Many thanks to all the staff, volunteers, spectators, runners and police officers at the Philadelphia Marathon on Sunday. I was blow away - pardon the pun ;-) - by all the support!
I'm currently gathering my thoughts to share the long story of my 22nd marathon. In the meantime, here's the short story:
Since 2013, I failed 11 attempts to qualify for the Boston Marathon (BQ). On Sunday, November 20, I finally succeeded at my 12th attempt and qualified for the 2018 Boston Marathon at the 2016 Philadelphia Marathon!
No donation is too small to help fight cancer & 100% of every dollar raised by the #RunDFMC team supports the Claudia Adams Barr Program in Innovative Basic Cancer Research at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute,
Any donation is greatly appreciated. And, I'll match every donation until I reach my first fundraising goal of $5,000. Donate $2 (or more) here: runDFMC.org/2017/malindah/
Did you write a race recap? Share your link in the comments and we'll add to our lists. Philadelphia Marathon, Half Marathon & 8K Reviews on Facebookfacebook.com/pg/PhiladelphiaMarathon/reviews/
@MalindaAnnHill's 5th Broad Street Run
1:18:40
70 out of 2,014 (40-44)
927 out of 18,928 women
3,992 out of 34,427 finishers
That was one wet, cold race.
Did you beat Broad Street?
Did you cheer or volunteer?
Share your story or recap in the comments and we'll add to our post!
Kim:
This was my first race since my 5ks in high school cross country (10 years ago). After high school I gained a bit of weight and worked a desk job. I took advantage of the free donuts and celebratory pizzas one too many times. Anyway, March 2015 I finally decided to change myself. I started tracking my food and joined the gym. The first day I got on the treadmill I couldn't even run a minute! I was so out of shape and winded. Once I could finally run a mile, it was a slow one (for me). A year later here I am 53 lbs down and crushing 10 miles in the rain. I am very proud of my pace/time! Next year I plan on moving up a corral. The beginning was rough trying to get around people. I felt amazing Sunday. I stressed out thinking I couldn't do it or I would be really slow but I amazed myself and currently looking for a half to sign up for!
Sara:
Alex and I ran our second tethered Broad St and beat our previous time by 2 minutes and change. Our time was 1:32:14. We've never had a rain race together and it caused a lot of anxiety for Alex the first mile. Overall though, great race with so many great spectators and volunteers in spite of the weather!
Meghan:
I had to transfer my bib this year :-( but I had a great time cheering on my husband, and everyone else I knew or just randomly yelled at! This was my first time actually seeing the elites during a race, which was cool. I started watching at Temple (I saw you! Can't miss the skirt!) and then hopped on the subway to get to mile 9 once I saw my honey. I made it with minutes to spare. All in all, spectating is fun but I can't wait to run it again!
2014 Blue Cross Broad Street Run
May 3, 2014
I'm ready to take on Broad Street with @AlexsLemonade's Running Lemon! Leah and I LOVE this image of the Running Lemon,
2012 Blue Cross Broad Street Run
May 8, 2012
My babysitter finally called me at 7am while I was on the BSL (Broad Street Line). It wasn't a knob, but her iPhone alarm didn't go off!
Malinda is currently writing a recap and will post it soon. Although Malinda didn't reach her BQ goal, there is still time to help us reach her fundraising goal to support Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation for Childhood Cancer. No donation is too small to fight childhood cancer!
In the meantime, did you run, cheer or volunteer at the GORE-TEX Philadelphia Marathon and Half Marathon on Sunday, November 22? If you wrote a recap, please share your link in the comments and we'll add to our list.
Leah and Malinda are identical twins and masters marathon moms.
We deemed ourselves "Twins Run In Our Family" so we could share our experiences running together while supporting causes we care about like Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation for Childhood Cancer.
Leah, the faster 1/2 of @TwinsRun, has qualified for the Boston Marathon (BQ) 4 times and finished 3 Boston Marathons (2013, 2014 and 2015).
Malinda, the slower 1/2 of @TwinsRun, is still trying to BQ after several unsuccessful attempts.
Malinda made her 6th attempt at the rainy Rock 'N' Roll DC Marthon on 3/14 (3:54:58) and her 7th attempt at the windy Charlottesville Marathon on 4/4 (4:19:12) and her 8th attempt at the muggy Rivanna Greenbelt Marathon on 9/12 (4:23:02).
Malinda didn't reach her 2016 BQ goal (3:45) but you can still help her reach her fundraising goal ($345) to support Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation!
Last year, more than 12,000 people logged miles as part of Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation's 2nd Annual Alex’s Million Mile event to raise funds and awareness for childhood cancer during the month of September (Childhood Cancer Awareness Month).
This year we’re getting ready to do it again! To find a cure for childhood cancer, we’re going the distance – running, walking or biking one million miles and beyond. That’s a long way, but the way we see it, a parent of a child with cancer would go that far (and then some) to find a cure.
1 month, 1 cause, 1 million miles...
Kids with cancer need your help!
The goal is to collectively run, walk and/or ride one million miles during a single month: September, Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. Our goals are to exceed a million miles, raise awareness and find cures for childhood cancer.
• Who can participate?
Anyone, anywhere can join and fight childhood cancer!
• Do I have to do this myself?
Nope, you can choose to participate individually or you can start or join a team for added fun and motivation.
• How many miles do we have to complete?
There is no minimum, or maximum. You complete miles at your own pace. Every mile you log during September counts!
• So, why one million miles?
One million miles is 40 times around the equator or two round-trips to the moon. But it’s less than five miles for each kid or adolescent who will be affected by childhood cancer this year, worldwide. Childhood cancer is the leading cause of death by disease in children under the age of 15 in the United States. That’s why it is vital that we raise money to cure it, now.
What will you do #in24 hours? Beginning at 10am on Saturday, July 18, Malinda will attempt her 1st ultramarathon*! Originally, Malinda planned to run / walk 50 miles with Leah. Unfortunately, Leah can't run this year since she's in training for the Chicago Marathon. So, time will tell how many miles Malinda can run, walk and/or crawl solo. As of today, Malinda's "A" goal is 50 miles, "B" goal is 40 miles, "C" goal is 30 miles and "D" goal is 26.3 miles. *Anything over 26.2 miles is an ultra, right? ;-)
The Stroehmann Back on My Feet in24 Philadelphia Urban Ultra is a true test for any long-distance runner who has tackled a marathon and is looking for something more. The race has become one of the most popular ultras in the country. Challenge your will by running as many 8.4-mile laps around Philadelphia’s Schuylkill River Running Loop in 24 hours.
There is still time to volunteer or register for the Urban Ultra, Midnight Run and Justice for All 5K. For more information, visit:
On the first Sunday in May, about 40,000 runners run down one street in Philadelphia. Why do they run? The reasons are as varied as the runners. Jon Lyons (founder of RUN215) created this video to share the beautiful note written by Paul Viggiano.
Why did you run Broad Street? Share your answer and/or race recap link in the comments so we can add to this post! P.S. Comments will be posted after moderation.
The slower 1/2 of @TwinsRun is gathering her thoughts for a recap. In the meantime, @MalindaAnnHill wanted to thank to Dunkin' Philly for the opportunity to run with Team Dunkin'!
"I ran Broad Street to spend time with a friend I hadn't seen in a while...we decided to ditch our race plans and just go out to enjoy each other's company, enjoy our city and enjoy the Broad Street electricity. It was the most fun race I've ever run (and I've run many!)...there is something to be said for turning off the Garmin and soaking in the surroundings! I also ran in support of Students Run Philly Style - what an amazing organization!
We are excited to support Medals4Mettle - a national non-profit organization that facilitates the gifting of earned marathon, half marathon and triathlon medals to children and adults showing mettle or courage while dealing with difficult challenges.
Donors are welcome to share the story behind their earned medal(s) and why they want to donate.
Information gathered from those donating medals helps Medals4Mettle gain a clearer sense of their support base and may help obtain corporate sponsorship dollars in the future.
To donate your medal(s), please clean your medal(s) and remove the ribbon(s).
Medal4Mettle ribbons are attached to the donated medals before they are given to the recipients.
If you live or work near Philadelphia, you can drop-off your medal(s) at any Philadelphia Runner store.
Medals4Mettle is a non-profit organization founded in 2005. Medals4Mettle facilitates the gifting of earned marathon, half marathon, and triathlon finishers’ medals from event participants to children and adults dealing with chronic, debilitating or life-threatening illness. We do this as a celebration of the human spirit, knowing that while our medal recipients may not be out on the race course with us, they are fighting in the race for their own lives. Over the past 9 years, Medals4Mettle has presented over 45,000 medals to deserving children and adults.
Medals4Mettle is a different kind of charity that does not seek to compete with other charities for valuable dollars. It is our mission to work with established charitable organizations to increase exposure and expand education by providing runners and triathletes with a simple way to gift their medals to others. It is also our hope that this will provide athletes with the opportunity to get to know their recipient or a charitable cause, and learn more about the disease or other problem that they have faced so courageously. Only a fraction of marathon runners run for a charity and Medals4Mettle believes that the simple gifting of a finisher’s medal is a subtle but effective way to introduce the concept of charitable running.
Yes. Medals4Mettle is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. Donations made to your local chapter or through our website are tax-deductible. Donations of money are always needed to help offset the costs of manufacturing ribbons, distributing and awarding medals to recipients, chapter promotional materials, and ongoing shipping and administration costs of running the organization. Our chapter coordinators are all volunteers that coordinate medal collection and distribution, so your monetary donations truly go towards supporting our medal gifting program.
Where do I send my medals?
Medals4Mettle has 60 chapters in the United States as well as several chapters in other countries. To find the chapter closest to you, visit http://www.medals4mettle.org/chapters.html/If you do not have a chapter in your state, medals can be sent to our headquarters in Indianapolis, IN. Please note that many of our chapters have drop-off locations at local running stores, or may pick up medals at local race expos. Contact your local chapter coordinator if you have any questions.
How should I send the medals?
If at all possible, we ask that you remove the ribbons before mailing. Please wrap the medals in bubble-wrap or paper to help prevent damage in shipment. If you are sending a large quantity of medals, we recommend that you use USPS Priority Flat Rate boxes; this tends to be the cheapest as you pay one postage rate regardless of the weight.
We also encourage you to tell us about yourself and where the medal is from to provide us and M4M recipients some background on you and your gift.
What kinds of medals do you accept? Medals4Mettle accepts only earned marathon, half-marathon, or triathlon medals.
In the spirit of fostering philanthropy, we also accept any medals earned by children who wish to donate their medals to other children.
Can I send you my old trophies or awards from other sports?
We appreciate your donated race medals, however please do not send badges, pins, patches, stickers, plaques, ribbons or trophies as these cannot be used. Only the medals noted above are accepted.
I am a race director and I have extra medals that were never given out. Can I send you those?
We ask that only earned race medals be sent in. One of the most important parts of our program is that the medals presented were donated by athletes who earned them and wanted to pass them along to someone who they felt needed them more. Please do not send extra/unearned medals or medals from a race that was cancelled.
What happens to the medals I send you?
,Medals are presented to children and adults, either in hospital settings, group settings, or on an individual basis. The medals are presented to those who are fighting serious life-threatening illnesses, such as cancer, or who are facing lifelong debilitating illnesses. The medals are theirs to keep. We do this at no charge to the recipients, hospitals or groups we work with.
I want to help Medals4Mettle but I don't have any medals. Are there are other ways I can help?
Yes! Any of the following would help us greatly:
1. Wear our tech shirt during your races. Donate $35 or more and we'll send you our tech shirt. For more information, visit: http://www.medals4mettle.org/donate.html
2. If you are a blogger, writing a blog post about our organization helps spread the word.
4. If you are part of a running or tri club, hold a group collection for Medals4Mettle.
5. If you work for a running/cycling/athlete retail store, offer to have a medal collection box at your store.
6. Volunteer your time. You don't have to be an athlete to be involved! We have volunteers and chapter coordinators from all walks of life. You can volunteer with your local chapter, or form a chapter in your area if there isn't already one.
