After touring the city all day yesterday on foot – not to mention I ended last weekend’s race in Charlotte, ankle wrapped in ice (Achilles injury) – didn’t know what to expect today physically. Mentally however woke STRONG & ready to run.
Hoteled downtown, only a mile from today’s race start/finish (just past Rocky near the Philly Museum of Art).
Hilly course, lotta runners…super crowded field. Windy weather, layered up, wore gloves entire race. Philadelphia Mayor Nutter shook every Finisher’s hand. Super classy. LOVE LOVE my Liberty Bell finishers medal. Additionally, hotel allowed late check-out, so caught a shower before hurrying home for the short holiday work week. Next weekend? Nada. Eat, sleep, repeat 🙂
Race Results
4496 K R HAGA Louisville, CO 4:32:53
On behalf of Mayor Nutter, Race Director Desiree Peterkin-Bell and the entire GORE-TEX® Philadelphia Marathon Team – Thank you for joining us in Philly for Race Weekend 2015!
Social Media Recap: Marathon 47 – done; 11 straight weeks marathoning – done; all East Coast states – marathon’d & done; windy November day in Philly, 2nd largest race field behind NYC, rolling hills but not West Virginia Appalachia hills – HA! – so much to be thankful for this holiday season. Bring on the turkey – Bubba’s gonna eat this Thanksgiving 🙂 — at Philadelphia Marathon.
funny marathon story/embarrassing but true – near the start of the race, I saw a group of runners stretching. Good idea, right? so I randomly join their pack & follow the leader’s instructions. Exercise over, leader asks us all to form a circle. Ok, little weird but live & let live, right? Folks bow their heads & start what I think is a prayer. No harm in praying, right? but EVERYONE knows the chant.
God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
Courage to change the things I can,
And wisdom to know the difference.
Next, club announcements & congrats to individuals. little awkward ⇨ super awkward: I really really shouldn’t be here. Yep, accidentally crashed an AA meeting half-hour before the start of my 47th marathon. LOL>
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- marathon #47, 11 straight race weeks & all East Coast states D-O-N-E. FAAANNNTASTIC!
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- crashed an AA meeting, 30 minutes prior to Start
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- quick exit, awkward moment
11 consecutive weeks marathoning, honestly feeling a bit banged up. Sunday’s run in Philadelphia will be marathon #47. Afterwards will get a one week reprieve, feast Thanksgiving with family, then finish out my 50 State calendar in Memphis at St. Jude’s.
Hold on – whole lotta weekend happenin’ before Sunday. Super excited to tour Philly – in particular, hafta/gotta/wanna see the Liberty Bell AND iconic Rocky Balboa statue. HAHA – yep, it’s true. The original Rocky flic is an all-time Top 10, probably watch once a year. Laugh if you will – but LOVE LOVE this film.
Flew out Friday (first snow of the season), hotel taxi’d post-midnight, 5 hours shut-eye – woke to sunshine. Late November in Philly, couldn’t have asked for better weather 🙂
Penn Center ⇨ Philadelphia Stock Exchange ⇨ Philadelphia City Hall ⇨ Declaration House ⇨ Independence Hall ⇨ Liberty Bell
Morning 2 mile jaunt down Market Street was like a walking tour of American Revolutionary history. WOW, WOW, WOW! Caught 20 minutes of two Park Service films…shame I didn’t have more time. Taxi’d to the Philadelphia Museum of Art, snapped a shot with Rocky – walked those iconic steps. No words.
Washington Monument ⇨ Franklin Institute ⇨ Logan Circle ⇨ Cathedral Basilica ⇨ Philadelphia Convention Center
This 2 mile walk-about highlighted the best of Philadelphia – its beautiful monuments, fountains, manicured parks & cityscape.
Bib pick-up at the Convention Center (for next day’s marathon), taxi’d back to my hotel (driver waited while I changed clothes), next stop: Walnut Street Theatre. Talk about a crazy FULL day. My friend Stephen had secured 2 tickets to ‘A Christmas Story’. AWESOME production, PERFECT kick-off to the upcoming holiday season (also appreciated sitting down a couple hours 🙂 ).
Founded in 1809, this National Historic Landmark theater is the nation’s oldest playhouse.
Post-show fine dining & a taxi ride home. FAAANNNTASTIC Philadelphia day!
Running 26.2’s gonna seem like a cake walk tomorrow – so much to see & do, LOVE LOVE this town!
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- first snow of the season
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- Penn Center
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- Philadelphia Stock Exchange
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- Philadelphia City Hall
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- Declaration House
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- Independence Hall
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- Second Bank of the United States
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- symbol of American freedom
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- iconic Rocky Balboa (sporting tomorrow’s Philly Marathon shirt)
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- “the steps” — WOW!
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- Philadelphia Museum of Art
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- Washington Monument Fountain
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- The Franklin Institute
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- Logan Circle
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- Cathedral Basilica of St. Peter & St. Paul
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- Walnut Street Theatre – oldest playhouse in America
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- Liberty Bell, Rocky Balboa…and theatre — jam-packed Philadelphia day!
Rocky theme song: ‘Gonna Fly Now‘
730am marathon start. After mini-touring DC in the rain Saturday, super happy to see sunshine. Running alongside the Potomac would make for a scenic run – even for a loop course. Adams County (Amish) Marathon in Ohio’s been my only loop course to date. Ran 2 loops there – gotta say I struggled mentally to go out that second lap while others were finishing the Half. Today I’d run 4 loops.
(per Ashton) Couldn’t run all 50 States yet skip marathoning our nation’s capital, right? Googled searched & located a small ‘trail’ race in its 2nd year – C&O Canal Towpath Marathon, 15 minutes from the White House. Pretty cool, huh? Count me in. Not easy to locate an all District of Columbia marathon. Most start and/or finish in Virginia – technically, can’t be counted as DC.
This race takes place in its entirety in Washington DC on the flat dirt and crushed stone surfaced C&O Canal Towpath. 3.28 miles of the towpath will be used for this event. Runners will head southeast from the start to the Francis Scott Key Bridge at which point runners will turn around and head northwest on the towpath. After running 3.28 miles northwest, runners will again turn around and head back southeast towards the start/finish line. Upon reaching the start/finish line runners will have completed a quarter marathon – or one course loop.
With a total elevation gain of only 528 feet, today’s run would rank as the flattest race of my 50 States [+DC] Quest AND also the swampiest. Yesterday’s monsoon left lotta standing water & an all mud trek to Francis Scott Key Bridge. Cool morning temps + sunshine trumped any negativity re: trail conditions. Overall, mighty nice day. Lot more laid back than last Sunday’s NYC Marathon — HA! Snapped a finish pic by the historic Abner Cloud House. Small races are always the best races 🙂
Sunday, Nov 8, 2015
C&O Canal Towpath Marathon and Half Marathon
Washington DC • Marathon
K Haga 4:39:55
Body still a bit jacked after running 26.2 miles…but couldn’t leave without seeing Lincoln, Jefferson & Washington Monuments – AND share dinner with cousin Chuck & family in nearby Frederick MD. Sleep & a shower are a time luxury 🙂
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- District of Columbia! Sunny & cool, whole lotta mud from yesterday’s precip. Post-marathon lasagna & a 3 mile monument walk (couldn’t leave without seeing Lincoln & Jefferson Memorials). 9th weekend marathoning, only 2 more til Thanksgiving break! — at Abner Cloud House.
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- race takes place in its entirety in Washington DC on the flat dirt & crushed stone surfaced C&O Canal Towpath
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- trail marathon along the Potomac — only 15 minutes from the White House!
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- medal magic: 50 States PLUS DC
