Race Recap: Rock n Roll Philadelphia Remix Challenge 2017

When I first started running Rock n Roll races, I remember seeing the Hall of Fame status set at 10 races. I remember wondering to myself how someone could have the stamina and the means to accomplish 10 half marathons, let alone find the time to travel to different races around the country or the world within one calendar year.

Well, 6 years later, my time had finally come.

I had sandwiched this trip in between a few other work commitments, as I have done with most of my other runs. I had arrived in the dead of night into Philadelphia like I had for Chicago a few months prior, getting dropped off by a very kind Lyft driver. I stayed a few short blocks away from the start line at an AirBnb and made myself boxed mac and cheese on both nights, preferring to keep things low key and frugal. This pretty much sums up my journey to ten Rock n Roll races, and then some…

With only a few hours of sleep, I showed up to the 5K start line to pick up my bib and other goodies. The air was heavy with humidity. It wasn’t warm, nor was it cool. It just…was.

The 5K was an out and back. It was simple, fairly sunny, with plenty of walkers and runners and cheery faces.

After the 5K, I headed back to my AirBnB to grab a few winks of sleep before heading out to the convention center for my half marathon bib and to wander the city. It was fairly easy to get around town using the bus and on foot. The day heated up a bit, and when coupled with the humidity, made me feel like a cased sausage. I must be getting used to the dry weather in Denver.

I started noticing that they’ve completely given up on customizing the shirts for each city, so I’ve made it a point to hit the Toyota booth at each expo to get the arm badge affixed. So far I’ve made things like “I run for pie” and “I run for fries” and other silly things. Maybe in LA I can make “I run for hot pot.”

When I was done with expo things, I went to check out some historical things, like the Liberty Bell. It was a lot smaller in person. How come the Liberty Bell in history books made it look so much bigger?

Most of Independence Hall was closed by the time I got there, and tickets were required, so I snapped some photos and walked around. Hopefully next time I can plan ahead.

I noticed Chinatown and popped by for some yummy food. I hadn’t really had breakfast and it was nearly the late afternoon…time for lunch!

I stopped into a poke restaurant for a quick healthy bite to eat. Very yummy!

Afterwards, I met up with a girlfriend at the Edgar Allen Poe historical museum.

There were too many places to eat, and so many places to see. I really do have to come back another year to enjoy everything!

The next day, I set out for the half marathon. It was one of the most beautiful race starts I’ve seen, to be honest! Also, by the time my corral started, the pros had already completed their 5K lap. Just…wow!

I think this was the race’s 40th anniversary. From what I found it boasted 29 legacy runners. I can’t imagine doing something for 40 years straight, except for eating, breathing, and sleeping, but only because those are automatic and required for life.

This shot reminded me of running through Liverpool!

My namesake?

This was in the Fairmount neighborhood, which was really close to my Airbnb.

This was one of the prisons, which was guarded by gargoyles. There’s tours daily, but I didn’t get a chance to go. Next time!

Lucky number seven!

Perhaps I wasn’t at work, but later that day I’d have to board a plane to Seattle to head to work.

At this point I was at mile 9 and I would’ve preferred the couch, to be honest.

This rocker dude greets me at almost every race.

There were a lot of cyclists bandit-ing the course, which was annoying. However, this guy was wearing an Incredibles costume and riding along the racers cheering us on.

I was more than thrilled when I saw the finish line. Never happier! Really though, I was never happier because I had reflected on my 10-race journey during this race. It’s been awhile since I’ve been emotional during a race, but this was a special one for me. So many times during this year I had felt like throwing in the towel on this goal, but here I was. I’m only 2/3 of the way there, but this still feels like a good accomplishment to me.