Bounce Runs Like A Girl in Philly

All right, don’t get your panties all in a knot. I know that most of you woman are faster than me, especially on the road. Before you start emailing me or calling me, read my report and see why I ran like a girl.

Gretchen and her friend Lori were running the Philadelphia Marathon and I went to support them.
Her other friend Anita was signed up to run and was unable to make it. I thought to myself that I would take my running stuff and possibly run. I had just done the Stone Cat 50 Miler two weeks ago and I wasn’t sure how my body would hold up, but the intrigue of running a road marathon in a strange city was there. You see, I have never run a road marathon or the official 26.2 distance. This would be a whole new experience for a trail dog like me.

Anita had asked us to pick up her shirt and other schwag, since she had already paid for it, and running together a couple of days prior she told me to use her number if I wanted. The way was cleared. We hit the Expo on Saturday and picked up the race packets. Of course, for the first time I have ever seen, the race bibs had the runner’s names on them. If I wanted to run with Anita’s number, I would have to be “Anita”. This opened up a whole new set of circumstances. Would I be found out to not be a “real” woman?

Okay. I needed to commit or bow out. Lets see. I ran Stone Cat two weeks ago and had only run twice for about four miles in the woods since. I was sure my endurance was still there. The race started at 7:00 AM on a Sunday with no pubs or stores open to wile away my time. No option there. The course would give me tour of the city like no other. A positive. I had never run a road marathon before, let alone a big city marathon with big crowds. A whole new experience for me. Okay, I was going to do it just for fun, no expectations, just to finish and enjoy uncharted territory. But, could I pull off running as a woman.

Four thirty AM came and we all got ready. I pinned on my bib still with concerns of security. Would anybody question me? I mean I had an official bib, but with the name Anita on it. I was going over scenarios in my head. It was a typo. I accidently put my wife’s name on my entry. It looks like Anita, but was actually a man’s name pronounced differently. Yeah, that was a good stretch, but I was going through all kinds of variations in my head. I was banking on that people would be afraid to even question me for fear of offending me.

Linda Kowalski and Mark Gilluhly met us at the apartment and we walked the mile in the pre-dawn darkness to the start. As we walked the amount of people going our way kept multiplying until we reached the start area where there was an immense mass of people. Boy, what a crowd. Our first order of business was to check Gretchen’s bag for retrieval after the race. She had taken clothes to be comfortable after the race while she waited for “Anita”. The lack of organization was first encountered here. There were so many people in this area, with no flow of travel laid out, that nobody moved very quickly. There were UPS trucks arranged by alphabetical order to receive the gear bags and luckily we were only going to “c”. We were moving inches at a time. When we finally got to the truck and dropped the bag, there was only ten minutes to the start. Upon hearing that announcement, people kind of got locked in their motion and didn’t move. I just started yelling “Keep moving, don’t stop”. People might of thought I was somebody, but at least near me they started moving enough so we could get out of the throng and get to the start corrals. Would they have listened to me if I wasn’t a woman? Did they know? No time to ponder that, I would have plenty of time for that.

I was still with Gretchen and Linda, but had been separated from Lori. Gretchen and Linda were in the Green corral and I wished them well and sent them off while I waited for Lori, who was in the same corral as “Anita”. I looked for Lori until five minutes to the start and then decided to get to my corral. Lori and I were in the Purple corral. There was no security as far as getting into the corrals, so I was in. I was going to run. The lack of security also allowed for the corral colors to get all mixed up. There were people in our corral that were supposed to be two corrals back. There were so many people, I don’t think it really mattered. The front corrals were being started and we were moving up to the start for our corral. I hadn’t found Lori and wouldn’t until we went back to the apartment.

We started around 7:15 and headed into the heart of the city. About a 100 feet from the start, a big guy next to me toed a crack in the road and went down like a ton of bricks. Okay, not so different than a trail race. With the throng carrying me I couldn’t turn to help him, but I did see him helped up and not trampled. I was moving along and enjoying my “walking tour of the city. I felt pretty comfortable running with such a crowd. I guess on the trail you are used to dodging obstacles and running in sometimes confined areas, but there was a lot of pushing and tripping going on. People were too impatient and not used to running in such close proximity to others. Well, they should have stayed in the correct corral, and everybody would have been moving at close to the same speed. Well, in theory. Anyway, while sightseeing, I saw a sign that stated that the first Girl Scout cookies were cooked at this location in the Pennsylvania Gas company’s front window. I found that quite interesting and that got me thinking about food with the first “water stop” coming up. I am used to eating while I am running such a distance, and I was wondering how I was going to fare with only a water or Gatorade race menu. I, kind of, was already looking for a nosh to eat. Oh well, keep moving.

We went by the Philadelphia mint, I forgot they had one of those. Made a mental note to take the kids there when we come back. Went by the multistory city jail with the guards out front cheering. Whose watching the prisoners I thought? We then turned along the shore of the Delaware river and ran past some old warships and masted wood ships. Another mental note, looks cool. Now along this stretch we came out of the canyons of the buildings and were in the open sun. Along this mile stretch I have never seen so many clothes discarded. They were everywhere, even in the trees on the side of the road and underfoot. They were all supposed to be going to charity, but take it from somebody who hates to match a laundry load of socks, I wouldn’t want to be the person matching up the pairs of gloves going to charity.

We leave the shoreline and head through the cute row houses of South Philly, head by Independence Hall with the people dressed in colonial attire out front cheering the throng of runners, up the, now quiet, entertainment center of South St., back through the city, cross over the Schuylkill River into the buildings of the University of Pennsylvania and head by the Philadelphia Zoo. Its now about Mile 8 and I start to feel two hot spots on my left foot. What the hell is this? I never get blisters, just ran 50 miles without a problem, have the same shoes and socks I have had on for many a 20 something mile runs on the road, and now I am getting blisters at Mile 8. Damn, roads!!! Okay so now what to do? I first thought, okay, I can get tape at the next aid station, damn, they are water stops, not aid stations. Knowing I would get no “aid” at the next “water stop”, I decided to just deal with it, and eventually I would be numb to the irritation.

Passing the zoo, we made our way to the shore of the Schuylkill River, rounded a pylon and were now running to the Half Marathon finish and the start of the second half of the marathon. Running along the river as we were headed back into the city there were a row of boathouses on the opposite shore. They were beautiful old boathouses that were used by the college rowing teams, as I would find out later, because the course passed by them later. Coming along the back of the Philadelphia Art Museum, I knew we were almost at the half. From here I could see what looked to be Roman or Greek buildings behind the museum. Interesting. Another mental note to add that to my sightseeing list.

While on this section, I overheard a conversation between two women who were doing the half marathon. They were happy to be done and one said to the other “I can’t believe anybody can run a whole marathon”. The other replied “I guess if you have trained it wouldn’t be a problem.” I had to laugh to myself thinking they have no idea what a physical and mental challenge it is to run the second half. At that moment, I heard the finish line annoucer say “and our second place finisher is”. I was just finishing half of my marathon and the first and second place “marathon” finishers were done. Yeah, no mental stress here!! So pass the finish line and onto Mile 14…..

The second half of the marathon is an out and back along the Schuylkill River to a little town called Manayunk. The crowd was thinning having no more half marathoners running and you could see the return runners. About this time, I had to go pee. We all know on trails, we can just stop by the side of the trails. Some bashful runners may find a bush or tree, and some runners don’t even stop and have developed a technique to run and pee. (Don’t shake Mr. Bimble’s hand after a race). So each “water stop” had porti-pottis and I wanted to wait until about Mile 15 because I was hoping there would be no lines. Up until then, there were big lines waiting. It was funny to see about 100 people waiting at the first water stop to use the porti-pottis. Hello people, there were about 150 at the start. I have to say you can take some people off the trail, but can’t take the trail out of some people. Lori admitted to me later that she couldn’t wait and found a tree near the zoo to do her business. Don’t tell her I told you, I don’t think she’ll read this. So Mile 15, in and out, no waiting, another race first for me.

So I am running and looking at the oncoming runners for familiar faces, and I am going batty with so many people. I am not seeing Gretchen, Linda, or Lori. I am kind of bumming, I am getting tired, and all of the sudden, there is written in the road in chalk “BEER” with an arrow pointing to the side of the road. Yes! Yes ! Yes !. On the side of the road is set up a “Beer Stop”. A local brewery came out and set up an impromptu “Beer Stop” and had a whole table full of beer in cups. Well, of course, I couldn’t be rude and gladly accepted their offer. Damn, those brewers are nice guys aren’t they? That was just after Mile 19 and I knew the turnaround was just ahead. On Main street in Manayunk is the turn around cone, just before Mile 20. The town is pretty cool with all kinds of stores and restaurtants. Passing the cone was a big mental boost. I was on my way home now, and yes, there was another “beer stop” ahead.

Coming back to the “beer stop” a woman was handing out big soft pretzels. The first race food I had seen in 21 miles. I was starving and had to get one. I thanked the young lady, walked up to the beer table and continued my race with beer and pretzel in hand. I was indeed a happy man.

Enjoying my snack while walking toward the finish line, a woman on the side said “Good job, Anita????, Keep it up” She laughed and I just smiled and thanked her. That was the first time somebody had mentioned my “name” while cheering for me. Others would start “Good job, ahhhh, keep it going”. It took 21 miles for somebody to cheer for me as “Anita”. The next few miles dragged and I was really out of energy. I had nothing left in my legs. They definetely were not recovered yet, but I was having a good time. As I reached Mile 25, I got a burst of energy. I don’t know if I was just smelling the barn or the crowd was energizing me, but those tired legs kicked in and I started moving to the finish. I was passing people left and right and people, who were now noticing me passing people, were yelling for “Anita” and laughing. It was giving me a tremendous mental and physical boost. Coming around the oval, the finish line was just ahead. The announcer was calling out people’s names as they crossed. Okay, one last charade and I am done. I positioned myself to cross the line next to a runner, blocking the view of the announcer. I had done it. Check it off the list. A road marathon. I got my bling. Met my beautiful wife, and walked a mile back to the showers. A good day all and all.

I have to admit, I really enjoyed the whole interaction of the big marathon. There were so many stories, so many conversations. It was for a time sharing in moments of all of these peoples lives. There was the teacher running for her class with a picture of them pinned to her back, the many shirts dedicated to loved ones who weren’t with them anymore, people who had survived illness, or were running for a charity. I was glad to be wearing sunglasses, because this sensitive sap had tears in his eyes more than once. There were also the happy people dressed as Wonder Woman, Elvis, a man in a tuxedo, the one guy who was juggling while doing the whole marathon. The people on the sides were great. Constantly cheering and encouraging. For a man who normally runs long hours with only his dog in the woods, I was very happy to run a road marathon in a crowd as a woman. Girl Power!!!

Comments

douger says:

December 5, 2009 at 3:48 pm

wow Anita I mean Bounce your story is a great read and you should be proud of this accomplishment after doing Stone Cat just two weeks prior! See ya on the trail soon !

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snobody says:

December 7, 2009 at 4:16 pm

Way to go Anita! Great job! Nice write up. You know big city marathons have a certain attraction, including having a man with a woman’s name!! Next time (if THAT ever happens again?!) write a “J” and a “u” in front and scratch out the “ita” to make “Juan”

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El Toro says:

December 13, 2009 at 10:34 pm

Nicely done. It’s nice to poke your head into the world of road running before returning to the safety of the woods where real running is done
Congrats on the finish, especially considering your recent Stonecat success. Awesome effort

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iggy says:

December 15, 2009 at 12:33 pm

Awesome report Bounce!!! I see a “Girl Power!!” T-shirt in your future…
Thanks so much for taking the time to share your hilarious and rewarding experience.
Can we talk spring 50K’s now?!?!
Iggy
I just started yelling “Keep moving, don’t stop”. People might of thought I was somebody, but at least near me they started moving enough so we could get out of the throng and get to the start corrals. Would they have listened to me if I wasn’t a woman? Did they know? No time to ponder that, I would have plenty of time for that. – hahaha

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