Philadelphia Distance Run

September 2oth was the Philadelphia Distance Run that Brynne and I had been training for with Team in Training. Many of you know that a few weeks before the race Brynne was battling stomach issues and ended up having ischemic colitis. The doctors advised her not to continue training and not to run the race. This was difficult news for us to swallow, but I decided to continue training and Brynne decided to cheer me on all the more. Thanks to the generosity of a lot of you, I was able to exceed my fundraising goal of $2000, and collectively, the Team in Training participants from Central and Eastern PA and Southern NJ raised over $250,000 for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society! Being a part of Team In Training completely enhanced this whole experience for me. I enjoyed every mile of training, from Lancaster to Pittsburgh, from Kure Beach to Basking Ridge, knowing that in the end I'd get to run 13.1 miles through downtown Philadelphia with the purpose of saving lives and finding a cure.

Race day was picture perfect. The perfect weather, the perfect temperature, and the contagious energy of around 15,000 runners. My brother Chris ran with me, and we started out with a conservative pace, fell into a groove between miles 3 and 10, and then picked up the pace for the last 3 miles. My finishing time was just over 1:49, which was right around my goal, but leaves me wondering how much faster could I go? Or how much further? My next goal: the Pittsburgh Marathon on May 2. Stay tuned for more details!


American running hero Ryan Hall (middle) won the race in 1:01. Brynne didn't get any action shots of Chris and I running because she was cheering us on as we ran by, but I made a special request to get a picture of Ryan!


My cheering section. Brynne surprised me the morning of the race with her homemade t-shirt and Owen's homemade onesie. As you might guess Owen got more attention at the race than we did.


Chris and I proudly displaying our finisher's medals.