Four months ago, while in casual conversation with two of my teammates, I was told that they were running the Philadelphia Half Marathon (13.1 miles). I immediately signed up and none of us paid that much attention until about one week prior to the race. We realized we did not have adequate time to train this spring, because of our varsity sport, but we were still readily excited to run together and be challenged. On Saturday, March 22nd, we decided to stay in a hotel the night prior to the race, so we could be near the course and easily pick up our race bib. The day of the race came around and it ended up that six of my teammates and I, along with around 11,000 other runners (of varying abilities and training levels) partook in the half-marathon this past Sunday, March 23rd. We woke up around 5 am and headed to the race course after downing some oatmeal and fruit in the room. We got to the course very early, though we then had time to take pre-race pictures and converse with the Dunkin' Mascot! Around 7:15, we headed to the line of our respective pacing groups, and waited until 7:30-7:40 to take off!
At around 7:40, we took off and started our 13.1-mile-long tour of Philadelphia! The take-off was electric, along with the whole race. The energy of all of the runners and supporters created an amazing atmosphere! The race was very challenging, my first and longest, but it was, simultaneously, so beautiful and breathtaking to be able to see the whole city in this fashion. We ran the awesome streets of Philadelphia, passing some of the Nation's most historic landmarks to then wind back past friends and family lining the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, where we entered Fairmount Park. This is where some of the larger hills were located! After, we ran through the picturesque roads of the park to make our "sprint" to the finish in front of Eakins Oval, home of the "Rocky Steps." The course took us on roads we had already visited and exciting additions, offering many areas where our teammates and friends could cheer us on.
Around 10 of our teammates and parents came out, from as far as Florida, to watch us run and finish our race! It was so amazing to share this moment with my team. My teammates pushed me to run faster, gave me energy from the side, and suggested that I run it altogether. Without my amazing women's soccer teammates–I'm not sure if I would have initially signed up. With that being said, it was also really beautiful to see other Swarthmore students, of various athletic backgrounds, running the half too. It seemed like at least a third of the college was running it! With Swarthmore's close proximity to Philadelphia and all of the resources available in the city, our college makes it very accessible and rejoices in the fact that we live near the city. Philadelphia's close proximity offers many opportunities to grow, learn, and create life-long memories that have nothing to do with running as well!
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