TCLA,
Good evening. I just want pass along a few observations about the Philadelphia Marathon.
1) This is a terrific race. I know Chicago, NY and DC are popular fall marathons (and for good reason), but this is one you might want to consider if you're interested in running a big city marathon. The race starts at 7:00 a.m. and is held the Sunday before Thanksgiving so the temperature is likely to be great for racing. Yesterday, it was in the high 40s.
2) It is mostly flat; there two hills, at mile seven and mile nine, but they really aren't too bad.
3) The race begins and ends at the Philadelphia Museum of Art and it has a good start/finish area. There are plenty of good, relatively cheap hotel options within walking distance of the start/finish line. The first half takes you through Center City (downtown), the University City area, Boathouse Row (which, as a recreational rower, was something I really wanted to see) and the zoo. The second half takes you up a road called Kelly Drive until you hit mile 20 and then you turn around and run back down that road. The cool thing about this is that you can see the leaders run right by you. I had never had that experience. The crowds are biggest in the first half of the marathon and on miles 19-21 (which is the town of Manayunk) but pretty sparse for most of Kelly Drive. Not surprising, though, considering how much there is to do in Center City and University City.
4) However, the wind on Kelly Drive in late November can be difficult and yesterday we had some 20-25 mph winds with occasional 30-35 mph gusts as we ran northwest on Kelly Drive from miles 14-20 (although there several moments of calm winds). Of course, miles 20-26 had a good tailwind. The day before the race, the wind was only about 5 mph all morning.
5) While the race claims approximately 25,000 participants, that includes the 8K and the Half, which, beginning this year, are held on Saturday. Thus, there were actually only about 8,000 marathon runners so that meant that spacing was not an issue. It's relatively easy to run your pace right from the beginning.
6) The price is as low as $95 and then it gradually rises. I entered in July and paid $125.
7) My race went pretty well. I was happy with it. This was my first attempt at breaking 3:00 and I missed it by a little less than four minutes. I went out in 1:29:57 but I couldn't quite keep the pace on miles 14-20 when I was running into the wind. However, I know that ideal marathon conditions are rare so I just need to be a bit stronger to overcome stuff like that.
In summary, I can't recommend Philadelphia enough. I had a really great experience. After the race, I went to Pat's and had a "provo wit" cheesesteak (thanks, Mark, for the recommendation). It was damn good!