Main Street Manayunk
Originally uploaded by Lo-Fi Adventures.
Yesterday's Philadelphia marathon was exhausting. I had to walk block after block to get into prime position to catch a glimpse of the runners. There was a great local story to come out of the marathon. An Ardmore man came out of nowhere in only his second ever marathon to finish in second place:
It didn't much matter. The surprise of yesterday's marathon was not that Kimutai, winner of the 2004 Brescia Marathon in Italy, came out ahead, it was that the unheralded McKeeman from Ardmore, running in only his second marathon, came out of nowhere to claim second, 41 seconds behind Kimutai, in 2:17:50.
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"I don't blame people for not focusing on me," said McKeeman, referring to the prerace hype over Kimutai and a handful of other elites, mostly Kenyans. "I don't have that great a credentials that anybody would know who I was."
McKeeman, who said he makes a living running and working for running-oriented Web sites (including training with America's top female distance runner, Deena Kastor), shaved 21/2 minutes off his personal record from his only other marathon, in London in April.
Impressive indeed. One of the funnier sights from yesterday's race was a sign which read, "Hurry Up Dad, I want a Cheesesteak!"
>>Race turns into a stun run [Inquirer]