Anyone running Philly?

[lukacseven]

Philadlephia Marathon & Half Marathon this Sunday. Rothman 8K on Saturday. Anyone else running? I do see alot of southeatern PA and NJ posters in this forum. Looks like this year's course, again, is slightly different. The approach to the finish line takes a different route and it also looks like the original route along South Street is being used because the construction is finally completed. I'll have a race report on Monday.

Hoping for better weather this year. Last year's conditions were in the high 30's - low 40's and cloudy/damp. The previous year rivaled last year's Disney Marathon weekend. Temps at the start line in the 20's and local businesses were tr__________g salt in to melt the ice on the course at the water stations.

 

[MCC1]

Sounds like you are running? If so - good luck! Look forward to the race report...I believe that event had a rough first year, but now has come into it's own...I'm in CT so may have to put that one on the calendar some day...

 

[lukacseven]

Philly has a couple of races, if you're interested...Broad Street Run is the 1st weekend in May - it's a straight point-to-point 10 miler that's mostly downhill. Runners park at Citizens Bank Park and ride the subway for free to the start line, then run back down and finish at the historic Naval Yard. Last year's race had over 30,000 runners.

The former Philadelphia Distance Run (now Rock 'N Roll Half Marathon) is in Septmeber (3rd weekend). It's a weak course, but since Rock 'N Roll took it over, there's alot better organization and some better entertainment.

The Marathon/Half Marathon is the weekend before Thanksgiving and is definintely the best course. Weather is iffy, but if you've never been here, this is a great race to see alot of the city. The start finish line is in front of the Art Museum (Rocky steps) and you run through the historic district, past Independence Hall, along the Delaware River, center city, college campuses, Zoo, Memorial Hall, trendy Manayunk (yes, there is a "beer stop").

 

[MCC1]

Thanks for the info...something to consider, my bro used to live outside philly (conshohoken I believe but don't hold to me any spelling!) so I've spent some time in those parts...10 miler sounds interesting as a pt to pt, doing the Cape Cod Relay the first weekend in May, but I think the phili race is the sunday before...

 

[vacationmadness]

I live in the Philly burbs. I just started running in July, doing my first half in January at WDW. I'll probably do the Broad St run next spring. I'd love to say that I'll be doing a full next November, but I guess we'll wait and see how everything goes.

Good luck this weekend and have fun!

 

[lukacseven]

Philadelphia Marathon Race Report: Temperature at the start 38 degrees, but conditions were very good for running. The race start utilized both the North and Southbound lanes of the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. The corrals were not very well policed, although I did see some runners display good judgement and even though they were in the forward corrals, they did wait to the side until their corral was called. There was a "crash" around mile 2. A poorly placed water stop directly after a sharp right turn onto Columbus Blvd. combined with the charging 3:30 pace group resulting in some big collisions. Spectator control in general was okay. At the 1/2 mile mark, where the full width of the parkway was used in the past, the spectators had creeped across the median and into the right 2 lanes, creating a very narrow bottleneck too soon after the start. There were also portions of Chestnut Street where the crowds had encompassed onto the street and caused the course to narrow, creating some bumping. There was no police or security to control this. Barrier palcement at several other ocations, such as the turn onto 34th St., the bottom of Black Hill, and the finish line area was very good. Specifically the finish line approach and set-up was much better this year. The security was improved, but still way too many spectators inthe "secure" runner's area eating the post race food. Like last year, use of headphones was acceptable and huge signage was placed at the course split area to visually direct you and inform you to remove them in that area in order to hear the verbal instruction. As always, the chicken soup at the finish line was awesome, but there were no water bottles, only half-filed cups. As for the course itself - this is by far the best Philly race for out-of-towners because it allows you the most time in the city itself and takes you past several of the popular and historic attractions. The other races use the "river loop" as the main part of their course, while the half marathon only has you on the river portion of the course for the final 2 miles.

 

[MCC1]

Thanks for the race report!