Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon Series – Philadelphia Half

I can always handle being passed by a superhero but by a hotdog?! And a hamburger?! On the other side of the pack and not far behind those two… a foamy beer!
I know the Philly run this year was pushed back to Halloween due to the Pope’s visit (usually, it’s Sept), and I was happy about it because otherwise my schedule would have been double-​booked. While participating, I was REALLY happy about it. RnRs are always fun, but so many runners in costume made it even more memorable. Add to it, the little ones in costume, even better! So cute was a little Minnie Mouse girl cheering on the course and her dad held a polka dotted sign «run like you just saw a mouse.»
One of my fave costumes was The Joker! He came up behind me around mile 8, on Falls Bridge. There were a few people who ran in full face paint — Papa Smurf was blue from ear to ear.
This event was well-​organized: 38 years running! — they’ve got it down. A bunch of folks have done it all 38 years. Congrats to them! Beautiful, flat course too.
Afterward, there was a huge line to take photos with «Rocky» and if you have energy left at the end of the run, run the stairs and do some push-​ups. It also didn’t hurt that the Gin Blossoms were the headliner at the after party. Hey Jealousy! They sounded great.
The Beast event ever!

I ran this race this past weekend, and though I had a good time, it was not the best race I have ever run. It ran smoothly, the elite runners went off right at 8:00a.m. and the corrals were spaced out well after that. With the spreading out of the corrals the race opens up pretty fast and I found I had a lot of breathing room. If you have ever run the Broad Street Run, you know how annoying it can be when races aren’t spread out and your crammed right up to the person next to you.
I really enjoyed the first 4 – 5 miles of the race through the city, but after you swing back around and come through the art museum again the race comes up Kelly drive, and continues along the Eastside of the river then crosses over the Falls Bridge. Mile 9 starts just across the bridge and you continue down MLK Drive until the end of the race. This part of the race proved very tough for me, the conditions aren’t great (the road is very slanted at some points) and there are not many spectators until the last .2 miles, the music dies off on this stretch as well. With all of those factors it was definitely a struggle to keep motivated through miles 9 – 11 which are always the toughest parts of a ½ marathon for me.
I have run Broad Street and the Philadelphia Half Marathon before and this was my least favorite among the three. If you are looking to do a half marathon in Philly I would say wait until the Philly Half (better route, better weather conditions etc.). It was pretty hot for the race, however that isn’t something that can really be controlled.
Lastly the end of the race though more organized than Broad Street, is somewhat of a clusterf*** as well. Though they are handing out plenty of post-​race treats such as bananas, water, chocolate milk etc. they do not give you a bag and one person (who just ran 13.1 miles) can only carry so much.
All in all a good race day, and generally well organized with lots of water/​Gatorade stops along the way. I just wish the route was a little bit different and difficult miles were in an area with more cheering/​more to look at.

What a great race! I participated 9÷15÷13 and plan to again. The weather conditions were perfect, there was a crowd of spectators supporting everyone along the run, and great goodies at the end of the race, even a beer tent… how could you go wrong???
The race course itself was fantastic… scenic through the streets of Philadelphia then along the river where it was mostly shaded and cool. The people were courteous and fun. Time went by quickly and before I knew it I was in the home stretch being greeted and cheered on by masses of people… what a crowd!

I ran the Rock n Roll half marathon a week ago and it was a fun race! The first three miles are though the city and there are alot of supporters along the track. The remaining 10 miles are behind the art museum area. I thought this was a good track to run a half marathon. The race was very organized but the only request was right after the race you they should give you a bag to put your stuff in, i wanted water and a gatorade, a bannana and chips and it was hard to carry everything especially if you have to use the porter poddy. Also, the expo was alot of fun with alot of different vendors/​good samples for runners!

09.15.13 — One of my fave Rock’n’Roll series events to date. More deets to come!
.
09.19.13 — Of all the Rock’n’Roll Series runs I’ve participated in, this is unequivocally my favorite.
We found staying in a hotel in Rittenhouse Square provided us within walking distance to & from the Health & Fitness EXPO (registration pick-​up) at Philly Convention Center on Saturday & to the START line on Sunday.
Participants make their way in front of Philadelphia Museum of Arts (think Rocky at the top of the steps after his run).
Elite runners promptly start at the 8 a.m. mark while the rest of us find way to our corrals for the «wave start».
Ready, Set, Go!
We head South around Logan Square towards The Gallery @ Market which makes a Northward turn then the route takes you West on Arch Street past the Convention Center towards JFK Park (LOVE park) for a 4 mile loop meeting again at Logan Square. The Route continues North past the Museum of Art on Kelly Drive & continues along the Eastside of the Schuylkill River for miles 5 thru 8. Runners cross the Falls Bridge and head Southbound on Dr. MLK Drive nearing mile marker 9 & continues to the end of the nearly flat 13.1 mile run back in front of the Museum.
TIP: Quickly find someone who runs at your pace & stick to them during your run.
I was switching from the cute pony-​tailed Asian girl in the white visor, grey tank & black shorts running a 9:30/50 pace (a tad too fast for me) to a couple of guys keeping a slow steady 12 min/​mi to the «Black Girls DO Run» team who were running a 10:35 clip. I finally found my running mate. The stunning blonde in braided pig-​tails, neon green headband, wearing a pink tank, black shorts with crazy multi-​colored zig-​zag stripes, neon green compression calf sleeves keeping a nice steady pace at an even 11 minute miles. I found her at just past the 4 mile marker & continued to match stride for stride with her till she made a «pit-​stop» at the 8 mile mark. That’s where I lost her forever. I was either too fast or too slow for anyone else around me… so it was downhill from there. I had to keep cadence repeating the same 5 numbers in my head no matter what the beat of music was pumping thru my earbuds. Finally, at the 10 mile mark I saw the sign «COLD BEER is WAITING» & the sweet backside of strawberry blonde that I followed to the finish. By the way ladies, this works for you too: I saw a sign along the way that said, «LADIES: run like there’s a hot guy in front of you or like a creepy guy is behind you!» (I think I might’ve been that creepy guy…)
Not my best time for a ½ marathon, but to my credit, I stopped to take a few pix along the way, followed a couple guys for 3 miles running 12 m/​m & I walked about half a mile cuz of a side ache. While I’m on the subject of walking — PARTICIPANTS: please remember, if you plan to partially walk the route… move your ass to far right. It’s like the slow lane on the highway. There is nothing worse than having to maneuver around walkers in the middle of the thoroughfare while in full stride. Thank you in advance.
We were so impressed with the organization (both the expo and the day of race), the volunteers, the live bands along the route, the running course, the awesome participants the overall spirit of the event & of course, the beautiful city views of Philadelphia.
RnR Philly just announced their 2014 date: 09.21.14. We’re in, are you?