Philadelphia Distance Run 2024 Race Recap

On Sunday I ran the Philadelphia Distance Run Half-Marathon, which was my second postpartum half after the Annapolis Running Festival in March. I ran with a gifted bib from Brooks Running as a Brooks Ambassador. While this wasn’t a PR, it was a postpartum PR and a great event!

Philadelphia Distance Run 2024 Race Recap

The logistics of this race got a bit tricky when I realized I would probably need to drive up there that morning. Luckily, many other Brooks runners would be there and I was able to ask another ambassador to get my bib at the expo. I live just over an hour and a half from Philly, so driving there and back in one day is doable. It just meant leaving early to get there with plenty of time before starting the race!

Philadelphia Distance Run Training

I had a pretty strong training cycle for this race. Other than taking time off when I had mastitis I was able to get in all my runs. About 10 days before the race I tweaked my left upper hamstring a bit. It’s a spot that I had injured awhile ago and comes back every now and then. I went to PT and had dry needling and was given a couple of exercises to do. I also got it taped on Wednesday and somehow it stayed on through Sunday!

Pre-Race

On Sunday I woke up at 3:50 am to leave by 4:20. I was pretty much all packed the night before, I just had to get dressed, make coffee, double check everything, and pack up the car. On my drive I ate a bagel with almond butter and drank coffee and Liquid IV. There wasn’t any traffic, just some construction areas that slowed things down.

Once I parked I had to pump which I did while eating a pop tart and getting all my stuff organized. Then I ran over to meet my Brooks teammates at the Thinker Statue for pre-race pics.

The race was supposed to start at 7:30, so a little before 7 we headed over to the start area. I checked a bag because I now had my race shirt after getting my bib from my teammate. The line was long but moved quickly. I did a bit of a warm up but not as much as I probably should have done. Around 7:20 we were told to line up in our corrals.

Philadelphia Distance Run Race Start

My bib said I was in corral 3, but I ended up starting in corral 4. I figured starting a little slower wouldn’t be a bad thing. There was a big gap between each corral which actually worked out well because I was in the front of corral 4 and didn’t get boxed in at all. By the time I crossed the start line it was 7:45.

Miles 1-6

The Philadelphia Distance Run is a very flat course and it’s an out and back. When I started running my watch showed that I was right on goal pace for the first couple of miles. My legs felt kind of stiff and I wished I had warmed up better. It was already warm and so humid. Plus this early morning runner isn’t used to running in the sun!

After a few miles I realized that my watch was over a tenth of a mile ahead of the mile markers, which meant my overall pace was slower than my watch showed. I tried to pick up the pace a bit but my legs were just not having it. At this point I was probably running about 8:00-8:05 miles but my watch was showing 7:55-8:00.

I brought my own handheld water bottle with Skratch in it which I was happy about since I didn’t need to slow down for water stops, but it seems like there were plenty. For fueling I took a Huma Gel every 25 minutes or so.

Miles 7-13.1

After the turnaround which is just before mile 7 I felt like the heat was really getting to me. It was nice to see so many runners going the other way and I was able to wave to some other Brooks runners. After getting back over the bridge at mile 9 I wanted to start pushing it. The course felt slightly more downhill and I did notice my paces dropping slightly.

All of a sudden I hit 11 miles and my right hip cramped up really badly. It forced me to pull to the side and stop running. I stretched it out a bit and started walking to see how it felt. Once it loosened up I started running again, and eventually it felt back to normal. I was worried I would have to walk 2 miles to the finish! My left hamstring was barely noticeable throughout the race, so this was a frustrating surprise.

The last mile was the hardest for me. I was trying to push as much as I could but it was so warm and my legs had nothing left. I was so happy to just get across that finish line!

Philadelphia Distance Run Post Race

I stopped my watch and it said I ran 1:46:25 for 13.37 miles. This was 4 minutes faster than March and my fastest half since 2015. I was hoping for a couple minutes faster, but given the conditions and my stretching stop I was happy with this time.

I picked up my bag and headed over to the Brooks recovery area. There were some games, massages, and food in an area with tables where you could just hang out post race.

Once most of our team finished we took some pics before I made my way back to the car. I changed into dry clothes and got myself some drinks and snacks for the drive home. The goal was to be home by 1:00 soccer practice! (My daughter would be napping, so I would stay home so my husband could take my son). I made it home just in time! However, I am not sure my family will let me leave alone again. It sounds like they were all thrown off all day and had a tough morning. My daughter was velcroed to me the rest of the day once I got home!

Philadelphia Distance Run Race Reflections

This was a great race and I would definitely do it again sometime! I wish it was a bit cooler but you never know what you will get this time of year. It was a big event with lots of runners and crowd support, but still felt easy to navigate. Its nice that I could do this without having to stay over and pay for a hotel, but it was alot to do it all in one day.

I’m also once again frustrated by my Coros watch. This is another out and back race with hardly any turns that my watch was way ahead of the course distance. I know it’s normal for it to be a bit off but I feel like this in unnecessary for a straight course? Do Garmin users have this problem?

I definitely hope to keep chipping away at my half time. I’m not sure if I will do another half this fall, but I am tempted to look for one once the weather cools down.

Now it’s time to recover and get this hamstring (and maybe hip?) back to 100%!

You may also like:
Half-Marathon Training Tips for Beginners
Effective Half Marathon Workouts To Include In Your Training Plan
7 Things You Need To Know Before Running Your First Half-Marathon

Would you drive and hour and a half for a race?
Have you ever had a muscle randomly cramp up during a run?

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