I had a fantastic time yet again at the Philly Marathon, mostly because I was running with my dad. He finally hit the wall for the first time in his fourth marathon (as opposed to me hitting the wall halfway through my first marathon). He toughed it out though and held it together for a very solid finish in 3:44.
This was my fourth time running Philly, and I have grown very fond of this race. I realized that it is starting to become something of a tradition, as I’ve now done it 4 of the past 6 years.
The race has grown a lot over the years to 25,000 people and has 65% more marathon finishers than when I first ran it in 2006. Despite that, the race is still incredibly well organized and has maintained a great feel. I find it to be an excellent middle ground between a small low key race and the mega marathons (e.g. NYC and Chicago) that are cool but can be a huge hassle.
If you are looking for a fall marathon, Philly is a good choice for someone shooting for a PR and is just a great race in general. If you do find yourself running it, I highly recommend the semi-official beer aid station that you hit at miles 19 and 21.
Now I need to take it easy for a little while to let the legs recover from building up the mileage and intensity quickly. I’ll still plan to run hard at the Turkey Trot, but otherwise I will definitely back off for a bit.
Comments
If you like Philly, you should give Twin Cities a whirl sometime. I plan on running the full again in 2013... join me!