Philadelphia Marathon
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Joe_H posted 11 weeks ago.
I've done 3 times. think Runnerworld said it's the best course to BQ on -whatever that means. last year was the first time it sold out ever and with the new half marathon it may be a little crowded. it starts and finishes at the philly art museum (rocky's steps). the first half is through the city and through fairmount park some rolling hills but nothing crazy. the second half is an out and back on kelly drive to manayunk it is pretty but also less crowds and this is always where I fall apart. manayunk is nuts and fun but then you are alone again for the run back to the art museum.
my sister is talking about doing again this year. I still remember my last marathon and think I'll pass for now.
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921 days
gfd posted 11 weeks ago.
I have also done it 3 times. Joe H is on with his description. I would say that Marine Corps and Steamtown are better BQ courses. The 2nd half of Philly is tough mentally and physically. Not a real difficult course overall but it has enough hills to slow you down between mile 19 and 21. I believe they cap it at 10,000 and it did fill last year.
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231 days
TriSooner posted 11 weeks ago.
burnman wrote:
Haven't done it, but it sounds like a cool venue. On a side note, I don't know how accurate it is to compare one race's number/percentage of Boston Qualifiers to the number of people who qualified for Boston AT Boston. It is a specious comparison because the people who run Boston had to qualify to get to Boston. Hence, they are already must faster than average. So of course Boston runners can qualify for Boston and do so repeatedly. No? Maybe compare Phily to other races that have considerable 'BQs,' like Houston, St. George, etc. Just a thought.
I heard that last year it produced the highest number of Boston qualifiers outside of Boston itself.
Joe_H wrote:
think Runnerworld said it's the best course to BQ on -whatever that means.
Well, screw me. What do I know?
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1500 days
macker posted 11 weeks ago.
3-timer here as well...hillier than it seems in my opinion. and last year it was pretty cold; colder than you want in my opinion. Last year i also was thrown for a loop in that there is a new hill (compared to last time i ran it in '04) that is pretty steep around mile 14, plus. With that said, I do think you can move pretty well on the course and I know plenty of people that have qualified for Boston there..I missed by 1.10 last year, ugh! (bathroom stop did it...and i could not have just pee'd on myself..if you know what i mean, lol)
Macker
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80 days
StephenPDennis posted 10 weeks ago.
I rocked it last year myself. Despite being a little chilly and crowded, it was a terrific race, some of the best fans I've even encountered. Around mile 20 through the finish people were handing out mini water bottles, towels, oranges, tiny little brownie bites and even beer (I can admit to having a couple myself....ahem...) It was one of the best races I've ever done for two reasons - you can either run for the fast (and it is fasssst) qualifier or you can run to just enjoy a great city, a great feeling and the best fans. Either way, it's probably one of my favorite races.
The biggest draw back however is the expo, the line took about 45 minutes just to get my number... then another line for T-shirts... another one for the pace group.... so I would get there early.
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363 days
wirebook posted 4 weeks ago.
One other thought on why it might produce a higher number of BQ folks is that it's a relatively late marathon (being 3rd week of November) - and thus cooler temps.
I ran the HM in Philly last year, as well as the MCM three weeks prior. It was snowing at the start of Philly, whereas it was 61* for the MCM.
That said, I'll be doing the Philly Full this year...while looking to knock off a BQ time. I choose it not because of the faster course, but simply for scheduling reasons.
-Ray
Tri Blog: Http://dcrainmaker.blogspot.com
Anyone done it in the past? Anyone planning on doing it this Fall? I heard that last year it produced the highest number of Boston qualifiers outside of Boston itself, but there was less than 7000 full distance finishers.