I really enjoyed the tour through the city of Philadelphia that this marathon offered. The best sites of the city are in the first half, but the second half did have the serenity of running along the Schuylkill river corridor. Honestly, I would have preferred a bit more of the race to be around the city and other sites – the Schuylkill section could have been a training run as far as I am concerned. However, I do understand that sometimes races have to do what they have to do. I found that the course was built for speed. Yes, there were some rolling hills, but some would say that this may help performance more than a pancake flat course might.

The starting line / corrals were setup great. I was in maroon (right behind the “elite” corral), and I didn’t have to dodge and weave around slower runners who were misplaced. Everyone up there was going the right pace, and it just seemed like a really good starting line experience!

Crowd support was terrific, even though there were some “dead zones”, I found that when I needed a jolt of energy there was a lot of support. I definitely appreciated the big party atmosphere in Manayunk at the turnaround on Main Street!

Communication from the race wasn’t as good as I have had with other races (Flying Pig still is tops from races I have run), but it was adequate. It seems the race wanted you to focus on following them on social media or through their website.

The finishing area was fine – some decent selection of food and drinks at the end. The hot chicken broth was a very nice touch on a colder race day – I think I appreciated that more than anything else offered at the end! The pretzel was good, and I actually appreciated the apple juice that they offered as well.

The swag was terrific – the medal may very well be my favorite medal to date. The Liberty Bell on the medal is exactly what I would expect from a Philadelphia Race, and the shirt is a nice tech shirt with some iconic Philly scenes on the front (the Rocky statue – YES!).

Overall, I am thrilled with the Philadelphia Marathon! It was a fun race where I felt like I got to know the city a bit better plus get a PR. Thanks Philadelphia for a first-class event! I don’t know if it is the best race in Pennsylvania, but I am very happy I chose Philly for my Pennsylvania race!