Ironically, These Colors DO Run!

So, I ran the Philadelphia Half-Marathon today...it was the end of what I've been calling "Running Season".  I wanted to run a series of at least 10 races this year and this one made 11...the playoffs, the championship game, the one for all the marbles.  I was looking to clear 13.1 miles in under 2 hours for the first time this year.  So, since today was the big game, I put on my team colors.  I had on my custom New York Giants jersey and a fresh new matching skullcap.

Knowing that I was going to be running through the hometown of a fierce division rival on the day of a game against said rival that will decide who leads the division, I expected to take a lot of heat from the Eagles fans in the crowd...and maybe get "accidentally" jostled around by the Eagles fans in the race with me.  At most, I got a little bit of good natured ribbing from the hometown fans and a little commentary about the upcoming game.  What I got a LOT of, was love from other Giants' fans out there.  Some were watching and cheering for me, others were fist bumping me while racing.  New York was in the house!

At first, I thought "Ha! What kind of football town allows a jerk like me to run free AND get support from the crowd?"  But then I started looking at the other runners...there was a guy in a Brett Farve jersey...one with a red Spartan cape and Greek sandles...there was a dude in a "Where's Waldo" costume...multiple Hit Girls and a guy dressed as Superman who was completely separate from the woman dressed as Wonder Woman.  Judging by their official looking uniforms, I think the Mexican National Women's Distance Running Team was out there today.  In this and other races, I see mothers running with daughters, fathers with sons, best friends, loving couples, people with no shoes and sometimes people with no legs.

I came to the realization that, even though this is the Philadelphia Marathon/Half-Marathon, this is way bigger than Philadelphia.  There were roughly 23,000 people out there, they came from all over the country...all of the world, really, to do the same thing I came to do.  People fighting the same fight for drastically different reasons.  So in wearing my Giants gear, I wasn't an opposing force.  I was part of a patchwork of beautiful diversity...and I'm pretty sure I'll use that as my excuse to do it again in the future.

Great race...great times...see you next season!