2012 Philadelphia Rock & Roll Half Marathon Recap

Finisher Medal – Philadelphia 2012

2012 Philadelphia Rock and Roll Half Marathon is run and done. This is the first distance run I’ve done with the Rock and Roll/Competitor group. I have read mixed reviews about this company and the races they organize, but I have to say they ran a well organized race in Philly.

My official chip time: 02:14:41. My goal was to beat my previous time and arrive at the finish line in 2 hours. That idea was crushed two days prior to the race. On Friday morning my IT band decided to flare up and cause excruciating knee pain. Walking was pure misery on Friday and steps were out of the question.  While I questioned whether I should run in this event, I started working out the knots in my quad with a foam roller and a little device called ‘The Stick”.  Saturday the knee started to feel better, but steps still bothered the knee. At the Expo, a ‘Stick’ sales rep used their product to work out the knots in my right quad and the knee felt remarkable better afterwards.

Sunday morning I awoke and walked up and down a flight of stairs and found no pain in my knee. If I felt any twinge of pain, I was prepared to stay home. I would not have been happy, but I have a marathon to complete this year and I need to stay injury free.

At 6:45 ish I met up with my Team Philly running friends to stretch and warm up before the race.  I find it is so much better to run with friends, especially Team Philly friends:

Trish, Moi and Pink at the start of the race.

The morning brought with it perfect running weather. The course started on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway and wound its way through downtown Philly for four miles before turning back towards the Parkway and to ‘The Loop’ through Kelly Drive, crossing the Falls Bridge then looping back to the Parkway on MLK Drive. Live bands and cheer stations lined the entire route encouraging and invigorating the runners. My favorite – a little boy in a wheelchair cheering the passing runners with all his might. Seeing that little boy put into perspective how beautiful life can be – don’t waste a minute of it!  It is a flat and relatively fast course, no hills except for a tiny incline right at the end of the course. My advice to new runners –  just sprint up the incline and get it over with.

I’ve mixed feelings about my effort in this race. I felt capable of a faster pace per mile, yet did not want to push the knee as it did start twinging around 2.5 miles into the race. I’m happy my finish time did not fall beyond 2:14 but would have been ecstatic if the time were much closer to the 2 hour mark.  Patience, grasshopper, patience –  you will achieve your time goal.

After finishing the run, collecting a finishers medal it was time to eat, drink and be merry!  Seriously, the organizers feed the runners well post race. The registration may be a bit expensive but you get your money’s worth with the post race food.

If you have ever considered running a half marathon, Philly Rock and Roll Half Marathon is a great choice for beginners and advanced runners.

Posted on September 18, 2012  ::  Categories: Philadelphia  ::  Tags: Chasing 26.2, Half Marathon, Philadelphia, Running
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