John DeBella's 5th Annual "Running with the Turkeys"

John DeBella's 5th Annual "Running with the Turkeys"
Kildare's Irish Pub
West Chester, PA  19382


So after we finished the Philly Half Marathon, we headed back to West Chester for one more mile.  The John DeBella's 5th Annual Running with the Turkey.  No monetary cost for the race....you just need to run with a frozen turkey.

race tee

So I used by race bag from the Philly Half to carry my 13lb turkey.

13 lb turkey around 

with John DeBella

and since there was no monetary cost to do the race, Bridget was able to walk with us (thats right, we walked.  We had already run 13.1, so walking was just fine for us.)

And then back to Kildare's for some post race refreshments.

14.1 miles today.  Certainly one of my most memorable running days.

Philadelphia Half Marathon

Philadelphia Half Marathon
Philadelphia, PA


I have decided to make this event (the Half Marathon) an annual event for me, where I run with somebody who has never run a half marathon before.  Last year it was John Gwiazdowski, this year it is Pablo Loescher.  Pablo and I go all the way back to middle school, high school, and even college.

So Pablo and his lovely lady Bridget show up at 6:15am at my house, to make our way down to the start at 8am.  We get to the city a little before 7am, and park probably about a half mile away from the starting line.  As we get out of the car, we hear the national anthem playing.  Turns out the race started at 7am, and not 8am.  At first, it was a second or two of panic, but then I realized, this is perfect.  It will take us ten minutes to walk over to the start, but that still gives us plenty of time to get going, since it takes about 25 minutes to get all the runners across the starting line.  Sure enough, Pablo and I walked right into our corral and were across the starting line in 5 minutes.

Instead of posting all the pics, I created a slideshow in the link below. 

Pablo Loescher's First Half Marathon

Pablo did fantastic.  He actually pulled me along for the last mile and a half, and I recorded my best finish ever for this race.   Afterwards, we drove back to West Chester, for another run.

pre race

Mayor Nutter High Five

Finishers

bib

race t - front

race t - back

Rocky Run

Inaugural Rocky Run
Philadelphia, PA

So Philly decides to finally have a run based on Rocky, starting of course right in front of the Art Museum Steps.  They have a 5k and 10k run.  Both runs are an out and back to MLK right next to the river.

Tommy Graham,  Jared Schierbaum, and I decide to do this run.  There was nothing that special about the theme, the course, or anything like that.  The course was something we had each run a few times during the Philly Half Marathon.  The theme, while cool, is certainly nothing to drive all the way into Philly for on a November Saturday morning.  However, there was one big reason to do this race....and you will see that below.

THE MEDAL

The medal was designed to look like a championship belt.  The medal itself is very nice (and big). However it is the band that makes it so special.  It has the pictures of Rocky, Clubber Lang, Apollo Creed, and Ivan Drago on it.  How freaking cool is that.  BEST MEDAL EVER!!!

Ivan Drago and Apollo Creed

Rocky Balboa and Clubber Lang

Race Bib

Race Tee Shirt

This was a fun race.  A one and done event.  We probably won't do this one again, but so glad we did it just to get the awesome medal. 

Trip to the Philly Zoo

Philadelphia Zoo
Philadelphia, PA

Yesterday, Coach Shaun Miller (along with Shaunee and Molly Miller) took Christopher and I to the Philadelphia Zoo.  An awesome time indeed.  Slideshow below says it all

Trip to the Zoo Slideshow