Philadelphia Marathon...for Nancy

Finally recovering from being sick, I was eagerly anticipating the Philadelphia Marathon this past Sunday. This was going to be more than just a race weekend, as I was going to present a seminar at the expo and have a chance to share my experiences from my year of marathon running! I was thrilled to have the opportunity, and also somewhat nervous about it. I've had plenty of experience with public speaking starting at a young age, and don't have any issues talking in front of groups. Still, it's hard not to have some anticipation jitters, or,  I'm just a bit of a stress case (the later is quite likely).

Getting there was half the battle. Every time I've gone to Philly, there has always been a lot of traffic congestion and this weekend was no different. Having left later than I planned and dealing with the masses of cars meant arriving only an hour or so before I had to speak!

My friend Cathy had kindly offered to let me stay with her for the weekend, so after dropping my stuff off at the hotel, we made the short walk down to the expo and I said a quick prayer that all would run smoothly for my talk. I had been given 40 minutes to 1 hour to talk, and even for someone like me, with a lot of words, that's a huge chunk of time. I had prepared slides to go with my talk, highlighting some of the stories of this year. My presentation followed Bart Yasso's talk and a few of my friends came by to see it.

As I went to get set up, I noticed that the sign outside the seminar tent listed me as "author of 52 marathons in 52 weeks." Obviously I haven't written any books (just blogs), as I'm still on my running journey. I'm not sure where they got mixed up with that info, but it made me chuckle.  It was really great to be able to share about my year, the children I'm running for, and how I ended up in this crazy running journey in the first place. Before I knew it, 45 minutes had passed, and I was done.

As I was planning to have dinner with Cathy and several other running friends, I had a short time to wander through the expo and I talked with more people than actually seeing booths. Afterward I kicked myself because I was really looking forward to stopping at one booth in particular, Try Chips. They offer awesome 100 calorie pack "chips" made from 100% fruits and on top of being all natural, they taste great! I've been eating them for snacks lately and was hoping to pick up some more samples from them. Oh well!

Back to the hotel, and on to dinner. We all met up at this little restaurant called Victor's Cafe. It didn't look like much from the outside, but it was the dinning experience like no other! I opted to have the grilled salmon and veggies, not my normal take before a marathon, but it sounded good. The food was wonderful, the time with friends was awesome, and the wait staff was out of this world amazing. This self-proclaimed "music lovers' rendezvous," restaurant has been around since 1918, when it was opened by John DiStephano. They offer Italian cuisine served by opera-singing waiters! Every 15 minutes or so, one of the wait staff would ring a bell to quiet the restaurant down, and then proceed to sing an opera piece for us. I'd never seen anything like it before and they had some extremely gifted singers. We were all blown away by the talent, and I was kicking myself for leaving my camera at the hotel!

After more than a long day, I was glad to get a decent night sleep. Morning came too soon, as it usually does, and it was time to get moving. Cathy and I made our way to the start, stopping to take a few pictures as we made our way to the start line.

 Getting ready

With Cathy, and Laura Yasso 

Beautiful fountain

After a quick trip to the port-o-potty, it was time to pack in with the crowd of 20,000+ runners that were gearing to take to the streets, running either the full or half. They had a wave start to help minimize crowding on the streets, but even so I felt like a good portion of the early miles had congestion.

Shortly after taking off, I saw a couple park benches off to the left of me, obviously occupied with homeless folks who were trying to sleep. I struggled with seeing that, as the temps were in the 30's, and I had been freezing before we started moving. I realize that in every part of the world there are homeless people who are living the same life, but it just breaks my heart. I had put some money in my pocket for after the race in case I needed to get something on my way back to the hotel, and I wanted nothing more than to just go over and give it to the men on the park benches. I couldn't as they were far from the course and corral gates were in place to keep spectators off the streets, away from the runners. But as I ran, I had them in my mind.

City Hall - amazing!

 China Town

Philadelphia is one of several large cities that has a great non profit program called Back on my Feet. 
It's a nonprofit organization that helps homeless people by engaging them in running as a means to build skills that will allow them to become successful, such as confidence, strength and self-esteem. I have several friends that are involved with Back on my Feet programs and I think the work they do is wonderful and life changing. It's just another good example of ways in which running can make a serious positive impact on people's lives.

There are people everywhere in need. Philly was marathon #47 on my quest and with only a few marathons left to hit my goal of 52, I find myself feeling increasingly pulled by what I can do next. These races end, but I know my journey won't.

I ran the Philadelphia Marathon for Nancy, who is 14 and orphaned in South Africa. Looking at her picture, I can't help but think how much she resembles Michelle Obama. She has strikingly similar features. But Nancy's world is nothing like ours. Her mother is dead, and her father is gone. She and her siblings, take part in a food program that 25:40 helps sponsor and it's uncertain who, if anyone, is caring for her. Like the homeless people I passed, she has little.

 Nancy

I know I can't fix everything, or save everyone, but it was my prayer that today would bring some hope to her life. It all has to start somewhere. And sometimes that start is just being willing to open our eyes to the need. We are conditioned to turn away from the unpleasant. It's so much easier to look away, than to have to face the pain that people face, because, quite frankly, it makes us uncomfortable. I think we all need to go a little out of our way and be uncomfortable. Take a moment, and put yourself in the shoes of the woman you see standing along the side of the road with the cardboard sign. Try and see the person behind the ragged clothes and unkempt hair when they pass by. I know that with the holiday season upon us, many of us take part in different ways of giving. I challenge you, to take your giving a step farther. And by that I don't mean you have to give more money, or buy more. But make your giving personal. Don't be afraid to talk to that person that everyone walks by. Maybe you know someone that is going to be alone this holiday season that you can open your home up to and share a meal.

All these things were passing through my mind as I ran. We ran along shops and the sides of the streets were packed with people cheering, but I didn't hear any of it. I kept thinking. We passed by landmarks and through water stops, I took pictures, but I kept on thinking. At one point I saw a mile marker sign and it read 9 miles. "Nine Miles? Have we really gone nine miles?" I literally asked that to the guy running next to me. The last mile marker I had seen was at mile 3, no joke.

Nearing the half way point we split off from the half marathoners and the road opened up. With the second half having an out and back portion, I found myself entertained by watching all the fast runners pass us on their way back to the finish. It is a thing of sheer beauty, the speed with which some people can run. I cheered for them, their determination and effort, giving me new found energy as well. I know a lot of people dislike out and back courses. I on the other hand don't mind it in the least and I love hitting the turn around point knowing that I am now heading home.

I took a little extra time in those later miles, stopping at mile 18 for beer (2 cups), mile 20 to take off my jacket and wrap it around my waist, and again, at mile 22, to hit the other side of the beer station (for another 2 cups). I probably took in more beer than energy gel on the course, but I was having a good time and the last couple of miles I felt no lack of energy.

At mile 24 I finally looked at my watch. I had avoided checking it the entire race, but curiosity got the best of me. I was running faster than I had thought and seeing my time was good motivation to keep up my pace. Coming through to the finish line, I gave a high-five to Bart Yasso who was announcing at the finish and pushed through with a time of 4:07, my 4th fastest marathon time this year.

Best sign on the course!

Walking back to the hotel, my mind was still churning from the run. I still had Nancy and the homeless folks on my mind. The idea for this year started on a run. And I began to wonder where the ideas floating through my mind on today's run would take me....

"Hope is the thing with feathers That perches in the soul 

And sings the tune without the words And never stops at all" - Emily Dickenson

Final Race Stats:
4:07:15 - finishing time
4,426 out of 8,942 overall
1,415 out of 3,758 women
378 out of 962 for my age group (25-29)