race. She was really happy I was able to meet my goal…not so happy when I told her I had secretly signed up before I got approval from the doctor…but we made it to the start line together as a team. She was amazing through this whole experience and I can never thank her enough.

The day came for the Thanksgiving race. While it was cold, the sun was shining. We ran the whole race together at a comfortable pace and I started to get emotional as I knew I was going to complete the distance. I think it was my longest run since the accident. Needless to say I was overjoyed and humbled to cross the finish line with her that day. Thanksgiving for sure!!!

I spent the next couple of months getting back to fitness, running a little longer distances and keeping up with the arm exercises that they gave me at the physiotherapist’s office. I actually track my arm strengthening exercises now with the goal of doing them at least 5 days a week. I was never this diligent on other types of exercises other than running, biking and swimming, but it’s never too late to try new things…especially when they have a positive impact.

Over the holiday break we went out as a family for dinner. We had found a new restaurant near us we had never tried. On this particular night as we ended the dinner they brought over fortune cookies. My fortune made everyone at the table laugh…proving that they are completely over my accident for sure!!! Here is my fortune:

Great things indeed! Thank you Ironman Mont-Tremblant

As we had postponed all our fall races from 2023 as I recovered, my wife and I decided to look for a spring race not too far away which neither of us had done before. I suggested the Coastal Delaware Half Marathon down in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. It was near(ish) and would be a nice opportunity to see the shore for the first time this year. It was scheduled for mid-April and allowed us to get some outdoor running time in after the cold winter months.

Enjoying some early Spring weather on the Pennypack Trail

The course map for the half marathon race

Due to work, we could not get down early the day before to pick up our race packets, but the race allowed us to sign up for early race day morning packet pick up which was easy to do. As it was the off season at Rehoboth Beach there was plenty of street parking near the start line. Once we had our race numbers pinned on we had a short walk to the boardwalk where the race started and ended. It was a glorious sunny morning and not too cold so we did not need to check a bag.

Today’s goal. Just to get out and enjoy.

At the bandstand just by the starting line

Ready to race. A clear sky and looking forward to the run.

There were a number of different distance races going on at the same time but all were staggered so there was never any major congestion of runners running the different distances. Indeed, all the races were very well sign posted with different colored mile markers and direction arrows to match the color of the race bib runners were signed up for.

We started out on the boardwalk but were quickly off and running through the neighborhoods around town. The roads were easy to run on and the volunteers very helpful in providing the right directions to the runners. After 3 miles or so we entered the Gordons Pond and Cape Henlopen State Park for approximately six miles of the race. It was amazing. One of the prettiest and relaxing runs we have had in a long time. It was an absolute joy to be running in great weather with great views. There were plenty of volunteers in the park to keep us in the right direction and manage the water stations. The landscape was amazing.

Beautiful views from a beautiful place to run

Imagine this full of runners in single file. Lovely.

This was a relaxing part of the race. A nice flat area. Runners in both directions.

We were running at a comfortable pace pretty consistently the whole race. The terrain was mostly flat as we were running along the coastline and the temperatures were perfect. It was such a relaxing run. We were both smiling the whole way.

As we left the state park we only had a few miles to get back to the boardwalk and the finish line. The crowds on the way back in were really supportive and there were plenty of cheers as we ran up to the finish line. As we crossed the finish line we were give a beautiful medal and all runners received a really cool trucker hat with the race logo. There was an after party provided by Grotto Pizza one of the main sponsors. It was held in their restaurant courtyard and all runners were welcomed in for pizza, pasta, salad and drinks. There was even some race gear from the expo that we had not had a chance to attend. My wife found a cool race jacket that really suited her. I’ve never finished a race and be treated so nicely. For real. The pizza was great and we both plan for a return visit to the area. Maybe the marathon next time?

Great crowd support as we ran to the finish line

And that’s how you cross a finish line!!!

The medals were styled like a stain glass window and you can see the bridge we ran over represented on the medal. Really cool.

We stopped for ice cream and my wife found a couple of boutiques to visit before we left town.
I am wearing my newly earned race hat.

This was my first ‘big’ race since the Ironman and it was an amazing day. The race organization and communication was first class and I would highly recommend this race for anyone near the area. Or even if you want to travel to run. Well worth looking into.

A week later, and somewhat last minute, my wife and I decided to sign up for the Bookin’ for Lookin’ Foundation 10k. This is a local charity race benefitting the Bucks County Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired. It started and finished at Council Rock High School (where my wife went as a student) and runs through Tyler State Park which is about 20 minutes away from where we live. It was a little chillier than our previous race a week earlier in Rehoboth Beach and I may have been a little underdressed, but nevertheless it was a fun race for a great cause. I had not run in Tyler for a long time due to my accident and this race was a reminder of how hilly it is to run there. Still, we put up a decent time and as planned ran the whole race together. We were however glad to get back to the car and head for a hot cup of coffee.

People were more dressed up than we were. I’m in a t-shirt with arm sleeves.
Still, there’s always one guy in a tank top…although they are usually at the front!!!

The finish line is on the high school running track

Despite the hills we were happy with our run.

Our next event together was the 2024 Broad Street Run. This again was a last minute decision to sign up for the lottery when it opened. Both of us have run this race a few times before but we have never run the race together as there was always a reason why we could not both do it together. Maybe now that our boys are more independent and don’t necessarily have to be everywhere at the same time allowed us this chance. My first Broad Street run was in 2011 and at that time this was my goal race. The longest run I ever thought I would ever do if I was able to keep running…how things changed over the next few years.

My wife was not able to attend the expo with me so I headed down solo this time. It was a fairly small expo considering the size of the race (about 40,000 people) and I was in and out quickly, although I did get a chance to stop by a booth my friend Scott and his wife were manning to catch up with them. The hardest part of this expo was the logistics. It was being held the same weekend as a FanCon and I had to negotiate through people all dressed up and painted head to toe representing their favorite fantasy character or superhero. I will say there was some impressive efforts there.

All ready to go. All we have to do is run this thing.

The biggest challenge for the Broad Street Run is for all the runners to get to the start line on time. The race is a point to point 10 mile run. This year the start time was brought forward to 7:30am. This required us to get up a little earlier than prior years, drive down the sports stadium area and take a subway from the stadiums up to the starting line…with thousands of other runners. The subway station was crowded and we were the at the first station so as long as we could get on the subway car we would make it to the start.

We just missed a train but were first in line for the next one to pull up. My wife was very lucky to find a single seat by the door and was able to sit almost in her own private space while I was standing making new friends very close up for the whole journey. It’s funny when the train pulls into a station already full and more people try to cram on when there is clearly very little opportunity to add more people…yet, they do.

We got to the start line around 7:20am and there was no way we could make it down to our starting corral. There were just too many people in the way. We found a gap in the barriers and jumped in to the nearest corral we could which was close to our corral. The race had already started by the time we got into the corral and the first three or four corrals had crossed the start line before we had the opportunity to get moving.

Arrived at Olney Station – closest to the start line

Made it to start line. Wearing our best rainy day gear.

The weather the week leading up to the race was glorious and warmer than seasonal temperatures. However, the day before the race this all changed and it was raining lightly when we arrived at the start. Luckily we were prepared for this and ready to go. While it was a little wet, the rain for the most part held off for the whole race.

As we ran down Broad Street we were on the look out for my wife’s cousin who attends Temple University. We found him easily and he was waiting for us with a water bottles for each of us. That was very welcome. Despite the weather the crowds came out and the support along the course was amazing.

Great to have our own cheering section on the course

My wife and I settled into a nice comfortable pace and really enjoyed our morning. It was funny to see my wife high fiving everyone as she passed the crowds…that’s usually my job but she was clearly having a fun time. It’s a net downhill race so that definitely helps!!!

Just about halfway with City Hall in the background

We made it past the stadiums where we had parked at around mile nine and then continued down to the Philadelphia Navy Yard and the finish line. The crowds were out in full force along the last mile and we were happy to make it into the Navy Yard for the last quarter mile to the finish line. My wife had her name called out as we approached the finish line and we crossed hand in hand together.

As the race is so big the organizers rush you through the finish chute towards the field at the side of the finish area where there was after race food and water. It was not until we had gone through the refreshment tent that we received our medals. This year there were thermal blankets available for runners after the race. I had never seen them provide these before for the runners. It was very welcome as we had to walk back about a mile to the car. One thing that they didn’t have which is quintessentially Philadelphia is soft pretzels. After 10 miles that would have been fun. Oh well, maybe next time.

We were lucky, as soon as we got into our car and headed out of the stadium parking lot the rain finally came…and hard. We finished just in time to get the best of the day. It was a great time running this race again, this time with my wife. Not sure I’m one of those people who will sign up every year for this race but the chance to run with my wife and run fairly local with great crowds was fantastic.

Now we are setting our focus on the races we had to postpone after my accident last year. Up next is the Atlantic City Marathon in October which we will be running together. Next up is the Princeton Half Marathon in November. My wife has run this in the past and I have signed up before but had to skip to race chase her in the New York City Marathon. This will be my first time running this race. A little later in November is the Philadelphia Marathon. My favorite as it was my very first marathon. This year will be my 10th Philadelphia Marathon and it will also be my 30th (official) marathon overall. We already have a 2025 race booked…more details on that later.

Don’t call it a comeback…it’s business as usual.

Thank you for reading.

Ironman Mont-Tremblant race recap (a.k.a. When things don’t go as planned)

October 15, 2023ianesenior 5 Comments

Pre-read:

This will not be a typical race recap for me. I participated in Ironman Mont-Tremblant 2023 but was not able to complete the race. This was my first ever DNF (did not finish) in a race. I will write about my experiences leading up to race day and the highlights of the Ironman experience below, but I will share ahead of the recap that I had an accident during the bike portion which resulted in me ending up in hospital. I know I am lucky to be here writing my recap and on my road to recovery.

For those not familiar with an Ironman triathlon event, this is a race combining the following activities and distances:

2.4 mile (3.9 kilometer) swim, 112 mile (180 kilometer) bike ride, 26.2 mile (42.2 kilometer) run for a total of 140.6 miles (226.3 km).

I began my journey to Ironman Mont-Tremblant by signing up for the event in October 2022. My training plan was 39 weeks long (I used a plan from MyProCoach) and was optimized for a ‘Masters’ athlete (40+ years of age) with a career and a family. It was a good fit and allowed for some flexibility which would permit me to work around my family obligations. I picked this specific race based upon the timing (late August) as both my boys would be away together at overnight camp during the heaviest training period of the plan (the 6 hour bike rides and long swims and runs) between June and August, and race day was before they went back to school so not interfering with everyday life. While I recognize triathlon is a very selfish sport, I did my best to balance life, family and work, and this plan worked best. I would highly recommend MyProCoach as the plans available are numerous and the coaches were very responsive and informative.

I also chose Mont-Tremblant as a location as I would be able to drive there. This would minimize logistics for me (it was roughly a 500 mile/8 hour drive) eliminating the need to plan flights as I didn’t know initially if any family would be coming with me. As it ended up, my wife and youngest son were able to join me, but unfortunately my eldest son had obligations with his school marching band. We were lucky that he had recently obtained his driver’s license and was able to stay with family and drive himself to and from school.

It was announced just ahead of the race that, after 10 years, this would be the last full Ironman event to be held at Mont-Tremblant, although the half Ironman (IM70.3) would continue. This was going to be a very special weekend for everyone involved.

This would be the last Ironman at this picturesque location.

In terms of getting my bike to Mont-Tremblant, I chose TriBikeTransport to ship my bike to the race location. While I have always taken my bike to races on my own using my bike rack, having a trusted service provider really took a lot of stress out my weekend. I found a local bike shop from the TriBikeTransport list of approved locations and arranged with the bike shop to perform a thorough bike tune up in advance of pick up. All worked out well.

We set out for Mont-Tremblant on Thursday August 17th. It was an incident free drive with no major traffic issues. All the passengers (aka my wife and son) were happily relaxed and entertained and my only job was to drive and get there safe. We did stop at a quaint town in upstate New York for lunch which looked like an old movie set, before arriving in Canada in the early afternoon. The border crossing/passport control was really our only slow down but we made it through there and headed on to our final destination in the early evening. The scenery was fantastic. I know now why this was considered one of the best locations to do an Ironman race. As we arrived in Mont-Tremblant, our home for the next few days, we were surrounded by many cyclists riding the course (which was well marked by signs along the road) and the most wonderful rainbow. We thought (at the time) that this was a sign for a great adventure and good luck for the weekend.

After checking in our hotel (Tour des Voyageurs), which was full of athletes, we spent the evening walking around the village and finding a place for dinner. Our hotel was walking distance to the Ironman Village and the finish line. This was recommended as a hotel through a number of reviews and I’d made sure to book it as soon as I signed up for the race. After dinner we took a stroll down to the finish line that I would hopefully be crossing on Sunday evening before heading back to our hotel for the night.

Thinking good wishes at the finish line. It was all ready for race day.

We woke up on Friday morning to rain. My plan was to do a practice swim in the designated swimming area to get familiar with the water temperature and to make sure I was comfortable in my wetsuit. After rubbing my neck fairly raw during my last half ironman event I was testing out using some KT tape on the back of my neck while swimming. My wife had planned to go for a run (we were in training for the Atlantic City, NJ marathon) and she seemed okay to be running in the rain. As I was swimming, the rain didn’t really bother me.

I signed in at the swim beach and got myself all suited up to swim. My wife zipped my wetsuit up and headed out for her run as I headed to the lake. Once I entered the water I was shocked by how cold the water actually felt and once I was starting my swim I found my breathing rate elevated as I was struggling to maintain my composure in the water. I had planned to do 10 minutes out and 10 minutes back but I had to stop and tread water a couple of times to slow my breathing down and my planned out and back swim ended up to be only 15 minutes.

I was a little startled by the water conditions as all my swimming had been in a pool and I hadn’t done an open water swim since my last half Ironman back in 2021. I’m glad I made the time to practice and figure out conditions, but I’m also glad that my open water swim freak out happened on the Friday rather than on race day. At least I could mentally prepare for what I would face on Sunday. As I got out of the water to walk back to the hotel the heavens opened and the rain became really heavy. Let’s just say I think I got wetter walking back to the hotel than actually swimming. My wife was still out running and she was as equally soaked (dedicated but soaked).

The practice swim area was away from the actual race marked course which was on the other side of the trees seen on the right.

After a hot shower back in my room, I left my family getting ready for the day and headed to the race registration area to check in for the race. Race registration was held in a building by the side of the finish line. As the half Ironman had been postponed from July due to the Canadian wildfires, it was also taking place on the Sunday and the registration area was split into two sides. Once I showed my registration information at the front I was guided to the full Ironman area and given my race number, my Ironman wristband and all my gear bags for race day. I quickly went over to the Ironman village to pick up my official race backpack but did not want to shop until I was with my wife so I headed back to the hotel.

Registration was quick and well organized.

The official backpack provided to all full Ironman participants.

After getting all my race provisions, I picked up my bike from the TriBikeTransport area by the side of the transition area and headed back to the hotel. On my way back I passed the unofficial underwear runners which is a tradition at Ironman events. Due to the weather I think this was a pretty small but determined group. I declined to join!!!

Really grateful for this service. They made transporting my bike easy.

Considering the conditions, these people must have been very dedicated.

Following a quick shop in the official Ironman Store with my family, noting that they still had not received all the race specific gear, I headed over to the mandatory athlete briefing while my wife and son enjoyed time in the village.

There were two mandatory briefings on the Friday and I attending the earlier one for the day.

We headed to St-Jovite, a nearby village, for lunch and to investigate the area before heading back to Mont-Tremblant for a rest and a walk around the host village. I headed back to the hotel to get my gear bags packed ahead of Saturday’s mandatory bike check in and gear drop before meeting up again with my family for dinner and an early night.

Having read many Ironman race reviews I followed advice and made sure my bags were decorated with identifiable marks to find them easier to spot on race day. I did have to raid my son’s art supplies but I made my bags easily identifiable.

Grateful for our stash of Philadelphia Eagles Duck Tape.

On Saturday morning my wife headed out for a 13 mile run, and following some advice from other athletes in a race specific Facebook group, she was able to follow most of the marked race route that I would be running the next day. There were so many people out running, swimming and biking all over the area each day we were there leading up to the race. I double and triple checked my gear bags and headed over to the athletes village just after 10am when mandatory bike check in and gear drop off started.

Checking my gear one more time before heading to bike check in and gear drop.

I racked my bike and dropped my bags off and timed it perfectly that I got to the official store just as my wife finished her run. The official race merchandise had been delivered that morning (they sent a note through the official Ironman race app) and we stopped by the store to buy some race specific headwear before heading back to the hotel.

After lunch at a great spot in the village, I headed back to the hotel for a rest while my wife and son entertained themselves around the village now that the sun had finally come out. I met up with them for an early dinner reservation and headed back to the hotel alone to get my special needs, race morning gear and bike food and fluids ready before heading to bed for an early night. I had packed ear plugs and an eye mask so my family knew they wouldn’t disturb me when they came back to the hotel. I just hope I did not disturb them when I woke up at 3:30am the next day. Judging by my Garmin data I managed to get about six and a half hours of sleep so I was happy with that.

Having woken up early, I ate my breakfast, had a cup of coffee and dressed for the day. I had been as strategic as possible in positioning my supplies so not to wake anyone and around 4:45am I headed out for the big day.

Once in transition I headed over to my bike to add my water bottles and pump up my tires. Bike transition was super crowded and busy but it was fairly straightforward where to drop my special needs bags for later in the day and even though it was dark when I arrived I was able to get everything ready without much issue.

Having dropped off all my gear, all that was left was to walk to the swim start. There I would change out of my morning clothes and into my wetsuit, drop off my morning gear bag and hope I had time for a short practice swim and at least get some water into my wetsuit to get used to the day’s temperature.

The walk was a bit longer than I expected and by the time I got to the race start it was crowded. I quickly got into my wetsuit but just as I finished zipping up they announced that practice swim time was over and participants should get out of the water. Oh man!!! Luckily I had a bottle of water at room temperature in my morning bag and I had read in all my preparation for the race that if you cannot swim, pour a bottle of water down the wetsuit to get a layer of water between your skin and the wetsuit to provide a layer of insulation. With that done I headed to the beach to line up for the start of the race.

Based upon my training speed and my most recent long swim I lined up with the 1 hour 40 minute to 1 hour to 50 minute swimmers. My goal was to swim under 1 hour 50 minutes with a stretch goal of 1 hour 45 minutes. I put in my ear plugs and put on my swim cap and my goggles, said a quick personal prayer, and followed the mass of competitors to the front. While the half Ironman was also taking place on the same day, they would be starting 2 hours behind us so this was all full Ironman participants. I wondered how many first timers there were like me as there was no way to identify that in the mass of swimmers.

Rather than a mass start, like Ironman races traditionally had, I preferred the timed corrals as it was much less intimidating, especially for a first timer. We funneled down the chutes which were divided into 6 lanes and swimmers were sent off every 7 seconds. The weather was glorious and I was just excited to have made it to the start line of an Ironman race after all my training.

My wife, unbeknown to me, had heard me leave and headed down to the start area before venturing out for her morning run and took photos of the swim start and had even caught me entering the water.

I’m there….wearing a wetsuit and a green swim cap!!

Once in the water, knowing my experience from Friday’s practice swim, I had prepared mentally to keep calm, breathe slowly and just get into a consistent rhythm with my stroke, imaging I was in a swimming pool. The water was fairly clear and allowed me to follow the feet of swimmers ahead of me so I was not constantly having to look up and sight the buoys. The KT tape I had applied to my neck when dressing in the morning seemed to be holding up in the water and I just focused on my stroke and my breathing.

Such a beautiful morning and amazing experience

Below is my GPS tracking for the swim. I swam pretty much the exact distance of the course without veering too far off the line. After swimming in a pool for the whole of my training cycle I am very proud of this.

However, what I am more proud of is my swim time. Based upon my watch, I swam around 1 hour 30 minutes, and according to the official Ironman timing I actually swam 1:29:20! 15 minutes ahead of my goal time.

During the race briefing on Friday, competitors were advised to keep swimming until they touched the bottom of the lake before standing up and from there it was quite a short walk to the swim exit. Once I touched the bottom I stood up and looked at my competitors around me and said “I did it! I swam the Ironman swim course!” I was so happy I was grinning from ear to ear. A fellow competitor nearby smiled back and said “Yes you did!”.

There were stairs to climb out of the lake and we were assisted up by volunteers. I quickly went to the nearest wetsuit peelers and two volunteers helped me out of the wetsuit in no time. I was so excited I could not stop smiling. What was more, I saw my wife at the side of the barriers cheering me on as I ran to transition. What a lovely surprise and a great start to my day.

It was so great to see my wife cheering me on.

The run to transition was about a half mile and was fully carpeted to the transition area. I quickly ran to pick up my bike gear back and was led into the changing tent and guided to a seat by the race volunteers. It was a hive of activity with so many athletes getting changed and ready for the next leg of the race. Once I had dried off, changed into my bike gear and stored my swim gear I made sure to stop to eat food I had packed and grab water as well as making a quick bathroom stop before dropping of my swim gear bag and heading to my bike.

After grabbing my bike, I gave my wife a quick kiss before heading out to the bike mounting area and heading on my way.

Heading out for the start of the 2 loop course.

The Mont-Tremblant bike course was a challenging ride but with some spectacular scenery. Below is the course map from the Athlete Guide and the elevation chart of the course. It has approximately 4,800 feet of elevation. This is when you remember the race is based in a ski resort. I had done all my training using my bike trainer and the Fulgaz application as you could ride the Ironman course in the app. My training plan also synced to the app so I was getting my power and speed workouts simulated over the course.

The bike course is two loops of 56 miles each.

The volunteers on the course were exceptional and also entertaining. Ironman events have strict rules on littering and athletes can only drop litter in a designated area without incurring a penalty. This is clearly sign posted at each aid station. Being in Canada, the litter throwing areas at some of the aid stations were hockey nets and being manned by volunteers with hockey sticks. Funny!

Clearly there were parts of the course that I enjoyed.

The road and scenery were great and there were some good stretches of the course where you could settle in and cruise.

The hardest part of the course for me was the climb to Lac Superior between miles 45 to 50. A solid 5 mile stretch with several “stair step” climbs. Whatever speed I had been averaging was easily sapped in this stretch.

Based upon my Garmin data I did the first loop in just over 4 hours which would be cutting the time allowed close. This was my slowest ride in any of my triathlon events and may have been a combination of just how hard the hills were for me and the heat that was rising. It was the hottest day of the weekend so far. Luckily for me I had gained around 40 minutes from my swim but it would be tight with the overall time limit for the race. Cycling is my weakest part of the three sports of the events and I’m not really speedy on two wheels, however, with the elevation I was hitting speeds just over 40 miles per hour on the downhill portions of the course.

After negotiating the climb up to Lac Superior there is a steep downhill which takes you to the halfway turnaround point by the side of the bike transition area. It was here that I saw and was cheered on by my wife and son as I turned around and headed back out for my second lap.

I felt a little more confident having gone through the course one time already and knew where I could push and where I could take it a little easier. But before heading back on the course my first stop was at my special needs bag located on the course about half a mile past the transition area. I grabbed replacement liquid fuel that I had packed and more gels and bars, but primarily I stopped to read the notes that my family (including my eldest son who wasn’t with us) had written for me and had put in my bag to give me a boost at the halfway mark. They had even thrown a few pieces of candy in there for me. From there it was back out for miles 57 through 112.

This is where my memory gets a little sketchy. Based on the course map and my Garmin data I made it to Route 117 and completed the three mile climb to the turnaround point where I crossed over the official timing sensor at mile 60 (96km) and started my decent down La Conception…

…the next thing I recall was being in an emergency room in Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts surrounded by medical staff with my wife and son nearby. Based upon the conversations I’ve had with my wife since the event I have very little recollection of what was going on. For that, I am glad and at peace that I do not remember my experience.

This is the view that unfortunately greeted my family.

I’d had a bike accident which resulted in a concussion with a brain bleed, I broke my right clavicle in 2 places, I had 5 broken ribs and had a punctured lung in addition to a lot of skin abrasions across my body and over my face. It could have been so much worse and I know how very lucky I am. While my bike helmet is damaged to the point it is no longer practical, it no doubt saved me. Let this be a PSA for bike helmets.

After the accident, the Ironman crew contacted my wife and she and my son were able to get transport to the trauma center to see me before I was then moved to Sacred Heart Hospital in Montreal about 90 minutes away, where they had appropriate facilities to care for me. I don’t remember which location took CT scans and X-rays but I do remember being moved a lot.

From what I have been able to piece together from my GPS data and members of the race specific Facebook group I was part of, my watch stopped recording at mile 66.98. Eye witnesses tell me I was descending La Conception at high velocity when a wind gust caught my front wheel causing me to lose control and I went over the front of my bike and rolled over and over down the road about 10 times before ending up lying on my back in the middle of the road.

Thankfully I was close to an on course medical team and they responded immediately to stabilize me until an ambulance arrived. I have since connected with the first responder who filled in more of the gaps. He was the person who got to me first and stabilized me before calling for the ambulance. He said I was disoriented and only responded to physical stimulation and had difficulty breathing.

While we should have been returning home to the USA on Monday August 21st, my wife had to pack up our room in Mont-Tremblant and relocate to a hotel In Montreal. Fortunately my father in law flew up on the Tuesday when I was being discharged and between him and my wife they were able to drive me home that night.

This is how ‘good’ I looked before being discharged from the hospital in Montreal.

It was on the Thursday night after we got home when my concussion/head injury finally raised its ugly self and I ended up in an emergency room for more head CT scans and was admitted into the ICU on the Friday. I had an additional CT scan the following morning and the doctors were okay to discharge me on the Saturday afternoon but I had yet another visit to the same ER on the following Tuesday for changes in my vision leading to more CT scans and X-rays. Thankfully I was not readmitted and have been home sleeping in my own bed since August 29th.

I saw an ophthalmologist the day after my ER visit who confirmed there was no damage to my eye and the vision change was a result of pressure on my optic nerve as a result of the head injury and hopefully will go away as my head recovers. Later that week I was back for some additional X-rays on my chest and my ribs but was allowed to go home.

Since then I have been recuperating at home and getting better. I received home visits twice a week through mid-September from a nurse, an occupational therapist and a physical therapist. I have been doing physical therapy at home 3 times a day as I build back my stamina. I was discharged by the neurosurgeon and referred to a neurologist for follow up. My appointment with the neurologist was positive.

I have made progress and on my recent visit with the orthopedic surgeon, he decided (for now) not to operate on my shoulder based upon my hard work and instead has prescribed ‘aggressive’ physical therapy which I recently began. I have a follow up with the surgeon in mid-November and hoping the good news continues. I’m finally able to sleep on my back again after having to be propped up on pillows since the accident.

I did quite a number on my clavicle but it is healing.

During a follow up visit with my primary doctor he sent me for an X-ray on my right hip and it isn’t fractured, there’s just some muscle and nerve damage which will get better with time. Similarly, my vision is about 99% back to normal and the neurologist says it should return to normal with a little more time.

I wear my Garmin Forerunner 955 device 24/7 and rely on my Garmin for health data. My watch was pretty much beaten up in the accident. I contacted Garmin and for a small fee was able to replace it with a refurbished version of the same device. I have gradually seen my health data return to near normal. I’m still a little away from my pre-race condition but all metrics are moving back to where they should be.

As I write this post it is 8 weeks from the event and I have just been cleared to go back to work, albeit with some restrictions for the near term. I am finally sleeping through the night again and my ribs are no longer bothering me, although if you make me laugh, sneeze or cough I will remember very quickly that they were broken.

My triathlon adventures are now over for good and personally I am fine with that. I will continue to swim for fitness once I am back to full health. As soon as I am fit enough I will be back to running, chasing my marathon goals and will continue to travel and run to races with my wife. My goal is to be fit enough to participate in our local Thanksgiving 5 miler. So much to look forward to. My wife wrote to all the races that were scheduled for October and November and was able to have me deferred until next year. My wife and I were scheduled to run the Atlantic City, NJ Marathon in late October and I was scheduled to run the Princeton Half Marathon and Philadelphia Marathon in November. I have goals and something to work for in 2024.

Personally I’m at peace with the fact that I will never cross an Ironman finish line and be declared “You are an ‘Ironman’!”. I’m proud that I have completed 5 half Ironman races and even more proud that I trained for and toed the line for a full Ironman. How many people can claim they have done that. The training showed me I was capable and unfortunately the race didn’t work out as planned. I don’t feel that I have to prove it to myself. Considering where I began my health journey back in 2010 I have accomplished so many amazing things and had fun doing them.

Throughout all this, my wife, family and friends have been incredible. The kind attention of friends who put meals together for us, called, texted and visited showed me how lucky I really am. For this I’m so grateful.

Thank you for reading and please make sure you wear a helmet when riding a bike.

Athens Marathon 2022 – Race Recap

July 8, 2023ianesenior 2 Comments

Yes, I know this is late…again. This race recap is from our November 2022 trip to Athens, Greece. Actually, when my wife I got back from Greece I put together a video recap which I included at the end of the post so the memories are still fresh.

Let me start by saying this should be a bucket list race for any marathoners out there. Is the the best course ever? Probably not…Is it the fastest course? Definitely not…Would it contend to be a world major?…Nope. So why the bucket list race? Because of the history. It’s not Boston and it doesn’t have the prestige or longevity of that race but what it does have is ‘Authenticity’. You also get to finish the race in an Olympic stadium. This is the home of the modern day marathon. It was here in Athens, Greece that the modern day marathon race was created and introduced to the world at the first modern day Olympic Games in 1896. The Boston Marathon would not appear until 1897.

So why Athens? In 2022 I celebrated a big birthday and my wife and I decided to do a big trip to celebrate. As we are both runners we thought about a destination race. We both have very busy work schedules and there a plenty of school activities we need to manage for our two boys. The timing of this race and the lead time to plan all the logistics made this our pick. Also, come on, it is the ‘Authentic’ marathon. How many people are going to be able to say they did this?

The race itself starts in the town of Marathon and runs to Athens and is inspired by the route that the Ancient Greek legend Pheidippides who ran to bring news of the Greek victory over the Persians at the Battle of Marathon in 490BC (yes, I looked that up, not from memory). We will skip over the part where he collapsed died after completing the distance and sharing the news of the victory!!!

First of all, let me say that this trip would not have been as amazing as it was without the help of Paul and his team at Apostolos Greek Tours. They put this whole package together and also provided some advice for us as we travelled on after the race. Paul and his whole team treated us to first class service and made this trip so memorable for us. They have three tours. Race support only, which is a group that stayed in Athens and only dealt with the race logistics, and a 6-day and 12-day tour. We opted to do the 6-day tour but added an extra day with the group before heading off for our own private vacation.

We flew out of New York/JFK and arrived (via Paris) early Thursday before the race. The team from Apostolos Greek Tours met us at the airport and provided transport to our hotel in Vouliagmeni. This was approximately 45 minutes outside Athens itself on what is considered to be the Greek Riviera. A beautiful location away from the hustle and bustle of Athens itself. After checking in and a brief introductory meeting with our host Paul we had the rest of the afternoon and evening to ourselves. We found ourselves a great restaurant along the beach and did our best to try and stay awake as long as possible to manage our jet lag and stay awake long enough to talk to our boys back home with the 7 hour time difference….spoiler alert…we didn’t make it and called it a night.

Made it to our destination and enjoyed an evening stroll along the shore at sunset

The next morning our tour group headed out for an early morning shake out run before heading back for an amazing breakfast and then heading into Athens for a day of sightseeing on a private tour of the Acropolis. Before we arrived at the Acropolis we stopped outside the Panathenaic Stadium, home to the first modern day Olympic Games and the finish line of the race on Sunday.

After the tour and a group lunch at a tavern at the base of the Acropolis we headed over to the race expo. The team from Apostolos had registered us as part of our package registration and handed out to everyone our race registrations so we could go inside the expo and pick up our race packets. Each runner was provided with a small race backpack (a proper backpack which has come in very handy) and a race shirt (good quality Adidas shirt). In the backpack was small towel with the race logo and an envelope with our race bib, bag check drawstring bag and numbers to tag the bags. The envelope had the race map and course elevation details.

The expo itself was a decent size and a mix of both international brands and lots of local vendors. It was set on two floors of the arena. Outside the expo there was a timer counting down to the race start where we were able to take some pictures.

Following the expo we headed over to the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Center were we saw a documentary about and saw the actual silver cup awarded to the winner of the first Olympic Marathon, Spyridon Louis.

Silver cup awarded to the winner of the first Olympic Marathon

After that it was an evening on our own where we found another great restaurant and got an early night before our tour the next day to Cape Sunion and the Temple of Poseidon.

Following lunch at a beachside restaurant we had some free time back at the hotel before a pre-race briefing where we went over the next day’s logistics, how to pace for the race and an overview of the course. This was followed a pre-race pasta dinner put on at the hotel for the group.

Pasta dinner for the tour group. Their support and encouragement was appreciated.

Flat ‘Me’ getting ready for race day.

Up early the next day. The hotel started breakfast early for us as we had to leave early for the nearly hour long ride to the town of Marathon and the start of the race. We met downstairs in the lobby for some pictures and final words of encouragement before heading off for the day. Each of us was given a small blue ribbon to wear so the tour group team could recognize us during the race. They had arranged to have their own pit stop for runners around the midpoint of the course to allow runners to drop off items or pick up anything they needed. And then we were off.

We arrived just outside the football stadium in Marathon where we followed a sea of runners into the stadium. We were lucky enough to arrive early enough to see the torch lit at the stadium. We even got to pose with the torches used to light the flame. Cool experience.

We were assigned a group based upon our pace and assembled on the field in individually roped off areas until we were released to the start line. There was so much going on it was easy to be distracted and this helped pass the time. It had already started to warm up and there were no clouds in the sky. It was going to be a warm sunny day. You can see on our video how busy the pre-race staging location was.

Once were were off we were pretty tightly packed but that would open up as we progressed through the course. One big change for us was that the race was measured in kilometers instead of miles. It actually felt good to see race markers more frequently, although there were many more of them.

The first part of the race took you around the tomb of the Spartans. It is a quick out and back that adds the extra 1.2 miles that was added to the marathon distance in 1908 (the Queen’s mile). The spectators were great and they were handing olive branches out to runners along the route. We grabbed a few and stuck them in our hats.

The first water stop was at the 5 kilometer mark. It was needed as it was warming up. Luckily the water stations were closer the rest of the race. About 2 miles between each.

The course was a series of rolling hills but nothing too demanding from about the 5k (3 mile) mark until mile 10. After that the course was uphill, pretty much with no breaks until mile 20. The day was warming up and the trick was to stay hydrated. At each water station we grabbed a bottle of water (no cups of water) and drank a bit, poured some over our heads and then kept the bottle to keep sipping until the next water station.

Just before the halfway mark (mile 13/kilometer 21) there was a minibus with an Apostolos Greek Tours sign. There we were able to get a quick rest where we met up with a couple of other runners. We drank a cold can of Coca-Cola between us before setting off for the rest of the race. This tour operator really went above and beyond for our group.

With beautiful blue skies it was hot but we buckled down and kept running…uphill. We did take some regular walk breaks to allow us to stay on track. Many runners were down at the sides of the road for taking it too hard. Hey, we still had a vacation after this so we decided to just enjoy the views and the experience. Not to do any harm to our ourselves for the rest of the trip.

The small towns we ran through were all out to cheer us on. We were smiling despite the hills.

Finally around mile 20, we reached the top of the hill. You definitely know when you are there. There is no more ‘up’ left. From there it was downhill all the way to the finish. We were in Athens itself by then and it was definitely more of a city vibe with less crowd support. As we got closer to the finish line the crowds started to pick back up. The runners were well spaced apart at this point and so with no crowds it was pretty quiet other than the sounds of feet hitting the pavement.

As we headed closer to the finish line we started seeing some of the sites in Athens proper. We passed the Presidential Palace and the famous Presidential Guards and also past the amazing ‘Dromeas’ (The Runner) statue.

As we approached the stadium we could hear the crowds roaring. As we entered the stadium and ran the track to the finish line we held our hands high. What an amazing finish line and what an amazing experience.

Once across the finish line we followed the track around to receive our medals and make our way out from the stadium. From there we picked up our checked bags and met back up with the Tour group as they were able to set up a tent right by the side of the finish line. It was a place to sit and catch up with everyone we had met on our trip as well as have some food and drink while we waited for someone to take us back to the bus for our trip back to the hotel.

With Paul our tour group leader at the finish line tent

Back on the bus and admiring the medal we had just received.

Once back at the hotel we were able to shower and relax before heading down to have celebration dinner with the group. Everyone was celebrated and we were all awarded a small Greek amphora (urn) and a laurel wreath similar to the original Olympic athletes. This was followed by some traditional greek dancing with a local dance troupe and then a disco. Such a fun group and a fun night. The wine was flowing. You would never have believe any of us had been up since the crack of dawn and had run a marathon. This was a highlight of the tour.

The next day the tour took us to back to Athens for a tour of the Agora and some time in the Plaka. We decided that would be an opportunity for us to leave the tour for the day and then make our way back to our hotel by ourselves later in the day. We said goodbye to our tour guide as the 6-day tour was over and enjoyed time by ourselves shopping in the Plaka and a dinner reservation at a restaurant overlooking the Acropolis.

The next day we stayed with the tour for the extra day to visit the islands of Poros, Hydra and Aegina. We spent a lot of the on the ferry between the islands and caught up with the people we met on our trip. It was a long but relaxing day.

Our last day on the tour and a visit to the Temple of Hydra

The next morning the 12-day tour people got up early and left the hotel for the duration of their trip. We got up for an early run, had a relaxing breakfast and said our goodbyes to everyone before heading off to finish our vacation on the island of Santorini. It really is a picture postcard location. We loved it.

What a great trip. What a great tour operator. What a great experience. Put it on your bucket list!!!

Here is my recap video. While it documents our whole vacation (I am not forcing you to watch it all, the Expo is from 3:25 to 5:25 and the Race is from 7:07 to 25:47). It was an amazing trip.

I’m Still Standing…

November 6, 2022ianesenior 3 Comments

Hello…it’s been a long time. Can it really be over three years since my last post? To borrow from Elton John, “I’m Still Standing”. I’m here, I’ve just been a little absent for a while. I have a few exciting updates so I need to do a big omnibus ‘catch up’ post. Strap yourselves in, there is a lot to cover and I’ll try to do this quickly.

My last post on the 2019 New Jersey State Triathlon was published way back in September 2019 (and even that one was a bit late for a race recap). It is over three years later now and while the world turned upside down I was already a little behind in my race recaps and posts before everything shut down in March 2020. I guess that’s life. Now while I had plenty of ‘downtime’ due to race cancellations, life just got in the way. Focusing on family and work is more important than my ramblings on personal race experiences but people have reached out to see if I still exist and although there has been a gap I have indeed had some great race experiences since I last posted. WordPress knows I exist as my renewal notice for the blog/blog hosting just came up. Let’s get my money’s worth.

The only way I can really do this (and memory permitting) I’ll give a quick recap on where I left off up to the present and share a very exciting event coming up in November 2022 which is sure to be a once in a lifetime event for me.

So, having left you in July 2019 with a (late) race recap of the New Jersey State Triathlon, my calendar was as follows:

September 2019 – Bucks County Alternative Half Marathon

This was a do no harm race the week before the Ironman 70.3 Atlantic City. Actually, I had forgotten I had signed up for the race and I think the only reason I had signed up was that there was a ‘Star Trek’ theme. The race was easy and uneventful and I was happy with my result. I finished with a time of 2:01:21.

It helps when you have race gear to match the theme of a race. — It helps when you have running gear to match the theme of the race.

September 2019 – Ironman 70.3 Atlantic City

This was a big race for me. It was my goal race for the year and a chance to make good from my last half iron distance triathlon (remember, the one I ended up in the emergency room!!). It was a good race for me, while I did not break my goal time I still finished in 7:04:49 which still made me happy. It was hot by the time I made it to the run and I struggled in the heat but I was not disappointed in my swim nor the bike (even though it rained and I was terrified cycling up the AC Expressway).

First win….didn’t drown or get eaten by a shark.

Gritting my teeth on the bike. Either through fear or determination.

You cannot lose me in a crowd wearing this outfit but it still got me to the finish line.

November 2019 – Philadelphia Marathon

Pretty good day out on the course despite the cold, wind and rain. Not breaking any records but this was my 8th Philadelphia Marathon and I finished in 4:10:20 which I think is my 4th fastest of the 8 (to date) times that I have run in Philly. I always love this race as it was my first and I consider it my local run. I would do it every year if I could and hope to run this as long as I am able. In this race I received my medal from my friend Robyn who was volunteering at the finish who we both realized was standing next to Des Linden, the winner of the 2018 Boston Marathon and a two time US Olympic marathoner. Cool.

In early March my family and I ran a (very cold) local 4 mile ‘Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup’ race along the Delaware Canal. Little did I know that would be my only ‘official’ race of 2020…

The hot soup was a blessing after this near freezing race. We do look happy though.

AND THEN COVID…

March 2020 – Love Run Philadelphia Half Marathon – Cancelled

April 2020 – Rutgers Unite Half Marathon – Cancelled and race has not returned

May 2020 – Broad Street Run – Cancelled

May 2020 – Vermont City Marathon – Cancelled and Deferred (twice) to 2021….however

Although the race was cancelled, I continued to train (hey, I was working from home and had no commuting so had extra hours each day). While the race was still cancelled I decided to run the distance as a virtual race, so on the Sunday in May when the race would have originally taken place I headed to Warminster Community Park and ran multiple 2.33 mile loops. Around 14 miles in I was joined by my wife who ran the remaining distance with me. A local race director (RunBucks) saw my post on Facebook and rode up on his bike and cycled alongside us for the last 8 miles. As I crossed an imaginary finish line after 26.2 miles he pulled out a (none dated) race medal and awarded it to me. Awesome. So great to have such a dedicated running community here in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. A fun day to make up for a cancelled race.

With RunBucks race director Pat McCloskey

June 2020 – Rev3 Williamsburg Sprint and 70.3 Triathlon – Cancelled and Deferred to 2021

July 2020 – New Jersey State Triathlon – Postponed and Deferred to 2021 but ultimately, I did not participate in the event due to conflict (actually a great week away in Miami)

September 2020 – Ironman 70.3 Atlantic City – Postponed and Deferred to 2021

November 2020 – Philadelphia Marathon – Cancelled and Deferred to 2021

May 2021 – Dirty German Endurance Fest 50K

I had often thought about doing this race as my first ultra and first trail race but it always coincided with something like the Broad Street Run or was not really compatible with a training plan. This year, as there was nothing else I had planned and I had been running regularly, I decided a couple of weeks before the race to sign up. I had never run trail races before, did not have trail running shoes and then the weather was an absolute washout the day before leading into the race. I bought myself a couple of pairs of good trail running socks (one spare to keep in my bag in case I needed to switch half way as it was a two loop course), lathered my feet with Vaseline to keep them fairly waterproof (in addition to the rain and mud there were four stream crossings) and turned up with a positive attitude. I didn’t set any records that day (other than my first official 50K so a natural PR) but made a good showing. It was very muddy and hilly and at times I was running because of both gravity and worry that if I stopped, the wet mud would just take my feet from under me, but I had a great time. I finished in 7:07:09 and found muscles in my legs that I never knew existed before. Trail running is a completely different experience and there is a lot of balance involved compared to running on asphalt. The great thing about this race is that it was in Pennypack Park which is only about 30 minutes from my house. It’s an enormous park right in the north east of suburban Philadelphia, but you would never know it was there. It was so much fun. Oh, and muddy.

You had no choice but to get wet. The first of many crossings.

Not many options. Needless to say, the shoes did not make it back into the house when I got home.

June 2021 – Rev3 Williamsburg Sprint and 70.3 Triathlon

Finally…the redemption race. Returning to the scene of the crime. My goal was to stay on the bike and finish with no trips to the emergency room. Besides, my wife decided she wasn’t going to drive me there so I was on my own for this one. I decided to do both the sprint and half distance races again this year. Yes, stupid is as stupid does. I never learn. While the Sprint course was pretty much the same, the half distance bike course was different…and much hillier than last time. I did however stay on the bike the whole time so that’s a win. It was such a hot weekend. The water was so warm it was like soup, not wetsuit recommended. Saturday’s Sprint triathlon was fine. It was really an effort to just keep loose and get the nerves out. I finished the sprint in a time of 1:43:52 which was quicker than 2017 but then I found out after the race distance was a little shorter by just over a mile or so. Sunday, the day of the half distance, was why I was really there.

I had two great swims both days (it helped that there was a strong current for sure). The bike course for the half, as I said earlier, was a lot more hilly than the last time I raced. There were a couple of times when people were walking their bikes up the hill (me included). It was relatively flat in 2017…which I still managed to fall off. Anyway, by the time I made it to the run it was about 99 degrees in the shade which made it a long plodding half marathon. I finished in 7:29:42. Not my best and was about as long as it took to drive home in the horrendous traffic. At least I survived unscathed. Not many official race pictures but just evidence that I finished both races with a smile on my face.

Finishing the sprint on Saturday. Smiling.

Finishing the half iron distance on Sunday. Not so smiley.

I got two medals for my efforts this year. There was no challenge as in previous years so no third medal this time.

September 2021 – Ironman 70.3 Atlantic City

This was my attempt to beat my 2019 time. I didn’t but I still had fun. The swim was interesting this year. The tide was so low that people just got up and walked…in the middle of the bay. I was swimming and there was so much silt you could not see where you were going. You would feel the bottom of the bay with every stroke. Weird. The bike was uneventful (thankfully) and as nerve racking as it had been the previous year along the AC Expressway. The run was impacted again by the heat. It got to me bad this year and my time reflected that. I finished in 7:22:00. I can do better than that but still, I’m always glad to finish a race. This year, the finish line was on the beach which made for a unique and fun way to run into the finish line as I finished my fifth 70.3 distance triathlon.

No picture of me swimming this year but another great picture of me looking uncomfortable on the bike.

Such a cool finish line. Not easy to run on sand on tired legs but I don’t look like I’m unhappy about it.

Always nice to add another medal to the collection. This was my fifth 70.3 distance triathlon.

November 2021 – Philadelphia Marathon

You know me by now. Guess what…there was a challenge for this race weekend. The ‘Liberty Bell Challenge’. If you completed the half marathon on Saturday and the full marathon on Sunday you get another medal. Having done this type of challenge a number of times before (4 times at Disney and the inaugural ‘Rocky Challenge’ during the 2016 Philadelphia Marathon weekend) my wife just sighed and rolled her eyes as I told her I would be running both. This race had been postponed in 2020 and it would be the first marathon we were together as a couple since the 2019 Los Angeles Marathon.

Saturday’s race was smooth and uneventful. I ran the half in 2:05:26. The goal was to enjoy myself, finish without any injury and not beat myself up too much for the next days marathon. Mission accomplished. On Sunday my wife and I ran the full marathon together. This was my 9th Philadelphia Marathon and my wife’s 3rd. It was the first time she had run the altered course which takes a more scenic route through Fairmount Park and eliminates the horrible out and back near my 16-17 which I always hated. The day was fun and we supported each other well. We finished in 4:45:17 which is consistent with the two other times we have run this together.

At the finish line I received my second and third medal of the weekend. Another highlight is that we met Meg Keflezighi at the finish line. He is an Olympic Silver medalist at the 2004 games and finished 4th at the 2012 games. In all he has been an USA Olympian four times, three as a marathon runner. He has won the 2009 New York City Marathon and won the 2014 Boston Marathon (the year after the bombing). He’s an amazing person. This was really cool.

With my first medal after Saturday’s Half Marathon

With my Bride and Joy at the finish line. My second medal of the weekend.

With my challenge medal….they just keep getting bigger

Meeting Meb Keflezighi at the finish line.

May 2022 – Vermont City Marathon

After multiple deferrals (the race directors had tried to move the race to October each of the years) we finally got to run the Vermont Marathon. The course had been modified to limit the amount of volunteers that were needed to support the race (still just post COVID) so the route was a two lap 13.1 mile course. We took our youngest with us that weekend as the eldest (now a high schooler) had commitments with the high school marching band. He plays the bass drum…the big one!!! It also happened to be Memorial Weekend so we made a long weekend out of it.

We stayed in the race partner hotel so we didn’t have to leave to get to the expo…which was a good thing as the rains came down heavy that day although it did clear up later and it was an absolutely beautiful crystal clear blue sky for the rest of our time there. We did some touristy things with our youngest (I recommend a trip to the Vermont Teddy Bear factory) which was fun. He created a new buddy for himself and named it ‘Vermonty Python’. I’m proud he recognizes his heritage!!!

Race day was beautiful, running along Lake Champlain. The neighborhoods we ran through were amazing. Many of the residents were out cheering and spectating. Some provided refreshment stations. It was a hot day and they had freeze pops at one of the aid stations. It was great fun. We finished in 4:53:20. Did I mention it was hilly. People go to Vermont to ski.

The highlight of the trip (and kind of how I roped everyone in to the idea) was a trip up to the Ben & Jerry Factory after the race. Treats were had by all. We finished our night with a trip to the Von Trapp Family Brewery (yes, THAT Von Trapp Family).

I would highly recommend this race. The place is beautiful.

(Finally) Finishers of the Vermont City Marathon.

The beauty that is Vermont and Lake Champlain. Wonderful weekend weather. Perfect for a nice 26.2 run.

Let’s be honest…the only reason some people decided to make the trip.

So now the big reveal and the reason I have to catch up in an omnibus post. As I write this post my wife and I are three days away from heading to Athens, Greece to run the ‘Athens Authentic Marathon‘. It runs from ‘Marathon’ to ‘Athens’, celebrating the historic run of Pheidippides after the Battle of Marathon which inspired the modern day race. The race itself finishes in the original modern day Olympics stadium from 1896. The ‘Panathenaic’ Stadium. We are so looking forward to this trip and I cannot wait to share the details when we get back.

It’s nice to be back and thank you for your patience.

2019 New Jersey State Triathlon – Race recap

September 10, 2019ianesenior 1 Comment

This July was my fifth year (attempting) racing this event. My first attempt (my first triathlon) back in 2015 was cancelled mid race and in 2017 I had to withdraw following my bike injury in the 2017 Rev3 Triathlon. So this was my third finish. The weekend is split into a sprint triathlon on Saturday and an olympic distance triathlon on the Sunday. I was entered into the olympic distance event. I’ll sum this up quickly….it was HOT but I finished!!!

The weather conditions for the event this year…all were ‘outdoor activities’

It had not done much pool or bike work since last year’s event and it did show at the beginning of this training cycle. However, I was signed up for IM70.3 Atlantic City this coming September so I was using this as part of my training on my journey into the half ironman. Having completed the Los Angeles Marathon back in March I took April easy and started my triathlon training cycle in May this year. The goal was to use a 12 week training plan into this race and roll into the half ironman training for the balance of the cycle.

Going into race week we were in the middle of a sustained heat wave in the area. I kept looking at the temperatures hoping that there would be some relief. A couple of days before the event the race director sent out the following announcement:

“IMPORTANT EVENT UPDATE

We are excited to have you compete with us at the 2019 New Jersey State Triathlon. It’s set to be a hot one this year! Due to the warmer-than-normal conditions forecast this weekend, our operations team will be implementing the following course changes in consultation with local public safety officials:

Sprint Distance – Saturday, July 20
No changes to the swim and bike portions. The run course will be approximately 2 miles. The event will begin as planned at 7:30am.

Olympic Distance – Sunday, July 21
Athletes will complete a 750m swim, one loop of the bike course (13.5-miles) and a 5k run. The race will also start at 7:30am.

We sincerely appreciate the understanding and cooperation from all of our athletes as your safety is our paramount concern. Additionally a comprehensive heat plan will be instituted above and beyond the extensive medical support we have always provided on site.

We’re here for you and the whole New Jersey State Tri team are ready to support you having your best event yet! Good luck this weekend.“

Phew….Essentially they halved all the distances for the olympic triathlon.

My goal for this was to complete the distance. The weather was not going to be conducive to a hard effort and I was not in any danger of pushing anyone of a podium place. I’d use this as planned as an organized (and well catered) workout on the road to my half ironman.

On the day before the race I drove up to Lake Mercer (in Mercer County Park) to pick up my race packet. It was so hot. All the volunteers out in the sun were amazing for their dedication. Race packet was quick and easy (I had registered for the correct event this year) and I also took opportunity to register early for next year’s event. There were some iPads set up for early registration. Unfortunately they were left in the sun and were hot to touch…the one that still worked that is. I took advantage of the early discount for registering for 2020 and signed up for the olympic distance again, only to find out when I came home that we have family plans…luckily a quick email to the race director rectified my error and I was adjusted down to the sprint. Crisis averted. It was so hot I was literally dripping with sweat under the tented areas. It was dangerously hot. The New York City Triathlon was held on the same weekend and it had been cancelled completely for the safety of the athletes. We just had our distances cut back. I was good with the downgraded distance.

Attending race packet pickup – a view of the finish line for tomorrow’s race

Packet pickup was quick and easy

Transition all empty and quiet before the next day’s events

Lake Mercer – where we would be swimming tomorrow

All packed and ready to go the next morning

Arrived early with enough time to set up and try to relax

Early on Sunday morning I headed down to the race site, got to body marking and made my way into transition with enough time to set up my gear and have time to hit the bathrooms before transition closed. With my age group placing I was not due off until after 8am and the race started at 7:30am. Transition closed around 6:45 so I had plenty of time to walk around before the race. I took a Hammer Gel, some salt tabs and some water before heading out. It was still warm. The race was too warm to be wetsuit legal although that wasn’t really a factor as I’ve never used a wetsuit for this event. It’s usually too warm this time of year.

My gear is all set up

Ready to make a fun day of it

Finally my age group was called and we went across the timing mat and into the water to the sounds of ‘The Who’ blaring over the speakers. And then we were off.

I did my usual routine of watching everyone go, counting to ten and then setting of myself. The water was warm and visibility as usual was pretty much zero. I sighted pretty well but got bumped and battered a bit on the out part of the swim course. As I was on the back straight of the swim course I started to be passed by some of the faster female swimmers in the group behind but no major incidents. No one dug their fingernails into me this year!!! Once down the home straight I set my sights on the buoys marking the route to transition. Although the swim felt okay I didn’t seem to be making much progress to the swim exit but eventually I reached the swim exit and made my way to transition. Another example of my lack of training was that I pushed the stop button on my watch and not the lap button to move my GPS into transition mode. I noticed that before I jumped on the bike so I missed a couple of minutes but nothing major. My swim time was 22:09 (a 2:57/100m pace). Much room for improvement.

Transition was 6 minutes. I’m not going to move away from Injinji socks any time soon but that does take time each event trying to get the toes in the right place with damp feet 🙂 . At least this year I remembered to apply sunscreen before heading out on the bike. I grabbed a Lara Bar on my way out of transition and downed a couple more salt tabs before making my way out into the heat. I headed out on the bike course for what would now be one loop. I felt okay going out but towards the last couple of miles my legs were getting tired. It’s a flat course so there was nothing serious in terms of effort was required. I put this down to the heat. I was drinking plenty but I’m sure I was losing more than I was drinking. At this point I was happy to be done on the bike. Bike split was 52:25. Not my fastest. Time for the run.

Before I headed out to transition I took a couple more salt tabs, downed some more water and made my way out to the run course with my 20oz hand held water bottle. It was here with the current heat conditions that I was most grateful that the course had been cut in half. The normal 10K run starts with an out and back going left out of transition and the run for the most part is shaded as you approach the turnaround but with this heat 5K was enough for me.

The course winds around the boundary of the park and as it was close to the transition areas and finish lines there were crowds on this part of the course. Within the first mile volunteers were handing out towels soaked in ice water. Welcome relief for sure. I took a towel and squeezed as much water over my head as I could and placed it around my neck as I ran. Turning the corner I saw a trash can full of towels so naturally I thought we had to throw them away. Little did I know that there was another ice station ahead where we could re-wet the towels. Oh well, lesson learned. This part of the course is also an out and back. On the way out I could see that on the other side of the course cold showers had been set up for runners to pass through if they so wanted to cool down during the run. I’d think about it as I ran further out.

The volunteers on this side of the course were offering to throw water on our heads if we asked for it. I was stopping at each aid station for Nuun electrolyte fluid which during a 5K I would typically skip a couple of aid stations. Not today. I don’t recall seeing hoses spraying runners out on the course as in previous years but I’m writing this so long after I may be mistaken. Certainly they were very accommodating for the runners, trying to keep us cool and healthy.

After the turnaround you retrace your steps until you reach the finishing chute. I was so happy to see this and pumped to cross the finish line. Based upon the pictures below you can see I was more than relieved to be done. Run time 33:30. Let’s just put that down to the heat shall we?

Almost home

Finally!!!

Water was handed out to us as soon as we crossed the line. The race also had a mist tent beyond the finish line. Essentially a big tented area spraying cold water on participants. Let’s just say it was very well utilized. While we stood in line for the food tent, volunteers were handing out ice pops to all participants to help cool down. I grabbed my refreshments and headed back to the transition to sit for a while, catch my breath and try and cool down. Not easy.

Another finish line is always a reason to smile

As I was sitting in the transition area with the remaining participants who were still there we heard a ‘pop’ and someone pointed out that because of the heat, tire tubes were beginning to over heat and explode. Yes, it was that hot. I took my time to pack up and then made my way back out to my car where, once my bike was racked and my gear stowed, I sat in the car with the air conditioning blasting on me for about 10 minutes before I attempted to leave for home.

All packed up and ready to head home

CGI Racing put on a great event every year and their focus on runner safety is respectable. I’m a fan of their races and as already pointed out, I’ll be back again in 2020.

2019 Broad Street Run – Race recap

September 6, 2019ianesenior Leave a comment

This May I ran the 2019 Broad Street ~~Swim~~ Run. It’s 40th year. My third and the the first time since 2012 (pre this blog).

I had gained entry for this race without the need to go through the Broad Street Run lottery process as I had signed up for the Philadelphia Marathon. As the race organizers are now in charge of both races, if you register for the Marathon (or the Half) you are allotted a place in the race if you register before the lottery. I don’t think I would have entered if this had not been the case. This is the biggest race in Philadelphia and is very much an achievable distance for many people who do not want to run a half or a full marathon. With over 40,000 runners filling into a very narrow street it tends to get crowded. Very quickly.

The weekend forecast called for rain. Not just rain, but lots of rain. In fact, the local TV weather man was on TV showing people how to duct tape their shoes to keep their feet dry during the race. 😦 Hmmm….and I was already looking forward to this weekend so much!!!

I wasn’t able to get to the expo due to a family commitment and a friend who was also running grabbed my race packet and bib for me so I had to do nothing more than show up on the Sunday morning of the race and get to the starting line. With 40,000 people picking up bibs the expo would be jammed. The last time I ran this we were in line wrapped around the building waiting to go in. As this was the 40th anniversary of the race, the race shirt was a nice tech material. Typically they give out a cotton shirt and you have to pay a fee if you want a tech shirt. Surprising for a race of this size. A nice surprise was that my race corral was further up front than I had been placed in prior years so I would be off earlier. I used my 2017 Bucks County 10 Miler as my proof of time (1:22). That was my 10 mile PR so that helped propel me forward.

Having run a marathon in the rain and having done long training runs in the rain I wasn’t planning to duct tape my shoes but I would use my usual rain guard of putting vaseline generously over my feet and between my shoes. At worst I would have ruined a pair of socks but at best I would have blister protection for the run. I packed a poncho to wear before the race to keep me dry and I packed second poncho for after the race in my race belt. I was ready for the weather.

The race is a point to point race. You park at the sports complex nearby the finish line (which is about a quarter mile away at the Philadelphia Navy Yard) and take the subway up to the start line in Olney 10 miles away. The ride is free for runners wearing their bib in the morning.

It’s pretty much a straight run and mostly down hill

When I arrived at the sports stadium in the morning the rain and wind was pretty hard and steady. I wasn’t late but there were no parking spaces close to the subway entrance so I would have to stay as dry as possible just getting to the start line. I still had to make the journey to the start so I donned the first of my ponchos and headed to the subway station. People were out to make a buck and were selling rain ponchos in the parking lot for $5 a piece. I saw a few people shelling out money. I was happy with my $1 poncho from CVS (that I had a stash of for emergencies like this).

Arriving with plenty of supplies

Ready to make the dash to the subway station

I got to the subway a little damp and climbed aboard the first train that pulled in. It was just before 7am. It was an Express train to the start line. It was jam packed and already steamy with damp runners. Standing room only and then they added more people. The race start was 8am. I had about an hour to get to the start line and I was on the Express train. I figured I was going to make good time. Well, if this was an Express train I would hate to see how slow the Local train went. As I was getting out the subway I heard the National Anthem and I was still behind the back of the last corral. I made a hurried dash up front to my corral through the hoards of people without any opportunity to find a bathroom pre-race. Eek!!!

The rain was already steady and pooling on the sides of the road. It was going to be steady for most of the morning. We had to suck it up. My friend who had grabbed my race packet had bailed. I’m sure they were not the only one. So as my corral moved forward towards the start line I wished those around me good luck, ripped off the poncho and waited to get going.

It’s not a steep downhill but its a net downhill with a fast start. With such large groups of runners the first mile or two you are dodging in and out trying to find position relative to your pace. People who arrived late and were coming in from another subway station were jumping into earlier corrals which jammed things up a bit. Also…it was not the warmest day so this added to the overall fun LOL!!! By about mile 2 I needed to find a restroom but none were to be seen…I had to leave the course for a couple of minutes to get myself sorted out. Once back I joined the throng of runners and headed down towards Center City Philadelphia.

Between mile 5 and 6 (running by Temple University and City Hall) the rain really started to come down heavier. As you round City Hall the 6 lanes of runners compact into 3 lanes until reaching the other side. The sides of the road were beginning to pool heavily with rain water so if you took an inside line or were positioned on the left you pretty much were running through water until it opened up further down Broad Street. I’m glad I was very liberal with the use of vaseline on my feet. I was stuck on the inside 😦

Once you get past City Hall you are over halfway. Only another 4 miles to go. Broad Street always has great crowds and even in this weather people were out in force to cheer on the runners. That really helped as conditions were not the most fun. I was keeping a fairly consistent pace running between 8:30 and 8:45 minute miles through mile 8. However, I began to slow to 9 minute miles as we approached the last stretch.

As you enter the Navy Yard there is a sign overhead letting you know that you have another quarter mile to go. I dug in hoping to get under 1:30 hours and put in a sub 9 minute mile. I clocked 1:30:09. Oh well. Given the weather conditions and my physical conditioning (I’m a long way from my PR shape) I was happy with my time.

Finally finished but not quite out of the rain yet

Once through the finish line I grabbed my medal and my food bag and immediately pulled on the fresh poncho that I had been carrying with me through the race. BEST DECISION EVER. I saw everyone around me start to shiver as they cooled down after the race. It was windy and rainy and I was already wet but the poncho stopped me feeling any worse. It was too wet to start eating my food or taking any pictures (okay…I took a picture) but my focus was on getting back to my car, turning on the heat and getting out of my wet clothes. It was just under a half mile back to the sports stadium and I probably got my feet more wet than during the race as I walked back to the car. I had managed to miss any severe puddling during the run, not so lucky on my walk back.

Once dry(ish) in the car and in some dry clothes I sat back, enjoyed my post race refreshments and warmed up with my car heater on for a few minutes before heading home for a hot shower. Glad it was over. Glad I ran well. I am signed up for the Philadelphia Marathon in 2019 and probably will sign up again in 2020 but I may skip the free entry for Broad Street Run next go around.

Even my medal needed a towel to dry off

philly2goofy

…and all the miles in between

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Author: ianesenior

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2019 Broad Street Run – Race recap

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