For the second year in a row, I ran the Philadelphia Hot Chocolate 15K in early April. Like last year, a strong wind blows, but this year adds the pleasant addition of on and off rain, shifting from drizzle to a light pour periodically throughout the morning. Our friends John and Becca now live right down the street from the start line, but in our infinite wisdom, we decide to drive down the morning of the race.

2014 was the first year of my newfound hobby of marathon running. Last fall, I ran the New York City marathon and had planned to try to run Philadelphia three weeks later, figuring I’d already be in training shape. When the morning arrived, I decided I was still way too sore from New York to attempt Philly. I pledge to try again in 2015. After running the Belfast marathon in the spring, a race where my goal was to finish without feeling like I was dying, my goal for Philly was to shave some time off my finish time.

My second Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon this year after the inaugural Brooklyn race was in the City of Cheesesteak and Brotherly Love, Philadelphia. While this race wasn’t the culinary and beer adventure the last few have been, it was a great trial run for the upcoming Philadelphia Marathon for several reasons. Our good friends John and Rebecca just moved to a huge apartment within a 10 minute walk to the Art Museum, where pretty much all Philly runs start (yes the proximity was a deciding factor) so we had a great base of operations for the weekend.

This year marked the first ever extension of the ever increasingly popular Rock ‘n’ Roll marathon series into the New York region, specifically around Brooklyn’s Prospect Park. After a night of rain and cold temperatures, Saturday ended up being perfect for a race with temperatures in the mid 60s and sunny skies. Read on for my impressions of the race and the series in general. I’ll also be running the Philadelphia Rock ‘n’ Roll half at the end of the month, and after such a great day, can’t wait for it.

Precisely one year ago (ok maybe more like 11 months and three weeks), my two friends accomplished what seemed to be to be an unfathomable feat of endurance by finishing the 2013 New York City Marathon. It had been a long road for them as they originally planned to do so in 2012, but had to delay a year due to the event’s first ever cancelation due to hurricane Sandy. They bruted out another year of training and crossed the finish line together, inspiring me to do something that seemed impossible, start training for my first marathon.