Rock N' Roll Philadelphia
Finishers: 18,135
Once Upon A Time....
September 14, 2013
So, without going into too much detail - he's the situation:
The above letter explains the gist of what I did for my 18th race but in summary, I spent the month leading up the race fundraising for my dear friend Jeremy Maclin and his foundation that held a special place in my heart. By the day of the race, with the help of the Kirkwood and Auburn community, over a thousand dollars was donated to the Jeremy Maclin Foundation to assist with football camp scholarships and the purchase of school supplies for his back to school pack event.
So check in tow, I jumped on a plan and made my way up to Philadelphia to run my 18th race. I didn't feel like spending an arm and a leg on accommodations so I pulled an Ashley and just made a quick 36 hour trip for the race. I landed early that morning and took the train from the airport to the city center and then walked to the Sheraton.
The conference center wasn't too far from the hotel so once I had checked into my room, I wandered over that direction to pick up my packet. I had hopped to meet up with Jeremy for lunch or dinner in order to give him the check but because he had a game the next day at 1pm, he didn't have the most flexible schedule.
The Auburn Tigers were playing Mississippi State so I found that it wouldn't be a waste of a day to just be lazy and watch the game for the afternoon and evening. Once I get in bed it's obviously very hard to get out, but after searching for some food options I finally ventured out to pick up some dinner and see if I could pick up any new Eagles swag as well.
A rather uneventful calm day usually results in a good race so I went to sleep hoping that would still be the result.
September 15, 2013
Race Day! I woke up and ate all of my snacks, got dressed and then started on the long walk to the starting line. The race started over by the "Rocky Steps" and I will be very honest that I had no idea what people were talking about when they said this - like - no clue.
I had a lot of time to walk and while doing so I saw a shirtless dude carrying two basketballs and realized I had seen him in some magazines - so me being me ran to catch up with him to see if I could get a picture. His names is Darren Weissman more commonly known as "Doctor Dribble". Darren is an inspirational athlete, NBA skill specialist, personal trainer and World Record Holder. He is most well known in the running community for running halfs and fulls while dribbling two basketballs the entire race. Wild, right? Check him out at doctordribble.com. So ya - I got my photo and then skipped along.
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| That horse thing...probably historic |
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| Lining up |
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| THE Doctor Dribble
The race felt like it started a little late or maybe I was just really early so I sat around and ate a breakfast bar and just people watched. Once the race started, I could quickly tell I would survive but it was going to be hot. My decision to wear my cotton Maclin TShirt was not a very good decision. I sweat like a warthog and the shirt was quickly just drenched. The first four miles of the race wound up and down downtown Philadelphia which was pretty cool. Right toward the beginning of the race a man was holding a sign that said "What the hell are you doing, Eagles play at 1!" I found it very appropriate. Around Mile 2, a little boy started chasing me from the crowd screaming "Maclin! Maclin!" and wanted to give me a high five! I could have really used these two people around like Mile 8. Regardless - I continued to wind through the city streets and made some out and backs before going back by where we had started (the Rocky Steps) at Mile 5. This was a mild downhill stretch but it was still hot and I was being a baby and starting to lose my mind.
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Mile 5 until almost Mile 9 ran along the east shore of the Schuylkill River so we had a little shade and went under a few bridges and looking back it was great but I remember being very sluggish and just wanting to turn back. By the time we got to the turn around at Falls Bridge, there was finally a big crowd of people who had been unable to get down to the course to cheer. I refueled on water and Gu and then across the bridge and back to the finish I went.
Running through downtown....
4 miles to go and I was shuffling - not just with my feet but with my music too. I tend to play this game where I know that a song is on average about 3 minutes so 3 songs is around 9-10 minutes which is usually my mile pace. So with 4 miles to go in the race, that means I have about 12 more songs to listen to (these are the games nerdy people play when they get bored running). Shuffling along, shuffling along the miles slowly but surely ticked by and then in average half marathon fashion, a HUGE hill approached and then we had less than 400 meters to the finish - the FINISH! I was pumped and did my best to kick it in.
This race meant a lot more than a lot of the others. Although I was there by myself, along with my normal #18 plastic number, I had a little swatch of paper pinned to my shirt that had the names of all of the family and friends who had donated to the #18for18 campaign. During the race when things got hard, I would just poke myself in my belly where I knew the names were pinned and remember this race wasn't just about me.
After grabbing some treats, I went to go sit on a curb to cool down. Jeremy had texted me during the race so I called to catch up with him and tell him about the race before he got too busy with game day. He tried to get me a ticket to the game but with such short notice wasn't able to do so which wasn't a big deal - I'd find a way to go regardless.
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| Official Race Pic - 18 states down, 32 more to go! #DREAMBIG |
I had a cute mother and daughter take my photo in front of a fountain and then scurried back to the hotel to shower and get ready for the game. After checking my bag at the front desk, I hopped on the train down to Lincoln Financial. With no real plan, I walked up to the box office and said "gimme the cheapest thing you've got!" (Note: I once did this at the Cardinals game and they gave me a ticket for free - not the case here). The box office lady looked at me like I was a little crazy and then proceeded to give me a nosebleed ticket for $70 - oh and Jeremy isn't even playing (out for season for ACL tear). The $70 ended up being well worth it - if you've ever had Chickie's and Pete's chicken fingers and fries you may or may not agree they are worth $70. But after running 13.1 miles, it was the best thing ever. Paired with a nice cold Bud Light, I climbed the million of stairs to the last row of the nose bleeds -- like back against the cement last row -- and sat my food and myself down next to what seemed like your passionate, loud, Eagles bunch. As I was getting situated, I could hear them whispering "Man - check for a ring, check for a ring". Obviously not deaf, I bluntly stated asked if they were wondering if I was married. They were embarrassed but it was good icebreaker and I had a ton of fun hanging out with them for the rest of the game. The grandpa of the group was actually an Alabama fan but we made nice when he offered me a sandwich he had snuck in during halftime. We were entertained by a man beating and kicking the seats and running back and forth a few rows ahead for most of them game as well.
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| Walking into the Linc....and then ALL the way up |
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| Best Nosebleeds ever! |
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| Most Entertaining Fan Award |
After the game, I said my goodbyes and went back to the hotel to pick up my bags and head to the airport to catch a late flight home to the ATL. Wish I could have seen Jeremy but business calls!
When I got home, something else happened that was long in the making but falls into this time frame. A friend of mine from Kirkwood High had contacted me about a marketing opportunity with Degree Deodorant who was interested in featuring me in one of their #DOMORE campaign postings -- well soon after this race these came out on Facebook and Twitter! Pretty cool!
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