|
|
FLRC Newsletter - December 2004 |
| Philadelphia Report Card | |
As one of the less distinguished of the 27 ;-), here's my brief report...from a first-in-a-long-time marathoner who despite himself PR'd:
Pre-race organization: B
Parking was a game, and there weren't a lot of signs,
but I figured out you had to go to the back of the tent (past all the
vendors) to register and then lucked into the right line. Lines were
organized by race number, but all the signs were at table level,
something higher would have helped. Once I got my packet, all was
well—I wanted an XL T-shirt anyhow, but at that time (3 pm Saturday)
there were still other sizes available. I heard from others that this was
the first year at the Eakins Oval, so some bugs had to be
expected. Hopefully it will improve with time.
Pre-race dinner: N/A
Seemed too expensive, so I skipped it in lieu of
dinner with my sister and her husband.
Race itself: B
Despite the number of runners (yikes!) and lack of
signs, I had no trouble finding a spot to warm up. There were lots of
volunteers at the bag drop-off. I appreciated the pace placards, but I
didn't know how many people were following them. The day itself wasn't
bad for running for me, damp but not wet (foggy), light winds, not too
hot—I debated but passed on gloves. I was a little cold through the
seemingly endless pre-race festivities, and very nervous, but eventually
the gun went off and we got started. I had lived in Philly prior to
living in Ithaca, and so much of the run was over roads I knew; so I was
attuned more to changes than I was to historic sites. I thought the
course itself was a nice balance between city and park, and in
particular, a number of maples in the park still had their leaves, so the
bright yellow brightened an otherwise gray day. And for the most part,
the city streets were wide enough to accommodate the runners during the
early stages. The yellow jackets worn by most of the volunteers were also
very welcome—and there were plenty of people at every aid
station. There were also lots of spectators along some parts the course,
some of whom were very vocal (Iggles fans warming up for the game later,
maybe?) A couple of (minor) gripes: the clocks were missing or not easy
to see at some mile marks (and broken at mile 16); the gap in aid
stations between 12 and 15.5 was very noticeable; and the course profile
on the website didn't really show the course, just the elevation changes
by mile—there were a couple of short steep climbs that I wasn't really
prepared for. Like Melissa, I began having quad problems around mile 16,
and by mile 22 was walking. (I'll save the personal observations for the
newsletter) I was surprised that I only saw two other runners from
Ithaca, although a least one spectator recognized the FLRC singlet and
gave me a cheer.
Post-race: A–
I finished a few minutes after Melissa, despite all
the walking setting a PR (3:55:57 race time; 3:54:04 chip time) by a
couple of minutes.
However, unlike her experience, I had lots of help from volunteers in getting to a chair, getting a foil wrap and getting my chip off—in fact, I had to have the gentleman helping me untie my shoe because I could reach it. Again, there were no signs, but I figured out where to go quickly enough. The bag pickup was as well-staffed as the drop-off, and I got my bag right off—and headed for the medical tent (sigh). I found the people there efficient, friendly and helpful, and in 45 minutes I was able to meet my wife and head for home. (As an aside, my wife was at the finish line, and was impressed by the medical staff's response in general, from helping the second place runner after he crawled, literally, across the finish line, to helping folks like me.)
All in all, I would recommend Philly to another runner, but I would warn them about the problems of the number of runners. (Guess I'm too used to our "little" races up here!)
| Prev Article | Front Page | Next Article |