On September 16th, about 18,000 runners (plus me) turned out for the 35th Philadelphia Rock n Roll half-marathon. The route was a beautiful, mostly flat, scenic course through Center City and up and down the river drives.
The actual “winners” were Stanley Biwott, who ran the 13.1 miles in 1:00:02. For the women, Sharon Cherop finished in 1:07:20. Which totally amazes me! That’s like running an average of like 4 minutes per mile! Wow!
But of course, most of the runners weren’t trying to win. They, we just wanted to finish within the time we set as a goal. And we all crossed the finish line exhilarated. I couldn’t help but shout “YEAH!!!” when I crossed the finish line.
It was awesome. I started running in February. This was my first 1/2 marathon ever.
I was running with the American Cancer Society’s Team DetermiNation, with a goal to raise $1000.
Running the marathon was a personal challenge for me. I wanted to do the training, support a cause that is important to me and finish.
For me and many of the thousands of runners, it wasn’t about winning. It was about finishing.
Thank you to everyone that supported me and helped me accomplish this personal victory.
