It existentially scares me that we're having temps in the 60s in Philly in January ....but once we get past the overarching fear for mankind, it's a great treat to run in shorts in a T-shirt! How is your running going? I had to skip my Thursday run, but still logged 17+ miles for the week with a fantastic Saturday morning 10 miler around University City, Graduate Hospital and Fairmount (with my Team Philly pals Jessica, Lee, Kenny, Janna and Chris)
Last week's #RunWithRadio1045Johnny blog attempted to get you motivated to get running and one of the best ways to get moving is to have a goal. So, this week,you can browse some upcoming (first half of the year) Philly area races. (If you know of a good race/run that's missing, definitely Tweet it at me and I will update the post!)
March 28th PHILLIES CHARITY (5k)
A 3.1 mile run which starts and ends at Citizens Bank Park and after crossing the finish line, runners can to take a victory lap on the field (weather permitting). The net proceeds benefit Phillies Charities and participants will receive a voucher for four Phillies tickets
March 28th BACK ON MY FEET 5 MILER (5 miles)
Thanks to Mary Kate for tipping me off to the Back On My Feet 5 Miler, which starts at Paine's Park (near Art Museum in Philly). Looks like a great cause, 'helps to support our services to improve the self-sufficiency of those experiencing homelessness. Money raised from this event helps Back on My Feet in Philadelphia reduce homelessness through running and community building, as well as employment and housing resources.'
March 29th THE LOVE RUN (Half-Marathon and 7k)
This race starts near the Art Museum and covers parts of Center City around the Ben Franklin Parkway and also runs through Fairmount Park. Always one of my favorite races, as it yielded me my half-marathon PR! They usually have cool shirts too!
April 4th HOT CHOCOLATE (15k, 5k)
The course hits a little bit of the Ben Franklin Parkway, though mostly focused along MLK. A nice warm up for Broad Street and they usually have cool swag and serve yummy chocolate treats at the finish line!
May 3 BROAD STREET (10 miles)
This is such a great race with the energy of 40,000+/- runners on a very forgiving (slight decline) path from down Broad Street, starting around the Olney Transportation Center and ending at the Philadelphia Navy Yard. I often call this the 'gateway race', as it's much easier than running a half or full-marathon, but can give you the confidence to take the next step. The tough part about this race is that it's limited to 40,000ish runners and a lot of runners don't make it through the 'lottery' entry process, which opens on February 1 and lasts until February 14.
June 7th PHILLY RUN FEST (Half-Marathon, Half-Marathon Relay, 5k)
Formerly, The ODDyssey Half-Marathon, this course is focused primarily around Fairmount Park, including Smith Memorial, Mann Music Center, Japanese Teahouse, and Laurel Hill Cemetery. (A nice course, but the year I ran it we had a super-hot day and I got blisters.)
Hope you see a race which matches your distance! Now, get your shoes laced up and start running! Any feedback/suggestions? Tweet me @Radio1045Johnny