10 Miles at the Philly Marathon

Today was first for me in running. I paced a friend, Mike, through the last 10 miles of the Philly marathon.

The plan was to meet Mike at mile marker 16, jump in, and do the best I could to help him to his 3:30 goal. Got there a bit early to cheer on a few friends that would be passing before Mike. First up was Steve who had a huge PR and a great race finishing in 2:52. He looked great and seemed totally relaxed as I jogged a bit with him. I heard he looked just as good at mile 25.6. Congratulations Steve.

Next up was Craig who wasn't looking so hot but evidently that didn't matter because he went on to a 21 minute PR finishing in 2:59:55. I can imagine he must have really been eyeing the clock and pushing to come under 3:00 over those last few miles. A great Job.

Next up was my cousin's husband who I never expected to see so early in the race. He struggled a bit in the last few but posted a 3:37 for his first marathon. Another great finish.

Then Mike came along with Ian by his side. I jumped in and after a few words with Ian about how the race was setting up it was Mike and I to finish this thing off. Well really Mike was there to finish this thing off I was just there to lend a little support. Truthfully I was a bit worried about Mike's goal and was praying it didn't turn into a struggle for him over the last several miles.

I shouldn't have worried. Mike was in fine form for the final 10. In fact he told me just where he wanted me. I did as ordered and tried to keep a steady pace and weave through traffic as we slowly passed many of the runners. Things got a little tight in Manayunk but other than that it went well.

He never struggled and it was great to see a huge smile on his face as we came up the last hill towards the art museum en route to a 3:28 and what I think was over a 20 minute PR!

Big props to all the finishers. I'm looking forward to some LBRR's on the message board.