Philadelphia Marathon Report

[Kristia]

Hey all! I am back home after a quick trip to Philly for my 3rd marathon and 1st non-Disney Marathon. After not having done well at my last Disney marathon after training really hard, I wanted to do another marathon to prove it to myself that I could do it and have a much more respectable time. I picked a race that was fairly close to home so that I would be training and running a race in basically the same conditions.

We left home for Philadelphia on Saturday afternoon. Philadelphia is only about an hour from my house. Technically we could have stayed at home but the race start was at 7 am and due to increased security they wanted runners to the start line around 5 am. We decided early on, that we would stay in the city on Saturday night and also Sunday night so we could have a good dinner and rest before sitting in the car for an hour to get home.

We arrived at the expo and and picked up our race packets around 3 pm. I thought that the expo would be winding down since it was only open till 7 pm. Boy was I wrong. It was soooo crowded! The bib and shirt pickup was nicely and conveniently run. In no time we had our packets and walked around the expo. Grabbed some freebies and got out. It was an ok expo but I still think the Rock and Roll expo is the best I have been too. It was cool to see Hoka there though!

Sorry for the short start. More to follow soon.....

 

[Kristia]

We stayed at the Le Meridien hotel on Arch St in Center City. It was a pretty fancy hotel but I got a pretty good price on hotels.com. We felt a bit odd going in because they were having a black tie affair that night and everyone was dressed in gowns and tuxes.



The room was tiny but had very modern décor and was nice and clean.


After checking in, we went to Marabella Meatball Co. for a pre-race pasta dinner. Many restaurants in the area offer a marathon special. Most require reservations but when I went online to check, Marabella didn't appear to take reservations. When we arrived, they asked us if we had a ressie and we didn't but they seated us anyway. Glad we got there early since everyone after us who came in without a reservation was only allowed to order for takeout.

Upon checking in to the hotel, the hostess had told us that the hotel would have a complimentary breakfast for runners starting at 5 am to 6:45, so we didn't worry to much about stopping to pick up water and such at the convenience store. We went to bed early as we had an early morning to look forward too (although not as early as Disney!).
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We awoke at 4:15 and got ready for the day. We went down to the lobby for breakfast at 5 am. We entered the area wear the breakfast was supposed to be, but there was only a bowl of bananas and some coffee. Hmmm...we must be a bit too early. There were other runners mingling about waiting for some food. We ran back to the room to gather the rest of our stuff and went back down at 5:15. Still just bananas and coffee. I was not too happy. Luckily I had grabbed my Luna bar, just in case but we still didn't have water.

The start area was about 5 blocks from the hotel and luckily we passed a 7-Eleven along the way and we were able to pick up a couple bottles of water.

Security was great. There were two gated entry points that only runners could enter. With 30,000 people participating, I was worried that the lines would be crazy but they moved quickly. Port-o-pot lines were tolerable in the beginning but soon grew quite long. People are funny. They lined up in these huge lines at either end of the row of potties. Someone gave us the heads up that if we went to the middle of the row there were no lines. Sure enough... the lines were only 5 people long. People really are sheep. If they see a line, they figure they must stand in it! Thank you to the guy who told us where to go or we would have been standing there as well.

Dan and I were in the very last start corral with an estimated finish of 5:30.

Hangin' out.....waiting...





We couldn't have asked for better temps in late November. It was about 50 degrees that morning and a bit foggy and overcast. The race started promptly at 7 am but we still had to wait about a half hour till our corral started.

Corrals are starting to move! We can see the Center City skyline in the distance.




Art Museum behind us. It was funny...as we were standing in our corral we noticed the Mile 26 marker was right next to us. We would be coming full circle in almost 6 hours.



Yay! Almost time for our corral!


As with almost every large race in Philadelphia, Mayor Michael Nutter came out to support us. He was at the start of the race giving out high-fives and stayed till the last runner finished and gave high-fives at the end as well. I appreciate a mayor that supports these events not just in words only but stands out there for 7+ hours, cheering all of the participants on. What a great guy!

More tomorrow!

 

[Ariel484]

Woohoo, almost race time! Smart of you guys to get the hotel for both nights. That stinks about the "breakfast" though! Can't wait to hear more about the race.

 

[JillC LI]

So far great report! I'm surprised that's all a fancy place like Le Meridien offered you for breakfast. We stayed at the one in NYC once for a wedding and it was so posh. There was a tiny little hamburger joint off the lobby that is know to be one of the best burger spots in NYC - did they have one in Philly too?

 

[Kristia]

So far great report! I'm surprised that's all a fancy place like Le Meridien offered you for breakfast. We stayed at the one in NYC once for a wedding and it was so posh. There was a tiny little hamburger joint off the lobby that is know to be one of the best burger spots in NYC - did they have one in Philly too?

Normally, they don't have any breakfast but were "having a special breakfast for the runners". I wish they hadn't have even told me. I wasn't expecting anything till they said something. The Philadelphia hotel has a restaurant/bar called Amuse that is connected to the hotel. I looked into reservations for Sat night but there were none available probably because of the event taking place. Amuse was quite pricey too so I guess it was better we went for the meatballs. The place we went for meatballs was rated highly by Zagats and they were quite yummy!

 

[Kristia]

Before we start the race, here is the map of the course. We really covered a good portion of the city but the were a couple out and backs that were eh. The big out and back was the whole second half of the course where we ran all the way to Manyunk and back again! Except for a small portion where we ran over the Falls River Bridge and back, it was pretty much 6 miles up and 6 back.



So we started out well and ran up Arch St. We even ran right by our hotel.


Between miles 1 and 2, we saw our fan club, my sis and niece.



The course incorporates a lot of the landmarks that can be seen around Philly. I didn't take a lot of pictures of places that we see along the Rock and Roll course but we passed by Love Park, The Liberty Bell and Christ Church.

As we were approaching the Delaware River and the Penns Landing area, we were running just ahead of the 5 hour pace group but then Dan had to take a potty break. They passed us by but that was ok since I didn't think we would be able to finish in 5 hours although that would have been nice. We were still well ahead of the 5:30 group. I thought I had gotten some better pics along the river but I guess not. This was the only one I got. There are a bunch of restaurants along Columbus Blvd and employees had come out to cheer us on. I saw a few chefs out there too. Very cool!



We ran along Front St which has some very cute houses. All along the marathon course, the spectators are awesome. I saw at least 5 people along the course that held out boxes of tissues. There were people who made brownies and cupcakes and there were people who had tubs of pretzels. Everywhere you went there were people cheering.

Up next was South St. This is a very unique shopping district with little shops, pubs and restaurants. You see some very interesting characters here during business hours.







We turned from South St. onto 5th St and headed towards Independence Hall.



We were at Mile 5 and both feeling good. We were keeping up a just under 12 min/mile pace even with a 1 minute walk break every mile.

 

[Kristia]

Kelly and Hayden met us again between mile 5 and 6. We were on our own after that. She had a party to go to so was unable to stay. Kelly said Hayden had a ball high-fiving the runners.

We left Old City and were on our way to University City home of Drexel University and parts of the University of PA.



On 34th St, we ran by Drexel Frat Houses, where either the beer was flowing early or was still flowing from the night before. One house had a ton of guys outside giving us high-fives. They were quite "exhuberant" and the smell of beer was thick in the air!

A lot of these houses are frat or sorority houses. I think the fancy stone one on the left was the house that smelled strongly of beer.


Another fancy frat house.


We knew we were starting to get close to the Philadelphia Zoo when we crossed this bridge with some neat animal artwork.

 

[Kristia]

34th St was almost entirely uphill. Dan started feeling a little fatigue but it wasn't too bad. Thankfully as we approached the zoo the course sloped downhill and we had some recovery time.







Some cool houses on our way to the Fairmount Plateau.



The Please Touch Museum -


Very cool sculptures outside the museum -




At mile 10 there was another big hill. Dan was really starting to feel it. I felt the hill, but still felt pretty good. It was neat to run through here since it is the same area we do the Merrell Down and Dirty Race every summer. Dan said the hills really took it out of him and he had trouble recovering after this. After the uphill portion, there is a nice downhill as we went towards the Schuykill River (said like Scoo-kill).





We ran along the river (same area we run for the Rock-n-Roll Half). We also started seeing signs for Half Marathoners to stay to the right and Marathoners to the left. Tough to know that half of the runners would be finishing while we had to keep going. Dan was really starting to have some labored breathing at this point and wasn't recovering as well during the walks. He told me after we finished that he was actually considering just ending it with the half since he wasn't feeling it. We were still hadn't seen the 5:30 pace group so I was feeling good about our pace.

City Skyline in the distance


Art Museum across the river

 

[Kristia]

My pics uploaded to photobucket in a strange order. This was one of the nice sculptures along Lincoln Dr before we got to the Art Museum.



At this point, we began the uphill trek to the Art Museum where we would part ways with the Halfers.



Now comes the out and back. When we had been on the other side of the river we could see the out and back and how there were a lot of people already heading on the back portion to the finish. Now we were on the out portion. There are still a lot of spectators on this portion but not nearly as many as there are on the first half of the course. We had to run 7 miles out till we got to turn around for the final stretch.

Some more sculptures




By the time we reached mile 17 and the Falls River Bridge, Dan was really feeling exhausted. We had been walking more and when I would start to run he would quickly fall behind. He took a potty break. While he was taking a break, the 5:30 pace group passed by. I started feeling a little stressed because I really wanted to finish in about 5:30. We ran over the bridge and did the short out and back at that portion. Despite it being 60 degrees now, Dan was having trouble catching his breath when running and his hands were freezing. I was really concerned about him. He told me that he just needed to walk more and for me to go on ahead. I felt really bad leaving him but I think I was stressing him out by running ahead and stopping to wait. He was trying to keep up and it was just making it worse.

At mile 18 we decided to part ways and see each other at the finish.

Trekking on by myself into Manyunk.




The crowds in Manyunk were great! There was even a group handing out beer (not something I really want when I am running). Everyone was so friendly and encouraging. Our names were on the bibs and everyone was yelling our names as we passed. I should have taken some pictures here but I think I was pre-occupied. After I hit the turnaround, I was keeping my eye out for Dan. Somewhere around mile 20, I saw him. He was feeling much better and his hands were warming up. He was walking more and starting to recover. That made me feel better. He told me to "Go get em" and I was off again.

I think I really started getting tired around mile 23. My feet were aching and I had to take longer walk breaks. I did manage to catch up with the 5:30 pace group. Woohoo!

I stopped for some pretty scenery.


Finally! I can see the city. I am getting close. I kept playing leap frog with the pace group but they finally overtook me when they switched to a fresh pacer. I think they were running a little behind and the fresh pacer picked it up a bit. They had lost most of their group between mile 23 and 24 I think!



And finally the finish! That is the mayor that is standing towards the middle of the picture in front of the couple heading to the finish. I gave him a high-five as I went through. Dan told me that when he finished he shook his hand and thanked him for staying out here for the late finishers.

 

[Kristia]

I got my medal (yay!) and went for the post race refreshments. There was plenty of room to sit outside the refreshment area and waited for Dan. About 20 min later, my phone went off to let me know he had just crossed the finish. I finished in 5:33:28 and Dan finished in 5:54:32. We had our picture taken with our medals. I can't believe I forgot to get unofficial pics with our medals. I think we just wanted to get back to the room! Dan said that he thought that this would be his last marathon. He was ed that he didn't do as well as he had wanted. If I like the pic of us at the end I will probably buy it. Pics are supposed to be up on Friday.

Here's the bling! It was the 20th Anniversary of the race so I was hoping for something a little more eye-catching. They were big though.
Front


Back


The long-sleeve tech shirts were pretty nice.


The back of the shirt has an outline of the course with some of the highlights.

 

[JillC LI]

Great report Kristi. I love how you and Dan each were so supportive of one another's individual needs and goals. How did you know what all those buildings were that you photographed? All in all, you did fantastic!

 

[Ariel484]

Congratulations to you and Dan!! Awesome report!

I'm sorry Dan was having a hard time during the run. Glad he was able to finish safely.

Looks like a really cool course! I love that tech shirt...I'm a sucker for race shirts with the course map on the back. Very cool that the highlighted some of the notable landmarks.

Here's the bling! It was the 20th Anniversary of the race so I was hoping for something a little more eye-catching. They were big though.

You're just spoiled by your 20th anniversary WDW medal!

 

[Kristia]

Great report Kristi. I love how you and Dan each were so supportive of one another's individual needs and goals. How did you know what all those buildings were that you photographed? All in all, you did fantastic!

Thanks Jill! We live relatively close to the city and I have been going to different places there throughout the years so I know my way around pretty well. It is neat though to run and see all the places in one day going routes that you wouldn't normally take (and didn't know you could take) to tie all the places together.

Congratulations to you and Dan!! Awesome report!

I'm sorry Dan was having a hard time during the run. Glad he was able to finish safely.

Looks like a really cool course! I love that tech shirt...I'm a sucker for race shirts with the course map on the back. Very cool that the highlighted some of the notable landmarks.

You're just spoiled by your 20th anniversary WDW medal!

I loved the shirts although Dan liked last years color better. It was a more "manly" gray. I guess I was spoiled by the WDW medal. I am just so jaded now!

Just like me after the Goofy (when I said I would never do it again), Dan has vowed to do another marathon and try to redeem himself. I am having deja vu!!

 

[LindsayLoves]

Great report and once again kudos on the PR, I know it wasn't exactly what you were going for but you did awesome! Super cool of the mayor to hang out at the finish line, you would never see that in NYC.

I like how only a few days out and Dan has changed his tune on marathons.

 

[Kristia]

@LindsayLoves - I was pretty happy with my time. I would have loved to be closer to 5 but I am happy that I bested my best previous marathon by 1:15. I wish Dan had been able to finish with me but we both needed to split I think. Its funny, he was talking about about doing another on the way home the next day so it wasn't even a few days out! He has been going over and over why he felt so crappy and the only thing we can come up with is maybe dehydration or electrolyte issues. It is odd he was feeling bad before we even passed the halfway point because we have done that distance many times. Oh well, just wasn't his day.

 

[bethram]

Congratulations again on your PR! I'm sorry Dan had issues, but it sounds like a good race overall.

 

[Sumrdog]

Congratulations! Thanks for the awesome report. I have never been to Philadelphia it looks like a really neat city!

And the mayor; what a nice guy!

 

[Kristia]

Congratulations again on your PR! I'm sorry Dan had issues, but it sounds like a good race overall.

Thank you!

Congratulations! Thanks for the awesome report. I have never been to Philadelphia it looks like a really neat city!

And the mayor; what a nice guy!

Thank you! It is a neat city to visit and the spectators are great!

 

[Hannah1284]

Congrats! I did the half -- it was a brutal race for me. The "cold" in the AM and the two big hills just did me in.A Also the poor training and Hershey Half four weeks prior definitely had their effect. Glad you were able to finish strong and do so well!

 

[Kristia]

@Hannah1284 Thanks Hannah! I didn't know you did the Hershey Half too! @fmingo36 and @JillC LI and I were there too. I thought the temp was perfect in the morning. I brought a throw away but I ended up keeping it with me and just tied it around my waist. The hill by the Belmont Plateau was definitely a tough one and I think that one and the second one really did Dan in.