The second half of the Philly marathon was markedly different that the first- after we passed by the Museum of Art, we ran along the north shoreline of the Schuylkill River out for about 6.5 miles and back basically along the same route.  I had to take the typical Rocky picture in front of the stairs before we headed  out on a lovely run through trees & mountains.

I’ve shared before that I need food while running long distances & Stephanie decided she needed 2 Dunkin Donuts at mile 17 for energy to finish the race.  I loved running through all the scenic fall leaves & past some more cool paintings.

Another one of my absolute favorites from the race- the waterfall, the  historic old bridge, the beautiful fall leaves all make for a stunning photo.

We had such a great race together- laughing, dancing, chatting, singing the whole way.  We took our time to take pictures, say hello to friends along the way, walk/drink through most of the water stops.  It wasn’t until the last 5 miles where I could tell we had a chance to make it under 5 hours that we picked up the pace & started getting serious.  I loved how the finish line was along Benjamin Franklin Parkway with the city skyline as a beautiful backdrop.

We ran our second whole marathon together & finished at 4:58:52  & felt great!  The race photogs even snapped such a great photo of us crossing the finish line that I had to pay their outrageous fee for it- I’ll post those in a few days.

We hung out along the finish line waiting for her roommate & students to finish.  Through an amzing program called Students Run Philly Style, Stephanie’s school had over 10 kids running the full and half marathon.  They train with them after school and on weekends, and it’s such an amazing thing for these kids to accomplish at such a young age.

Just wanted to include the official race course map showing the first quarter through downtown & old town, the second quarter through Fairmount Park & the second half as a switchback along the river.

Although we started about 25 minutes behind the official gun, my chip time was just under 5 hours.  I really liked their medal- the capital building is a great icon & the ribbon itself is very pretty.

~~Doesn’t the concept of “Life as Art” sound compelling?  I’d love to take this photography workshop that is coming to Houston from NicoleV~~

GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY:  Back at home from another adventure weekend- looking forward to 3 weekends at home before Christmas & New Years.

Last weekend, I traveled to Philadelphia to visit my best friend & run the Philadelphia marathon with her.  I’ve got lots of other pictures, but I downloaded the marathon pics off my small P&S first.  The race started off cold- about 35 degrees and a little breezy.  The sunrise was glorious against the beautiful skyline.

We started out running down Benjamin Franklin Park into the city, around the Love sculpture, passing by City hall, around Reading Market & then through Independence Park.

I got so many great shots over the 26.2 miles- especially this one as we were coming up along the waterfront with the crisp blue skies & the gorgeous bridge.

We ran along the waterfront, down the colorful bar-lined, South Street- by lots of spectators & a few firemen.

Back towards old city and into town, passing by Independence Hall & city hall again- there were so many beautiful trees with all brilliant shades of fall colors.

The first half of the marathon was incredibly scenic & there were so many things to look at as we ran by the zoo, the WaWa corner with liberty bell sculptures, beautiful murals on the walls and fun Amtrak trains.

Crossing over the Schuylkill River was another one of my favorite photos- the calm morning reflection of the bridge & the brilliant blue skies- all while running!

The next neighborhood we headed into was around Drexel and the University- the frat boys were hanging out on their porch drinking at 8 AM.

Running a bit further, we were in the Fairmount Park area with the Touch & see Museum, more beautiful fall foliage and a stunning sculpture we ran through before running alongside the river.

Heading towards the end of the first half & where the half-marathoners finished, we approached the starting line & the back of the Museum of Art from across the river.  It’s truly a stunning building & I love all the boathouses lined up for the rowers on the river.   More great pictures to come from the second half of the marathon…

GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY:  Had an awesome day exploring hill country wineries with my husband.