The Back on My Feet 5 Miler is a great Philadelphia race for a great cause with funds going to Back on My Feet to combat homelessness through the power of running. Needless to say it’s a race/cause that means a lot to our family and friends and I’m happy that I could be part of it with 20 other runners from Jefferson.

Race morning was a bit of a rush getting out of the house as I didn’t exactly plan the extra time needed to get out of the house with a 10 month old. You’d think over the last months I would have gotten that down to a science, but no, as a new parent I’m just I remember to wear pants on a daily basis. Despite the rush we got there in no time, living up the block has its advantages, and were greeted with a sea of people as this local race now has almost 2,000 runners.

Finding my Jefferson teammates was going to be like finding a needle in a stack of needles but eventually I found a few and made my way to the starting line WAY in the back. Given my starting position and my goal to run sub 40min I knew that I was going to be doing a lot of bobbing and weaving to find open road, and with that in mind I had my pre-race Jet Blackberry GU and prepared for the miles ahead.

The gun went off and the crowd slowly started moving along, first the elites, then the 7:00min -10:00min corral (yes you read that correct) and then all of those in the back of the pack like me. The first mile of the race takes you west on West River Drive past the famous Boat House Row and having run here more times that I want to remember I tucked into the left side of the race to avoid the wind blowing off the water on the right. My strategy seemed to be working and I was beginning to find open road all the way to the edge of the road and began to establish my pace.

As you approach the end of mile one there are two things you can see, the refreshing oasis that is a water stop and a race course that turns left. Now normally a left turn isn’t something to fear in a race, hell NASCAR goes left for 300 miles, but this left marks the point in which your flat race turns into a hill climb as you make your way up Sweetbriar and eventually Lansdowne. Having prepared and trained on these hills I wasn’t really worried, however, I was surprised by the number of speedsters taking the hill at pace.

As I dragged myself to the top of the hill I could see the 2 mile mark in the distance and made a goal of getting myself back under control by the time I hit that mark. As I turned the corner passing by the Please Touch Museum (a great Philly museum for kids) I felt my breathing was under control and decided to push pace as I knew the Black Road downhill was coming up. Rounding the traffic circle I began to let my legs fly as I began the steep downhill portion of this course that would take me back to the flats of West River Drive.

Sweeping back onto West River Drive with your legs burning from the downhill you encounter a small out and back to catch your breath before hitting the last 2 miles to the finish line. Those last 2 miles seemed like they were going to last forever as I tried to stay in the middle of the road to avoid the uneven paving on the sides of the road, I don’t want to hurt my ankle again (another story for another time, damn 16th street).

Soon after this balancing act of finding the middle of the winding road I could see the finish line up ahead and noticed that my pace was right where I wanted it to be, which for me a near miracle. Crossing the finish line I got plenty of high fives, they are as much a part of Back on My Feet as hugging (come out at 5:30am and you’ll learn) and set about finding my amazingly supportive family who gives so much to allow me to continue to train and race as a new dad.

Overall the Back on My Feet 5-Miler was a great race in which I met my goal of a sub 40min run with a time of 38:22 and was able to be part of something greater than myself to have a positive impact on the issue of homelessness in Philadelphia.

Official Results:
Distance: 5 Miles
Time: 38:22
Pace: 7:41
Place: 235 of 1,569

The Back on My Feet 5 - Miler is a great race for a great cause. The course has a great layout allowing for you to experience many of the highlights from the Philadelphia Marathon in a more user-friendly format. Additionally, it serves as a great tune up race for those who are planning to take on Broad Street.

The course starts going on West River Drive from the Philadelphia Museum of Art. For the first few minutes you'll fight against the wind coming off the river (hint - tuck into the pack) but eventually it will lessen and you'll enjoy the flat road, at least until it's not flat anymore.

As you tackle the one hill on the course on Lansdowne you will find the race bunch up as people struggle to make the climb on a relatively flat course. Once at the top the race becomes flat and fast as you make your way around the Please Touch Museum and back to Black Road.

Once you hit Black Road its all downhill from there, literally. Black Road is the major downhill on the course so do be careful but do use it to your advantage as the rest of the race is all flat and fast.

Finish strong where you began and make sure you spend some time with the great volunteers and staff from Back on My Feet. Relax knowing that you just had a great workout that will help give back to those in need.