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.