The top male finisher (overall winner of the full marathon) finished 26.2 miles 6 seconds faster than I finsihed the half marathon. As we approached the finish line the announcer kept telling us to move to the right as the winner (and several other marathoners) were coming up on our left to finish their races! Amazing!
Sign on the route "It's not sweat, it's your fat cells crying".
On the back of runners' t-shirts "Kidney Transplant 1999; 3 marathons since" and "26 years of arthritis; 26.2 miles to prove it didn't get me down"
Runners lining up at the start to high five Mayor Nutter.
Coming back along MLK Blvd between mile 11 and 12; a group of about 6 spectators with shirts that read "Free High Fives". And sure enough they were standing there with their hands out. I had to run over and slap them...
Running on South Street; just because we couldn't last year due to road construction
Comments from more than one runner that the message on the back of the philly fit tshirts are the best! (The message is "No Whining").
Comments from more than one runner that the signs Dave and I waved along Kelly Drive were the best ones in the whole race! Made the hours of agonizing over the second worth it!
I'm still basking in the glow of the whole thing. At the beginning of the race I was concerned that I would fall far short of any goals. I actually had teeth chattering chills at the beginning. Since it was warmer than last year I found that odd. Maybe last year I was just too frozen to notice? The other issue was my right shin and ankle were cramping in the first mile. This migrated up my leg to my hip so I pulled over at mile 2 and stretched. Fortunately that seemed to do the trick.
I'm so looking forward to 2010 when I will be responsible for USAFit Philly and seeing the group work their way toward and succeed in the 2010 Philadelphia Marathon and other assorted races. It will be very rewarding especially to see how many new runners we can help!
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