Philly
Marathon weekend
Day 1, pick-up
registration at the Philly Convention Center.
Not an easy place to get to on a Friday afternoon. The hour I spent in the parking lot cost me
$12.00. Meanwhile earlier I had dropped Barbara
off at the Barnes foundation art gallery and it was time to pick her up. From the Convention center parking garage it
was onto the Ben Franklin Parkway. The Ben Franklin Parkway seems to be the
only road in Philly with elbow room.
They should have let Ben Franklin map out the whole town. With Barbara in the truck we set out to check
last year’s parking lot and left town.
Day 2, 3:45
am rainy trip back to Philly for the Rothman 8k using the racer. Because of the Boston bombing, race directors
needed to address security, we were warned to arrive very early to get through
security checkpoints. We were told to be
at the start at 5:30 am for a 7:57 start.
I found a
great parking space a few hundred feet from the start except for the sign that
said “no stopping”. The sign addressed nothing
about parking. 2 Police officers said
the spaces were for Police Parking only but they would not need all of the
spaces and I should be able to park without being towed. Is Philly the City of Brotherly Love or what! A Nov. 16 morning could be 30 degrees and
windy, the rain that followed me all the way to Philly had stopped and it was a
rather balmy 50 degrees.
Arriving at
the Start line I was greeted by the Mayor. Is Philly the City of Brotherly Love or what! Mayor Nutter is always in full enthusiasm
mode on race day. A bit of dancing and keeping
a keen eye out to shake any hand he could find.
I am sure he delegated responsibilities for the race to others; however
he was ready to take charge of anything. Mayor Nutter and I have bonded over the last
few years. The Mayor starts the race and
once the runners approach the finish line the Mayor positions himself so he can
“high five” the runners as they cross the finish line.
The Start is
down Ben Franklin Parkway has got to be the coolest start in road racing. We go around Logan square and head towards
the art museum steps. This year I just
couldn’t shake Danny who was the only other competitor in my class. Last year I left Danny in the dust this year we
kept on swapping the lead until Danny pulled ahead on the last hill. I would finish in 2nd place, 4
seconds out. What’s 4 seconds worth? In the Rothman 8 k it’s worth $250.00. I don’t race for the money but checks are
always nice. My major accomplishment was
not flipping upside down on the hill leading up to the art museum like last
year.
Video 8k www.youtube.com/watch?v=oizPQLjxQmI
Day 3, 3:45
am was another rainy, drizzly trip back to Philly for the full Marathon on the
Handcycle. Again the rain ended by the
time I hit Philly. Instead of the 1000
or so racers in the Saturday race there would be close to 30,000 runners on
Sunday. At 5:30 the rain was gone but the
city was in full gridlock with runners and cars blocking every intersection. I eventually found my way to the parking lot
and made my way to the start. Philly’s
answer to suicide bombers was to block all the streets around the start finish
line with garbage trucks. Philly, New
York, and I assume most large cities use garbage trucks for many tasks that
include plowing snow, and I think picking up children for school. Add to the duties of the majestic garbage
truck as ram proof security barricades.
Video 1; “The
Start” we head down Ben Franklin parkway towards Billy Penn’s statue on top of
City hall. Don’t pay any attention to
the Handcycle on the right; Sam will quickly get out of my way so I have a
clear view. We race past city hall and
under the convention center.
Video 2;
enter China Town and then down past Ben Franklin’s bridge to the Delaware river
water front, up from the river and a left turn onto Philly’s famous South
Street. On the left is a mural of Larry
Fine (three stooges) that I have never seen before; I must be racing so intensely.
Some will say Grace Kelly is the most
famous actor to come out of Philly I beg to differ. I would like to see Grace
Kelly take an iron pipe to the forehead. The race then pass’s through Drexel University. The group at the 7-11 is Pa Adaptive Sports.
Video 2; www.youtube.com/watch?v=RV6fXttq_9s
Video 3; we
continue up the Drexel University hill, then across the expressway, and down to
the Zoo. We enter Fairmont Park and then
back towards the Art Museum where the ½ marathoners turn right towards the
finish line and the Full Marathon goes around the Art Museum and past boathouse
row heading north to Manayunk. The trip
up to Manayunk is flat smooth and fast. Manayunk is a little hilly and then the
180 degree turnaround and back to the Art Museum and the finish line. Battery went dead before I hit the finish
line. Of the ½ dozen in the Handcycle class I would finish 2nd
Philly is a
fantastic race course for Handcycles.
The roads are wide and smooth; there are no “killer hills”. The last 12 miles could make some exciting head
to head racing if there were more Handcycles.
Unfortunately the Philly Marathon committee has never completely rolled
out the welcome mat for the Handcycles.
This year organizer’s made threats to keep speeds under 15 MPH. In past years our finish times have been
deleted from the website. The other
issue is the race isn’t well supported by the local Handcycle community. We need to show up in numbers to get some
respect.
Garmin
numbers use the satellite map function. http://connect.garmin.com/activity/405886679
Last race of the year is Palm Beach Marathon
in early December. I am sure I will find
a few winter 5 k’s to enter the racer.
Rob Leiser
