The Philadelphia Marathon and Half Marathon are coming up on Sunday, November 20. If you are a first-time runner we have an article describing the course and providing some tips to help you through it. Read our article at www.funonfoot.com/article1005a.html It is based on first-hand experience and capsulizes the information we presented at our Philly Marathon Expo seminar last year. Good luck in Philly – it is a great race!
Archive for the ‘Philadelphia’ Category
Philadelphia Marathon Course Information
Wednesday, November 9th, 2011Fall Running Season at Last
Monday, October 3rd, 2011In the northeast, summer has been very hot and humid this year and not conducive to comfortable running. However, that long-anticipated change has arrived. As of last weekend, the temperature and humidity both dropped to respectable levels and running started to feel easy again.
In New York, last Saturday brought the running of Grete’s Great Gallop, the early fall traditional half marathon conducted within Central Park. It was a particularly touching event since it memorialized the passing of Grete Waitz, famed and beloved nine-time winner of the NYC Marathon, who succumbed to a lengthy battle with cancer early this year. The race was run in refreshingly pleasant conditions, although still a touch warmer than some of us prefer.
I have been struggling all summer recovering from an injury and the weather has contributed to keeping my performance level down. I ran Grete’s and was delighted to see my performance getting back near where it should be. Nola leapt out into the park Monday and ran a 23-mile long training run without a second thought. Welcome fall running conditions!
We runners now have a busy calendar for a few weeks. There are forthcoming marathons in Chicago, Washington DC, New York City, and Philadelphia, to mention a few. Nola and I are looking forward to the Staten Island Half next weekend and then the NYC Marathon on November 6. It is a busy schedule but very enjoyable training conditions, thanks to the arrival of the fall weather.
Best wishes to all runners preparing for the great fall races! Arrive fit at the start line and let the routine play out…
Philadelphia John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge
Tuesday, September 20th, 2011The John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge at Tinicum covers a freshwater tidal marsh area on the boundary of Philadelphia and Delaware Counties very close to Philadelphia International Airport. It has several miles of well maintained pedestrian trails and is quite popular with local runners and walkers. You can do an out-and-back trip of up to nine miles, and can introduce some variation by taking different trail segments in the two directions.
The best way to get here is by driving. You can get here by Regional Rail to Eastwick Station or SEPTA bus 37 or 108, but will need to do some hiking along the road.
The trails are mostly well maintained gravel trails, suitable for cycling (not all trails), running, and walking. Dogs are permitted on a leash. There is a pleasant 3.4-mile loop trail, starting and finishing at the visitor center. You can alternatively proceed the length of the reserve to the second parking area at Route 420 and beyond a short distance, for a roundtrip of 8.2-to-9.0 miles. The best route choices are those away from the highway, which tends to be quite noisy. See our more detailed article and route map with distances at www.funonfoot.com/philadelphia.html.
This is a very pleasant place to train if you live nearby or are seeking a change of environment.
New on the Fun on Foot Website
Monday, August 22nd, 2011We are reshaping the www.funonfoot.com website to distribute more runner information free. We have started with the Philadelphia section where we have added a high-quality, high-detail Schuylkill River Trail Map for free download (comparable with our popular Boston Charles River Map). We are also offering free printable mini trail maps for the major local trails.
We invite you to check out www.funonfoot.com/philadelphia.html and provide your feedback. Watch for similar improvements for other cities later this year.
Warwick and Nola
Gifts for Runners (With Free Shipping)
Tuesday, December 7th, 2010We have some excellent, inexpensive gift ideas for your family or friends who are runners: Books with ideas and maps for more interesting routes to run in cities they visit or where they live, plus much more running information about those cities. For the gifting season we are offering:
For the road-warrior runner:
The award-winning 388-page guide to running in 14 major cities (Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Indianapolis, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, New York, Philadelphia, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington DC). “Fun on Foot in America’s Cities” $11.99 (compare retail $20.95)
For the New York City region runner:
The city’s top running guide, 380-page “Fun on Foot in New York” $14.99 (compare retail $16.95)
For the Boston region runner:
The 292-page regional running guide “Fun on Foot in New England” $11.99 (compare retail $16.95)
For the Philadelphia region runner:
The 104-page regional running guide “Philadelphia Running and Walking” $9.95 (compare retail $10.95)
And for the gifting season (from now until December 26) we are offering free standard shipping (by USPS media mail). Pay by credit card or Paypal. Enter the discount code “freeshipgift” on checkout at www.funonfoot.com
Philadelphia Marathon 2010
Thursday, November 25th, 2010Sunday, November 21, brought the Philadelphia Marathon and Half Marathon. It was an excellent event. The course is outstanding, passing by so many interesting and scenic places. The weather was perfect, with a temperature of a crisp 37 degrees at the 7:00 am start, reaching the mid-forties by the finish. Skies were sunny with no risk of precipitation. For a city visitor staying in a typical Center City hotel (like I did) it is so convenient being able to walk a mile or so to the start.
Several members of my New York Reservoir Dogs team ran the marathon or half, and one of Nola’s Mercury Masters colleagues ran the half. I ran the half, coming off the NYC Marathon 2 weeks earlier and in no shape for another marathon yet. I was quite satisfied with my 1:58 time under the circumstances.
The organization of the event was excellent and the crowd was enthusiastic. The main takeaway from some of my marathon-running colleagues (and I concur) was that you should not consider this a no-brainer flat course. It is not an extreme marathon but not a piece of cake either. Compared with my two marathon runs this year, I would rank it half-way between the Toronto Lakeshore Marathon (easiest) and NYC Marathon (toughest).
This is a great event for any east-coaster seeking a fall marathon and not running NYC!
Philadelphia Marathon Route – More Detail
Monday, November 8th, 2010Following a test run of the Philadelphia Marathon course last week, I have produced a more detailed commentary of the course from what I posted previously. It is really a very exciting course but not, as sometimes suggested by the organizers, flat. See my revised and expanded description at www.funonfoot.com/resources.html
I shall be giving a presentation on the Philadelphia Marathon course at the Expo at 12:00 noon on Saturday, November 20, touching on history, scenery, and tips for runners.
Nola and I shall also have a booth at the Philadelphia Marathon Expo on November 19-20 to sign books and chat with runners. If you are running Philly, I hope you will drop by.
Philadelphia Marathon and Half Routes
Tuesday, October 26th, 2010The Philadelphia Marathon and Half Marathon are on November 21, 2010. Both races are now full. For runners who have not done these events before, here is a little commentary on the courses. (more…)
Philadelphia Rock n Roll Half Rocks
Tuesday, September 21st, 2010Nola and I both ran this half marathon (formerly known as the Philadelphia Distance Run) on Sunday. I must say it was one of the most pleasant halfs I have ever encountered. It was an enormous event, with over 22,000 finishers. The course is dead flat. It starts and finishes near the Museum of Art and has two parts – the first a loop through Center City and the second a loop up the Schuylkill River. The second part, in particular, is very attractive with considerable shade. You will find more details of the route in our book Philadelphia Running and Walking: A Guide for Athletes and Fitness Seekers.
Despite the size of the field, I was amazed to find that in no part of the course was there any congestion. This was aided by the wave start in which each of the 20-plus corrals had its own start time, separated by one minute from the corral in front.
The organization was excellent. Bands performing along the route added to the enjoyable atmosphere. The basics were also good, including baggage check and other facilities at the start and snacks and drinks at the finish. A post-finish festival rounded out the event nicely.
Logistics for city visitors were also comparatively stress-free, since many of Philadelphia’s major center city hotels are within a convenient walking distance of the start and finish.
Congratulations to the Competitor Group for their excellent organization. If you ever get a chance to participate in this event in the future, I can highly recommend it.
Philadelphia Rock n Roll Half Marathon Coming Up
Thursday, September 9th, 2010The Philadelphia Distance Run, arguably Philadelphia’s most prestigious annual running event, has this year morphed into the Philadelphia Rock n Roll Half Marathon. Not much has changed from past years, except for the addition of a little pizzazz and general fun. The race is on Sunday, September 19, starting and finishing near the Philadelphia Museum of Art on Benjamin Franklin Parkway.
Nola and I are both entered to run the race. We shall also be at the Expo at the Pennsylvania Convention Center on Friday and Saturday, September 17-18. We shall be autographing books there for all-comers, and the event is open to the public at no charge. We hope to meet many of our running colleagues and readers there.
The bad news is that the race is already full so it is too late to register now. However, all information you might need about the event is at: http://philadelphia.competitor.com