3rd State in the books. 47 States to go. This is not my first time running this race. But it is the fastest I’ve run this course. So in 3 races I have managed to set a new personal best. While I don’t believe I’ll be setting a personal best 50 times, I do have goals I’d like to get too. Getting Sub 1:40 was my first goal this year and getting sub 1:30 was another goal. Right now I don’t anticipate a sub 1:20 in the next two races but I do hope to continue to stay under 1:30. This will probably be the best race I run all season for numerous reasons:
- Philadelphia, it’s my favorite city. It’s home to all my favorite sports teams.
- I get to run this with family: sister, older cousins (male and female).
- They serve Chicken Broth!
But onto the review of 2017 Philadelphia “Half” Marathon
Expo Review: I will admit, I had higher expectations for Philadelphia’s finest race of the year (sorry to Love Run, Chocolate Run, Rock N’ Roll, Broad Street). Maybe it was because I got to the expo later in the evening but there was a lot to be desired. There weren’t as many vendors in the past. The samples were minimal. But next year is the 25th year, so hopefully it’s better next year.
Sneaker Review: I once again ran in the Nike Zoom Fly. 880848-401. It will continue to be the shoe I run in for these half-marathons. Hopefully I’ll someday get my hands on the Vaporfly 4%. There were a lot of runners wearing either the Zoom Fly or the Vaporfly 4%. I did creep a few photos but it was amazing to see how many runners trusted Nike’s newest runner. A gentleman I approached about the Vaporfly 4% said that he only runs races in them and does his training in other shoes since they aren’t meant for training.
Course Review: There was a course redesign from last year. There were less hills. It was a very fast course. Fortunately for the Saturday [half-marathon] runners, the course wasn’t slick and the wind wasn’t as strong. But for the Sunday [full-marathon] runners, the roads were probably slick cause of the run and the wind was very strong. The course was scenic and let you run down and near iconic Philadelphia landmarks: South street, Independence Hall, Center City, Fairmount Park to name a few.
Closing Thoughts: Is it bad if I am considering running the half-marathon and Rothman 8K on Saturday and running the full-marathon on Sunday? It’s an option. The committee has options for individuals to run both the half and full over the weekend or the 8K and full for the 2018 Philadelphia Run. If you’re new to running, looking for a USATF certified course, or looking for a really fun race, I highly recommend it. Between Philadelphia and Baltimore Running Festival these are two races I think I want to do every year from here on out. I’m off to Rehoboth Half-Marathon on December 2nd. Here we go.