Today I had the privilege of spending most of the morning and early afternoon at the Philadelphia Marathon. It was the most inspiring, affirming, positive experience I have had in a very, very long time. One of my friends was running in it, so two of my girlfriends and I headed downtown to cheer her on and offer her some moral support.

I've never been a spectator at a marathon, so I wasn't quite sure what to expect. It was a clear, sunny, crisp day (thankfully!), and Megan, PJ and I got down to the city around 10 a.m. We pushed our way through the crowds and found a place to stand at the halfway mark/finish line, which was just in front on the Philadelphia Museum of Art on the Ben Franklin Parkway.

At first, we just stood there and watched as the runners plodded their course past us. All around us, the crowds were cheering the runners on, but I felt very self-conscious; I didn't know any of these people, and I've never been much of a cheerleader anyway.

But soon enough, inspiration struck, and the three of us were hooting and screaming for everyone who ran past us. There were all types of people there--many races, nationalities, some very young people, some very, very old people--all with the same goal: just to keep putting one foot in front of the other and to cross the finish line. Because when you set out to run 26.2 miles, that's really your ultimate goal...to just finish the run.

About three and a half hours into the race, we moved further down Kelly Drive and stood in the middle of the street, about a quarter-mile from the finish line. The runners amazed me! A few who passed us were literally crying in pain. Others were limping along, trying to massage their calves or quadriceps and keep the pace at the same time. Some were smiling broadly and clapping for themselves and their competitors as we cheered them on. Many of them had their names written on homemade t-shirts, so we could yell out to them personally as they made their way to the finish line. Because we were standing right next to the course, I could stick my arm out as they passed us. I gave so many high-fives to runners today that I eventually lost count.

"Good job!"
"Keep it up, runners! You can do it!"
"Kick some ass, guys! You look great!"
"You're almost at the finish line...bring it home!"
"Come on, Lisa! You got it! Great run!"

The most incredibly moving thing about the event was how complete strangers came together to motivate and encourage the runners. There were many moments today in which I found my eyes welling up with tears. It was just so emotional to watch the runners slog along to the finish line, and even more emotional to watch and listen to the spectators screaming for them, giving them the little push they needed to get to the end of the race. Strangers cheering for strangers: what a lovely thing to witness. I felt so fortunate today to have had that experience, because it reaffirmed my faith in humanity, even if just in a small way.

Shortly after the five hour mark, we saw our friend Colleen coming up Kelly Drive. PJ started screaming and waving the neon-green poster she'd made for Colleen. Megan and I looked at each other and decided that we would run the last quarter-mile with Colleen. We jumped onto the course and flanked her, falling into pace with her as she ran, screaming, "You can do it, Colleen! You're almost there...good job! Let's do it!" It was such a surreal moment, running next to her while people on the sidelines yelled and cheered her on. She was hurting--as soon as we fell in next to her, she panted, "I fucking hate this! I'm fucking done right now!" but we kept her going to the end, yelling for her until we went hoarse. I've never tried running and screaming at the top of my lungs at the same time before--it was quite the challenge!

We ran with Colleen until just short of the finish line, at which point we fell back and let her finish alone.

I pulled PJ's camera out of my coat pocket and snapped a photo of Colleen crossing the line. Five hours and ten minutes.

Good run, Colleen!

Labels: friends, Philadelphia, sports