Philly Marathon

[AmyBWV99]

I saw the Philly Marathon thread; all 1900 posts, much of which is about MCM, not Philly; and was wondering if anyone had some insight into the Philly Marathon. DH is considering running it after hearing that they had a pretty fast course (although it looks hilly) but has read some bad things about the organization of the race (no start corrals, heavy congestion, etc).

Can any past runners shed some light? When does the race normally reach capcity? How hilly is the course, really? How early does he need to be to the start to get relatively close to the front (he's going to try to run a sub 3-hour)?

Any tips/comments would be appreciated!

 

[Creativebeth]

I did the Philly Marathon (1/2) and my sister did the full. I will never do this one again. The course is very flat, and fast, but everything else was really poor.

The expo was very disorganized, and it was hard to get everything done to pick up, and very congested. It was held in a tent, and we waited in line to get into the tent for about 1/2 hour. Once inside, there was no room to move. Found out later that there was no pins available in the race bag or at the expo. Finding pins was a big pain in the tush, every CVS and Walgreens were out!

The lack of corrals made it difficult running the first few miles, and support on the course was lacking.

I finished in 2:24 minutes, and they were already running out of food! I collected somethings for my sister since she was running the full! It was good I did, because she finished in 4:15 and all the food was gone, as were the myler covers for the finishers. She got a medal, but I think they ran out of them too, later!

The bag check was a big mess. They just through the bags into piles in the expo tent for anybody to pick up. There was no one attending them and they were not organized into race numbers or anything. Just one big 'ol pile of bags, that all looked alike!

I can go on and on.......but I guess you catch my drift? I think a better race is the Philly Distance Run in September. Similiar course, flat and fast, but doesn't have a full marathon with it. That race is run by Elite racing, and is excellent!

Beth

 

[AmyBWV99]

Thanks for the help. The only reason he's considering running it is that we'll be in the DC area for Thanksgiving, so Sept wouldn't really work (we're located in Iowa).

 

[Creativebeth]

Bump for Swim-mom

 

[lourodrigis]

I ran Philly last year so I'll give you my $0.02. Now I am from Philly so I am a little biased. I actually started training this time last year to run my first marathon which was going to be WDW. However, I trained hard enough that I decided to give Philly a shot at the last minute. I literally signed up 3 weeks before the race.

I ended up running Disney in January so I can give you my opinion based only on running these 2 marathons.

I agree with Beth that Philly is mostly flat (15+ miles flat, 5+ miles ascending, 5+ descending). Those numbers are from my Garmin. However, the ascending parts were tough. Now Disney, that was flat.

Beth is correct that there are no corrals but I didn't have any more or less trouble for the first few miles then I did at Disney. In fact, for having more runners I thought it was a lot easier to run the first few miles at Philly then WDW.

The expo was at Temple's Liacorus Center and seemed pretty organized to me. I was in and out with no trouble.

I finished in 4:33 and had no trouble getting a mylar and there was plenty of food and drink in the heated tent at the finish line. They had Philly pretzels, hot chicken broth (nice touch), and just about everything I needed and some. Maybe I caught the 2nd wave of the food supply.

I didn't have a problem with my bag check. I dropped it off at a bus marked with my race number and picked it up at the same bus on my way to my car. Pretty easy.

I actually liked the course. You get a nice mix of city running, historic sites, and running along 2 rivers.

One thing I didn't like was mixing the 1/2 and full runners together. Nothing worse then hitting the half way point and seeing the 1/2 runners wrapped in blankets drinking hot soup. I also thought the medal could have been better.

I also agree with Beth that the PDR is a better run race but it's only a 1/2. The PDR is worth running if you live close to Philly.

All in all I would definitely run Philly if you were in the area. It's also a competitve race so someone like your sub 3-hour DH should love it. WDW, on the other hand, was more for fun and show and not as competive or serious. You won't find that many walkers at Philly.

Lou

 

[swim-mom]

Beth - thanks for bumping for me

Lou - I too am in SJ, so Philly is only an hour for me .

I am only doing 4 miles for my LR and 3 miles the rest of the week. My only concern is running the Sept 1/2 and training in the heat of Aug. I love the price compared to Nov though.

Running does not come easy for me. I run like a duck and I am slow as a turtle (10min mile). When you add in a Dh + 4 kids things can get crazy, but I love the idea of doing a 1/2.

Does Sept 1/2 close early??

 

[lourodrigis]

I can't remember when it closed, or if it closed. I signed up late, say July.

As for the weather, it is a concern but it is for every race. Last year it was great (45 degrees and dry) at the start. However, I ran a race in October and caught so indian summer 80 degree temps that killed me.

The good thing about the PDR is you will be training in heat anyway so your body will be used to it. The PDR is the better race but it's not like the race in November is bad.

Lou