The Philadelphia Marathon was Megan's 4th and JP's 20th.
Run on Sunday November 24, 2019, Megan and JP withstood combinations of rain, wind and cold. Megan liked it in spite of the inhospitable conditions. We ran a very tactical race, highlighted by a negative split - covering the last half in about one minute less than the first half. Of course that means we passed a lot of runners in miles 20-26 who were not doing as well. Running 3:12:05, we beat the time JP posted in his first and slowest marathon in 2008. But that was 11 years ago and in that race JP was not pushing Megan. Finally, JP placed 2nd in the 60-64 Age Group for the field (i.e. all runners - not just Duo Teams). We know that Aaron would have reveled in those accomplishments.
And as has been the case in all marathons, which is one reason we do this, we were joined at the race and post race celebrations by family (Debbie, Aunt Liz, Cousin Mike, Cousin Alary, Cousin Tyler), friends (Ron Glass, Ric and Karen Malick, Tom Elliott, Eric Reitinger, Steve Toniatti, Terry Delaney, Oleg Aliferov, Joe Norton) and Aaron's friends (Andrew, Robert, Gary, TJ, Brenden). Thank you all for supporting us.
The PHL Distance Run (Rock-N-Roll Half) in September 2019 was a Family & Friends Affair. The post-run event was held at Tir Na Nog in PHL followed by 50 of us at the Phillies BoSox game after the race.
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Fellow runners included Uncle Dan Higgins, Cousin Patrick Higgins and Cousin Shannon Basara. Patrick ran a major PR going below 1:30. JP, while pushing Megan, finished in 1st place in the men's 60-64 age group (the others were not pushing anyone). Aaron would have loved that stat.
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The Annual Scott Coffee 8K in Moorestown is a favorite event for the local running community. Here is a photo of us wearing the Aaron's Legacy Team shirts.
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Bill Tindall and son Finn, Ed Scioli, Megan and JP
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The weekend of May 18th brought forth several members of Aaron's Legacy Running Team. First, Megan won a 5K...as the others her age could not catch a 61 year old pushing a wheelchair. Then, we got pictures of Kelly in NY and Adam in CO.
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Megan's 3rd Marathon was the 123rd Boston Marathon. There is no other comparable race and Aaron loved it. We returned after a two year absence, this time with Megan and JP earning a spot among the 8 Duo Teams. For JP this would be his 9th Boston. Importantly, we were joined by Aaron's Uncle Greg, Aunt Becky (and their friend Andrea); Cousins - Mike, Diana, Alary, Kia and Shannon; RPI friends - Dan McKelvey and Kevin Bryant; and friends from our first neighborhood in Moorestown - Shelly Harrison (and husband John) and John Pontillo. Here is a photo of them at mile 25.5.
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| John, Debbie, Greg, Shannon, Kia, Dan, Alary, Andrea, Kevin, Becky, Shelly, Diana and Mike |
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The Boston Marathon was exciting and we were treated so respectfully. From the police escort between Boston and Hopkinton to the pre-race accommodations and all the way to the finishers' area - everything was first class. And the fans were simply crazy about Megan - loud and so supportive. And I mean loud - think walk off grand slam in the bottom of the ninth of the 7th game of a World Series. Below is our race summary and pictures plus a video from the live TV broadcast.
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After the 2017 PHL Marathon, Megan and JP ran the 2018 Chicago Marathon in October 2018. We were joined by several members of the family and many friends. Like all our marathons, we rallied around our love for one another, our love for Megan and, newly, our fond remembrance of Aaron. Among the fans were Aaron's cousins Michael, Shannon and Patrick; RPI roommate Cale, his wife Kierstin, and their daughter Gwyneth; Debbie's college friends from St. Mary's Marilyn and Elvo, Amy, Margie, and Kathy.
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| Shannon preparing for cheering for Megan |
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| Kathy, Debbie, Marilyn and Margie |
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| Debbie, Patrick, JP, Shannon, Michael, Gwyneth, Kierstin, Cale and Megan |
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The Chicago Marathon was an odd race. After many e-mails and calls, we could not convince them to allow us to start in front of the field (like other races do for the Duo Teams). Instead, they made us start behind the first wave (the back of which were qualified at 3:45). The result was most agonizing as Megan and I had to pass thousands of runners for every mile of the race. We were aided by cousin Patrick who guided us for 15 miles. It was dangerous and simply inexplicable. Post race correspondence with the Chicago Marathon authorities remains inconclusive. In spite of the start position, we finished in 3:18 and placed 15th in my age group (the first 14 were not pushing anyone). Once again, Aaron would have raved about this. Here is our race summary:
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From the blog below on the 2018 PHL Marathon. Here's our 4th Place Group Award (60-64). Note the top 3 were not pushing anyone. Aaron would have loved this.
Megan on March 26, 2018 getting ready for her second bike ride of the spring. See Sports section blog about upcoming NYC Bike Tour.
Megan and JP running in the PHL Marathon on Nov. 19, 2017
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Megan's 1st Marathon and JP's 17th. Run in memory of Aaron.
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Megan finishes ahead of JP at 3:24:16
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Somewhere along Kelly Drive about mile 15. It was windy.
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Finally, some pics from Megan's first Half Marathon - the Philadelphia Distance Run, now, known as the PHL Rock-n-Roll Half. Megan and I ran 1:38:45, averaging about 7:32 per mile.
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Pre-race - getting ready in the Aegis Property Group office
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Pre-race with cousin Patrick Higgins from FL
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Pre-race - making our way down the Parkway toward the Art Museum and the starting line
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