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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
philly2goofy 