For the first time the 14th Philadelphia marathon was sold out. 16,000 runners braved chilly temperatures yesterday. Every runner has a story. The stories I have read from philadelphia are amazing. They will give you another reason to continue running.
In the men’s race, Kenyans, Timothy Psitet and Solomon Too broke together from the lead pack at mile 10 and tried to work together. At mile 25, Too began to weaken and gestured for Psitet to take over. “I told him to go ahead,” Too said. “I started to have a headache and felt like I could fall down.”
With the blessing of Too, Psitet took the men’s title in 2:25:01 Too was second in 2:26:03.
One runner with a special reason was Army Capt. Michael Keilty, 30, of Plainview. Running in memory of three fellow troops who died in Iraq.
His goal was to finish the race in less than 3 hours and 10 minutes. Michael, who trained in Afghanistan for his first marathon, delivered and “inspired” his family and supporters as he crossed the finish line at the 3-hour mark. Thats was incredible!
Another runner with a special reason was a homeless dude trying to get his life back. Mike Solomon, he was part of The Back on My Feet Program it is a unique running group made up of mostly homeless men. After the marathon, the 42-year-old will return to school to study computers.
Be blessed!
Filed under: marathon, marathon running, running
Philly definitely was an interesting run, particularly when runners had to dodge rain drops and parked cars in their path. I included your post in my own Philly recount at http://www.sarahmoffett.com. Thanks for the more inspiring stories.