Philadelphia Marathon - one year later

We had an opening night at our theatre the night before the Philadelphia Marathon. So I didn't get to bed until 11:30 pm. I still could have gotten 5.5 hours of sleep - enough to get through the day on Sunday - but that didn't happen. It was one of those nights that I just kept staring at the clock. Midnight, 1 am, 2 am - I think I got about 2.5 hours of sleep Saturday night. But still, when my alarm went off at 5 am, I jumped right out of bed, feeling wide awake. I knew I eventually was going to crash - it was just a matter of when.

I washed up, grabbed my bag full of goodies and first aide for the runners, the signs I had made, bundled up and made my way to the train station. The train got into Market East train station at 7 am which was the time the marathon was scheduled to start. My first stop was going to be just past mile 5 on Chestnut St. and 6th St., right by Independence Hall. In that six block walk the winds picked up and swirled some of the drizzle around, making it feel even colder than the temperature actually was.

Center City - Mile 5:
I arrived at the corner to see two volunteers who looked like high school students with a clipboard and about 5 cones not set up yet. Traffic was still going down both Chestnut and 6th streets, No police cars in site to close down the roads. I was confused - did they change the course? Did I miss something? After all, it was after 7 am - the race should be underway and being just past mile 5, those Kenyans leading the race could have been there in 25 minutes. Then, I saw a bunch of cop cars with flashing lights coming down Sixth Street (the wrong way on a one way street with traffic still on it) in front of the lead wheelchair marathoner. The volunteers moved the cones to block off any more traffic from coming onto sixth street and the cops cleared the traffic from Chestnut.

Minutes after three wheelchair competitors rolled by was the lead pack of men - about 7 of them. Yes, they were all Kenyans as suspected with the excpetion of one guy - don't know where he was from but he was white. They all glided along the streets like gazelles - it's amazing how fast they were. At this point I had bumped into a guy on a bike who was waiting for the lead women. I was as well as a member of my triathlon team was a woman in contention for an Olympic trial spot. Turns out this guy was the owner of one of the sponsors of my triathlon team and we were both waiting for Abby to run by. So we chatted for a bit - then we saw Abby run by - looking strong - one of the first women on the course.

He went on his way and I waited. At this point, PJ had met up with me as well as Dina and Karen - both from my running group. Now there were throngs of runners turning the corner - there were so many people for me to look out for but it was impossible to pick people out in this crowd. Fortunately, one person I was waiting for, Mike, saw me and screamed my name. Then, a few minutes later, a group of Phillyfitters (my running group) we were waiting for came by. At this point, it was about 8:30 am and the four of us walked a few blocks to PJ's car to make our way to the 9 mile mark.

Fairmount Park: Miles 9 - 12
After navigating road closures and parking in the hood, we made it to mile 9 just in the nick of time to catch Jenna and the other phillyfitters. While the runners ran up a hill and did a big loop in fairmount park by Memorial Hall to come back down along West River Drive on the way to the halfway point, we only had to walk about 50 yards to the 12 mile mark along the river. Not many spectators were at this spot, so we decided it was time to step it up. All the signs came out, noise makers, my cup with twizzlers for the runners, and lots of shouting. At this point, my Tri teammate Mare met up with us to join in the spectating.

After Jenna and crew ran by us at mile 12, we split up - PJ, Dina and Karen went back to his car to move it again closer to the finish line. Mare and I decided to walk along the route - up the river to the art museum which was the half-way point as well as the finish. We got to the finish line just as the clock was nearing the 3 hour mark. It was great seeing these runners on top of their game, achieving their goal of finishing a sub 3 hour marathon - a fete I couldn't imagine. Then we continued on, going down Kelly Drive which was the out and back for miles 14 - 26 for the marathoners.

Kelly Drive: Miles 14-18 going out and Miles 22-26 coming back
Mare and I ran into one of our Triathlon teammates who ran the half-marathon and had set a PR. As we continued on she ran into another person from her running club and hung with her as I continued to walk down the course. I had promised Jenna I would run her in, just as she had run me in the previous year. At this point, I was catching runners who were in the last miles, trying to get a sub-4 hour time. Alot of them looked to be in pain. After passing mile 25, there were very little spectators on the course. So as I continued to walk, I started shouting to the runners again. It was odd to be outside on the drive, next to the river with hundreds of runners yet the only thing to be heard was my voice. I decided to pull out the "Say No to Chafing" sign I had created (which Jenna and crew made for last year's marathon) and I filled up my cup of twizzlers. I caught the eye of most runners with the sign, seeing lots of smiles and chuckles and was constantly refilling my twizzlers cup - it was a big hit with the runners. At mile 24.5, PJ and Beth (who had just come in from Atlantic City) met up with me and continued walking down with me for a bit.

At this point I had gotten a text from Jenna saying she was at mile 18 and was now running alone so as far down as I could meet her would be appreciated. PJ and Beth wanted to turn around and start walking back to the finish so they could be there when Jenna came in, so I gave them my coat, bag, and jeans and got ready to head further down along the course to find Jenna. Just as I started running down, a cop car came onto the course heading out, which signaled to me that the gentleman in front of the car was the last runner in the marathon. I decided I was going to try and run with him until I met up with Jenna.

So I met Ed. Ed was 61 years old. This was his first marathon. When he was 50, he wanted to run one but got very busy. When he turned 60, he decided it was time to put this thought into action. We talked about training, proper recovery time, proper nutrition. I gave him encouragement heading into Manayunk. He was a little concerned about the hills in Manayunk but I assured him the roughest climbs were behind him at that point. We ran together for about a mile or so when I ran into Jenna heading back. This was just past the 22 mile mark for her and just after the 17 mile mark for Ed. I gave Ed a big hug and told him he was doing great and he was going to finish his first marathon.

Jenna was running faster than Ed, obviously, so as I turned around, I had to pick up the pace a bit. I don't know how Jenna felt about it, but it seemed like these last 4 miles flew by. We just chatted the whole time. She was running a steady pace - passing quite a few people. If she was in pain she wasn't letting it show. Just before we got to mile 26, we ran into PJ and Beth. That put a big smile on Jenna's face. Another reason to smile was that she was going to reach one of her goals - to beat Katie Holmes time from the NYC marathon 2 weeks ago. So with only a few hundred meters to go, I pulled out to run behing the gates as Jenna quickly picked up her pace, sprinting to the finish in the chute. She looked good and strong and she nailed it! She set a PR by over 25 minutes! I was so proud of her. It was a smart race for her and she accomplished something huge. Abby, my triathlon teammate, also achieved her goal and qualified to run in the women's olympic qualifying marathon in Boston in April! She finished in 2:45 I believe (she needed a sub 2:47 performance). I think she did even better than Lance did in New York!

It was a cold day - remained in the low 40s with a nippy wind and rain. I ended up walking a total of 12 miles that day and ran about 5 miles. I had slept for 2.5 hours and had only eaten a slimfast bar. I may not have run the marathon, but I was wiped out by the time I got home at around 2 pm. I really enjoyed spectating, connecting with the runners, making them laugh, helping them get through it. I'm also glad that i'm taking a break from doing marathons in 2008 to focus more on triathlons. Not that triathlons can't be rough on your body - but the two marathons i've done were just too painful for my liking. I know i'll get back out there and finish another 26.2 - but that will have to wait until 2009.

If you ever have the opportunity to go and spectate at a race - do so, even if you don't know anybody running it. And when you go, don't be a passive spectator. The runners feel and can feed off your energy, and especially in those later miles, they need that. I know that is the only way I got through that awful climb at mile 23 up 5th Ave in New York - it was the spectators keeping me in it. The No Chafing sign and twizzlers are going to be a permanent fixture at the Philadelphia Marathon for now on along West River and Kelly Drive. So if you want to come out to Philly next year to run - look for the No Chafing girl on the sidelines!