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Philadelphia marathon ('Kick Asphalt!')

Soft Pretzels and Cheese Steaks and er Rocky come to mind when Philadelphia is mentioned not a marathon!

We went to America for our 'big' hols as a kid may say!...and we decided to stick a marathon in the middle for fun!

The first few days of holiday were spent in DC visiting out friend and her family. We didn't spot Obama which was a bit of a shame for me, being a huge fan. (then found out afterwards that gatecrashing a White House party could have been another possible option!)

I think Geoff was amazed at how huge the memorials to the Presidents were, they are colossal, and then there's the White House, quite small in comparison!

Then we caught the train to Philly for a long weekend to run. Of course Philly is a very interesting place, mixing the old with the new and more importantly, where independence all began and where the Liberty Bell lives.

I also took Geoff to a very gruesome medical museum where we both almost threw up. Poor Geoff, but golly was it interesting.

Oh, and then there was the marathon. Poor Geoff decided quite sensibly to 'sack it' at the half marathon point. He got a pleasant surprise when despite not even racing he managed to still win his age category within the half marathon race. We did laugh!

I had a similar thought myself at half way, but blindly carried on and got away with ok not sub 3 but 3.01.25 (however 15th lady out of over 3,500 ladies) and a pb so I was very pleased.

The course was a bit of a surprise to us, tagged as a pb course, which took you through the main city sights and then through scenic Fairmont Park which to our amazement was quite undulating in parts, then along the pretty Schuylkill River - beautiful but not altogether easy. One highlight was actually starting and finishing the race on an area which was modelled on the Champs Elysee affording fabulous views of the city, and the other highlight was receiving a huge Pretzel at the end (bigger than my head!) amongst various other bits and bats of food. Gosh no wonder the Americans are so big!

A couple of days later we ventured to beautiful breathtaking Portland (Oregon) for Thanksgiving

'HAPPY HOLIDAYS!'

Report by Sarah Cumber on behalf of Halifax Harriers.