Beautiful Park on a Perfect Day
Finally this year I was able to run the Philadelphia Trail Marathon in Wissahickon Park. I'd run the race twice, but 2020 was virtual (on the Greenway Trail) and 2021 was in Pennypack Park due to storm damage.
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| Me, Emaad and Leigh Ann awaiting the start. |
Emaad and I meet Leigh Ann at the start/finish at Houston Playground . Shortly thereafter, Beth and Eric arrive. They are doing the half marathon which is one loop - the marathon is two loops of the course. Despite my best efforts to persuade her that "training is bunk" she decided she wasn't ready for an early Spring marathon. Now, at the start but too late she is regretting her choice.
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| Thomas Mill Bridge |
Loop One
We start on the dot of 8 a.m. (The half marathoners start an hour later.) I stay with Emaad and Leigh Ann for a mile or so, but soon they pull away and are gone. In about 1.3 miles the course crosses Wissahickon Creek on a red Thomas Mill covered bridge. The trails are up and down and rocky and rooty, so one much pay attention to the footing. There is a flight of steep stone steps, to be navigated and a couple of large (six foot?) diameter drainage? sewage? pipes that one must run along (no railings).I run with Tim, attempting his second marathon for a bit and tell him all my usual stories. About mile 6.4 we cross Blue Stone Bridge to head back toward the start/finish on the other side of the creek. This side is not quite as hilly as the other. We skirt the Walnut Lane Golf Course.
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| Looking back at the steep stone steps. |
I get ahead of Tim and torment a pair of women runners with my timeworn stories before abandoning them and going ahead. And soon the leaders of the half marathon begin to catch up with us, despite our hour head start.
With less than a mile to go to the end of the first loop, the trail turns unexpectedly steep upward. While I expected to have to go up, the steepness of the trail is surprising.
Loop Two
I look forward to changing my long-sleeved shirt for a short-sleeved one, but although the start/finish line is in sight, the second loop starts about a tenth of a mile short of there. No great inconvenience, but I will have to wear my long-sleeved, with the sleeves pushed up, for the second loop.
About a half mile into the second loop Tim catches up and passes me. For the rest of the second loop I will not see a single runner in the race. The half marathoners are finished, obviously. It turns out that there are five runners behind me: the two women I briefly chatted with and three others. None will finish within 20 minutes of me.
But there are a lot of other people out in the park, strolling, fishing (with beers in hand), foraging (collecting some sort of leaves that only can be harvested when tender in the spring), rock climbing (at Mom Rinker's Rock), walking a cat in a harness, running, mountain biking, and otherwise enjoying a pleasant day.
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| Mom Rinker's Rock |
While the environment is pleasant, my mind is not at rest. I'm concerned about making the eight hour cut-off, which didn't seem like much of a worry before the race. But it took me 3:24 to get through the first loop, and I figure that if I slow down on the second loop, as is usually the case, I won't make it. If fact, I have 4:36 to do it in, but my mind isn't doing arithmetic well (it is one of the first mental capacities to go on a longer trail run). to With ten miles to go I pull out my phone and use the calculator to compute the pace I must maintain to beat the cutoff. At the same time I text Emaad of my concerns, and text Beth that I won't finish in the time I originally told her so that she doesn't wait around unnecessarily. The pace is doable. I repeat the exercise at each mile and am reassured that it remains the same or gets slower. Finally, at mile 25, the required pace is in excess of 50 minutes/mile. Even with the steep climb to come, I know I've got it.
As I cross the finish line and collect my AG Wetterhaus award, Emaad, Leigh Ann, Beth and Eric are waiting for me. But even with the cheering section anxious to get on to refreshments, I have to pause, take a seat and tell the finish line volunteers the tale of how RD Stephan came to recognize that 70+ was not part off the 60-69 age group and created a new AG category of 70+.
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| Along the creek. |
My story concluded, we head off to the Chestnut Hill Brewing Company for post-race refreshments. Leigh Ann is heading off for dinner with husband Ron, and Beth and Eric are planning dinner, so only Emaad and I have something to eat, sharing fries and a pizza. The other four have beer, but since I'm driving Emaad and I back to Maryland I opt for iced tea. I have four glasses, apparently thirsty from my run.
Results
I finish in 7:25:30, my fears of missing the eight-hour cut-off woefully misplaced. I'm 162 0f 167 overall, 118 of 119 males, and first and only in my age group. I'm the oldest finisher by eight years.
Emaad and Leigh Ann finish together in 6:51. Tim, who passed me early on the second loop, finished his first marathon just two minutes ahead of me, and we shook hands at the finish.
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| Swab: Shirt, Medal, Bib and AG winner Wetterhaus. |
