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.
Congratulations!! Looks like a great time, and obviously a great accomplishment. Very cool!