Just the facts, ma'am

Philly Distance Run Race Course Guide and Tips

2009-09-06T22:55:00.001-07:00

All of the posts on this blog are from my recent trial run of the Philly Distance Run race course. I covered the entire 13.1 miles with a camera in hand so I could report about peculiarities of the course so visiting runners could familiarize themselves with the sights of this route before arriving at race start. Not everybody has a chance to run a whole course before a race, and I always wish I had pictures of new courses before I show up, so here you go....

DISCLAIMER: All of the information is based on my running of the race route. I have not yet run the race, so there is no specific race day insider tips. I plan to be there on September 20th. Good luck!

2009-09-06T22:26:00.001-07:00

I started out the day helping the kids sell their old toys (naked Barbies, anyone?). The oldest wanted to raise money for a homeless shelter. She's only six!

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This is just a gratuitous plug for my kids 'cause they're cute - nothing to do with the PDR! They were selling this cool rocking toy to raise money for Project Home www.projecthome.org which is a multi-service agency serving Philadelphia's homeless population.
Another group that is great is the Back On My Feet (BOMF) running club. BOMF mixes runners who are homeless with runners with homes who run with the shelter residents to provide support and friendship as homeless members find housing and job opportunities. I would run with them if there runs weren't all at five in the morning!
Please look for the BOMF runners at the PDR and give them an extra cheer or consider volunteering or fundraising at your next race. www.backonmyfeet.org

2009-09-06T22:18:00.001-07:00

Ready for my run.

2009-09-06T22:17:00.001-07:00

On the trolley. The best way to get closest to the race start is on the SEPTA Subway-Surface trolley if you are coming from a distance. The trolley runs by my house so I took it.

2009-09-06T22:14:00.001-07:00

This is the SEPTA map. See all the different colored lines? They are all different color bus, trolley, subway, elevated, and regional rail routes. All of them will get you to 15th Street Station/City Hall/Suburban Station which is pretty close to the race start, but only the Green Line will get you to 22nd Street, the stop closest to where the race starts.

2009-09-06T22:13:00.001-07:00

You can see on this map how the Green Line stops at 22nd Street and the Orange Line (Broad Street subway), the Blue Line (Market-Frankford El) and the Regional Rail trains all stop at 15th Street. PATCO (from New Jersey) gets you pretty close, too. For more information about getting to the race start with public transportation, see www.septa.org.

2009-09-06T22:11:00.001-07:00

If you get off at 22nd Street, head North on 22nd to go under this overpass. Trader Joe's is located on the right in the limestone building (enter in the back).

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After you've walked awhile on 22nd Street, you will reach this large apartment building. This is your sign that you are close to the Parkway and the race start.

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This is Benjamin Franklin Parkway. It should be completely obvious on race day where the start is, but I will say you turn left and walk towards the Art Museum. If you arrive at 15th Street on public transportation, you will be able to see the Art Museum once you pass through Love Park since the Parkway offers an uninterrupted vista.

2009-09-06T22:03:00.001-07:00

You will actually start the race by running in the opposite direction from the museum. If you run towards it accidentally, at least run up the steps and give your biggest Rocky hands. You'll just look like a tourist, instead of someone who went the wrong way. Your bib might tip people off, though, so just run the right way.

2009-09-06T22:01:00.001-07:00

You will see the beautiful Logan Fountain as you run towards City Hall. Logan Fountain is great for a dip but, since you've run less than a mile at this point, you're not hot enough for that. The gold spired dome on the left is the Catholic Basilica of Ss. Peter and Paul. Logan Square was one of the original five squares laid out in a quadrant with a center square (where City Hall is). Philadelphia was the first-ever "planned" city with straight streets and right angles. If you've ever driven in Boston, you will appreciate that fact.

2009-09-06T21:59:00.001-07:00

Cafe Cret lies just beyond Logan Square and is a great place for spectators to hang out. They have Bassett's ice cream - Bassett's is a Philadelphia company that was the first ice cream company in America. Their first flavor was tomato but they have other flavors now. My favorite at Cafe Cret is the Peanut Butter Swirl. Cafe Cret also has coffee, pastries and light meals and they open at 8AM on Sundays.

2009-09-06T21:57:00.001-07:00

I get to pass my work building during the race since it's right by City Hall (the brick, low building, not the parking lot attendant building). The Friends Center, as its known, is notable for being "green". It has just undergone a tremendous transformation with new geothermic wells, a green turf roof to absorb rainwater, and toilets powered by recyled rainwater. The building may receive a Platinum LEED rating, the highest rating given for green building practices.

2009-09-06T21:56:00.001-07:00

You will pass Love Park which has another fountain plus the original Robert Indiana "Love" statue. Skateboarders made the park famous around the world and the park is considered one of the finest public skating spaces anywhere, but they are banned and are regularly chased out. As if teenagers don't have enough crap, they have to worry about being arrested for playing outside on a sunny day.

2009-09-06T21:53:00.001-07:00

Once you get to City Hall, you've run a mile.

2009-09-06T21:52:00.001-07:00

MetroMarket is the name for the shops underground at 15th Street, where all the trains and trolleys stop. There are, I think, 4 Dunkin Donuts down there if you need a prerace coffee. They open very early, even on Sunday.

2009-09-06T21:50:00.001-07:00

After you are directed to run around City Hall, this is your view staring down Market Street. This area of Market Street has a downtown mall (the Gallery), a couple of swanky hotels, Philadelphia Convention Center, the Hard Rock Cafe and lots of cheap, discount stores. Wanamakers is the building on the right with the columns (now Macy's) and was where the film Mannequin was shot.

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Look out for the big neon guitar.

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At 6th Street, you'll hit the mega-historic district. On the left is the Independence Visitor Center which orients out of town visitors to the historic district and the nearby Constitution Center.

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After you turn right on 6th Street to head south, Independence Hall will come into view.

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In this area south of Market, the streets narrow considerably. It will be crowded, but the course will open up once you get back on the Parkway after mile three and stay open, so you might as well save energy instead of weaving and bobbing through the crowd.

2009-09-06T21:42:00.001-07:00

The course changes direction again at Washington Square (one of those pesky Philadelphia squares again). The Washington Square area would not be a bad place for your spectators to hang out. They can watch you pass here early in the race, grab a coffee or something to eat on Walnut Street and walk back to the finish line in time for the big finish.

2009-09-06T21:40:00.001-07:00

As you circle around Washington Square, you might notice this oddity of architecture - two buildings built next to each other at a right angle.

2009-09-06T21:39:00.001-07:00

At 8th and Walnut there is a Starbucks that opens at 5:30AM on Sundays, presumably for the medical staff at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital nearby. If you are going to break a leg, do it near here. "Jeff" has one of the best reputations for orthopedics and sports medicine.

2009-09-06T21:38:00.001-07:00

As you run past the Jefferson Hospital plastic surgery building, notice this statue. This building is curved and designed to evoke the Coliseum. The statue's foundation represents the layers of time and this is man floating in space towards the ancients. This was all explained to me one night by a philosophical sidewalk sweeper who took the time to know the building he tended. Connect here with ancient runners. Feel the fire and the hunt.

2009-09-06T21:36:00.001-07:00

When you hit 12th Street, you are in the Gayborhood. You are just a few blocks from the 5K mark.

2009-09-06T21:35:00.001-07:00

This street is one of the original cobblestone streets that is left in Philly. If you get a chance, take a walk around some of these little streets in Old City and Society Hill. On some of them, you might find "Trinity" houses, three-story houses originally built for the working class with one room to each floor, the "Father", the "Son", the "Holy Ghost". Philadelphia is one of the few big cities in America where, historically, even the poor have owned their own homes.

2009-09-06T21:33:00.001-07:00

This is one of the banners hung around the city advertising the race.

2009-09-06T21:31:00.001-07:00

When you turn back north at 16th Street, you'll pass Philadelphia Runner at Samson Street. There is also a City Sports at 16th and Walnut, a Modell's and Finish Line on Chestnut between 15th and 16th for any last-minute needs.

2009-09-06T21:28:00.001-07:00

Soon you'll have run the return route back to the Art Museum via the Parkway. There is a Star Trek exhibit at the Franklin Institute at 22nd and the Parkway if running a half-marathon is not geeky enough for you for one weekend.

2009-09-06T21:27:00.001-07:00

The Franklin Institute has good general science exhibits plus a planetarium and Imax theater, plus a sports room where you can try your fastball and other activities. It is right near the finish line and opens at 9:30AM daily, including Race Day.

2009-09-06T21:24:00.001-07:00

Back at the Art Museum again. It's not yet time to run the Rocky steps. You've still got to run "The Loop". The Schuylkill River Loop is 8.5 miles - half of the miles down one side of the river and half back again on the other side. The first side is MLK Drive (formerly West River Drive) and my least favorite race course. Luckily, the other side of the river makes up for it.

2009-09-06T21:22:00.001-07:00

Another beautiful fountain to pass before getting on the dreaded MLK Drive.

2009-09-06T21:21:00.001-07:00

You'll run under the overpass to the left, not up the hill to the right. This will be clear on race day, but if you want to check out the course beforehand, make sure you go the right way - it's easy to get lost.

2009-09-06T21:20:00.001-07:00

The dreaded MLK. The guy ahead of me in the yellow shirt did something gross in his pants when I passed him on the Bridge.

2009-09-06T21:19:00.000-07:00

You will pass this pretty path off the side of the bridge as you merge onto MLK Drive, called the Schuylkill River trail. It is a one mile extension of the longer Kelly Drive trail and was only completed a very short time ago, mostly as a result of very hardworking volunteers and activists who worked to gain access to the river south of the Art Museum (CSX Railroad was blocking entry points, citing safety reasons). For more information, see www.freetheriverpark.info.

2009-09-06T21:16:00.001-07:00

First view of the river.

2009-09-06T21:11:00.000-07:00

Across the river is a gorgeous view of the Waterworks which houses an exhibit about how early Philadelphians got their water with the marvelous Waterworks engineering. There is a restaurant and landscaped grounds.

2009-09-06T21:09:00.001-07:00

Further down the river is Boathouse Row, private boathouses owned by clubs and universities with rowing teams. At night thousands of LED lights outline their shape.

2009-09-06T21:08:00.001-07:00

Wearisome MLK Drive. Most of it is pretty but the first stretches run next to the highway and the road is deeply cambered. Running on the asphalt path provides relief, but I am not sure it's race-legal, although people do it at many of the out and back 5K's that are held here.

2009-09-06T21:07:00.001-07:00

View across the river.

2009-09-06T21:03:00.001-07:00

On weekends in the summer, MLK Drive is closed to vehicles for recreational purposes - running, biking, walking, etc.

2009-09-06T21:02:00.001-07:00

It's nice if you like trees, I guess.

2009-09-06T21:01:00.001-07:00

I thought these were water fountains from far away - they're not. Maybe it was my negative attitude towards MLK Drive, but I was getting wiped here from the heat (midafternoon in the upper 80's). There is shade on MLK Drive, though.

2009-09-06T21:00:00.000-07:00

I think this is where our water comes from at my house. The Belmont water pumping station is at Montgomery Drive. If you've gotten this far, you are nearly at mile 7 of the race.

2009-09-06T20:58:00.001-07:00

The trail on the MLK side has these handy exercise "stations". They've incorporated them into the race...

If you think jumping jacks are bad, the next station is pullups. Just kidding. But you can do them anyway, if so moved. I don't think it would disqualify you.

2009-09-06T20:57:00.001-07:00

This guy was moved to do the pullups. Had done four and counting when I last saw him. I was impressed!

2009-09-06T20:56:00.000-07:00

View of Laurel Hill Cemetery. The cemetery is where many notable Philadelphians are buried and easily accessible from the Kelly Drive side of the river trail. Their signs says they "welcome joggers", presumably not only dead ones.

2009-09-06T20:54:00.001-07:00

This plaque marks the twin bridges of the Rte. 1 overpass. If you are here, you are about half a mile from being on the other side of the river, running back towards the Art Museum. Mile 8.5 of the race.

2009-09-06T20:53:00.001-07:00

One of the most beautiful overpass bridges. Underneath is an older rail bridge.

2009-09-06T20:52:00.001-07:00

This is the first hill of the race, a little climber up to the bridge that spans the river.

2009-09-06T20:49:00.001-07:00

A beautiful waterfall right before you reach the Falls Bridge and mile nine.

2009-09-06T20:48:00.001-07:00

Another narrow section of the course, the bridge marks the psychological halfway point of "The Loop".

2009-09-06T20:47:00.001-07:00

Detail of the ironwork. On the sidewalk, notice the horse manure.

2009-09-06T20:45:00.001-07:00

This is the view up the river towards the Art Museum. The river curves and the curve is blind, so the Art Museum will not be visible for most of the 4 miles back on the Kelly Drive side. Those are the beautiful twin steel bridges.

2009-09-06T20:44:00.001-07:00

3.9 miles to Art Museum. These mile markers, if you notice them during the race, are helpful if you are new to the course.

2009-09-06T20:43:00.000-07:00

At Midvale and Ridge, there is a gas station where I buy my drinks on my long runs. I was startled to hear a customer today ask for, and receive, a key to the bathroom. If you are modest and get desperate and there is no port-a-potty in sight, this might be an option. There are also a number of restaurants in the area, including Johnny Mananas for Mexican right across from the Sunoco station, in case you want to do a short run the day before to a lunch spot.

2009-09-06T20:40:00.000-07:00

I was thinking so much about my photos, I took a tumble in the dirt. I couldn't even get all the grit out of this when I got home.

2009-09-06T20:38:00.000-07:00

Since I was holding both my Nathan handheld and a little neoprene bag with the camera inside, I landed on my face. It's kind of scraped up now - I'm hoping it doesn't look too bruised tomorrow. NOTE: It was not too bad but I did have to fish a bug out of my eye when I got home.

2009-09-06T20:36:00.000-07:00

John Kelly, Olympian rower in the 1920's and once the head of the Fairmount Park commission. If it hasn't occurred to you yet, the park where you are running is one of the largest urban parks anywhere. Legend has it that when John Kelly's daughter Grace married the Prince of Monaco, it was quipped that she went down a station, since John Kelly reigned over a much larger principality. The Fairmount Park System is larger than Monaco in square miles but you already figured that out because you've covered so gosh darned many of them. About 2.5 miles to go!

2009-09-06T20:34:00.001-07:00

Fishing might be an option for spectators if they have a license. People catch - and eat - fish from the Schuylkill.

2009-09-06T20:33:00.000-07:00

This underpass is another portion of the course where elbowing might be necessary. It's close enough to the finish that position matters. Once you pass through, mile 12 comes very quick!

2009-09-06T20:31:00.001-07:00

This is where the race gets psychologically difficult. Around this bend is Boathouse Row. You still can't see the Art Museum, but you are less than a mile from the finish. Unfortunately, the second hill of the race is still to come.

2009-09-06T20:30:00.000-07:00

And it's Boathouse Row.

2009-09-06T20:27:00.001-07:00

By now, the final mile has gone on so long you are ready to jump up and impale yourself on his guy's shield.

2009-09-06T20:25:00.001-07:00

This man has been selling beverages on Kelly Drive since he was young (and it was just called East River Drive). He's in his 80's and kindly leaves out free water for Fido, too.

2009-09-06T20:24:00.001-07:00

Wait, that building is on the Parkway, right? And Boathouse Row is done, right? Almost there. Except, what is this hill doing on my pancake flat course?

2009-09-06T20:23:00.000-07:00

Publicly-maintained Lloyd Hall where there are bathrooms, water fountains and drinks for sale and recreational activities. Lloyd Hall is a good staging point for specators. You can see the runners before they are drained of every ounce of their being on that last hill and the building is adjacent to the Azalea Garden, a very pretty park behind the Art Museum.

2009-09-06T20:22:00.000-07:00

A wedding party in the Azalea Garden. I saw two today.

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More hill.

2009-09-06T20:19:00.000-07:00

What do you think "Fair Mount" means. It means "hill".

2009-09-06T19:28:00.000-07:00

Spectators can pass the time waiting for you to get up the hill at the Perelman building annex of the Art Museum, where the modern collections are housed. The Art Museum and annex are open Sundays from 10-5.

2009-09-06T19:02:00.000-07:00

You'll be praying, too, just yards from the finish line.

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That's the building I saw before near the finish line. Wait, it's so close - I must be at the finish line!

2009-09-06T18:59:00.000-07:00

Sadly, no. It appears from the published course map (disclaimer: I have never actually run the PDR before and I'm just going by the course map) you must get out on the Parkway a little more before you're done.

2009-09-06T18:58:00.000-07:00

Do not take time to make the Rocky arms. You are not done yet.

2009-09-06T18:57:00.000-07:00

Again, the course does not veer onto the Rocky steps. Save that for after you get your finisher's medal.

2009-09-06T18:55:00.000-07:00

I forgot to mention that the bushes in front on the right of the Art Museum are excellent covert peeing places.

2009-09-06T18:54:00.000-07:00

Do not grab this guy's Segway. You will be disqualified.

2009-09-06T18:39:00.000-07:00

Apparently, the race ends in this parking lot. This is also where the Segway equipment van parks. While it's unlikely the van will be there on race day, I have to issue the warning. I don't care how tired your legs are, commandeering Segways from the van is not OK.

2009-09-06T18:30:00.000-07:00

If you take the Green Line home from the 22nd Street stop, you can pick up a postrace treat at Arch Gourmet at 22nd and Arch on the way. It's a fancy convenience store. No beer. But look at the bags of ice for your tootsies!

PDR Race Course

2009-09-06T01:43:00.000-07:00

The end. Enjoy your race!