by Lisa Domeshek
The Buy In
My road to the Philadelphia Marathon actually began in the fall of 2023. At that point, I had run a handful of 50Ks on the trails, but never a road marathon, and I was curious how different the two would feel. I was turning 40 the following year and thought tackling a marathon would be the perfect bucket-list challenge. I was initially interested in Steamtown or Philadelphia, but I also knew I’d be spending two weeks in Italy that fall, which was not ideal for marathon training.
I was talking to Matt Brophy at Wine & Cheese that year, and he mentioned the Coastal Delaware Marathon. He’d run it before and planned to go back in April of 2024 to run the half. I signed up for the 2024 Coastal Delaware Marathon the following week.
It was a fantastic first marathon experience: midsized race, easy logistics, and a super flat course. A bunch of Pacer friends came down, and we had so much fun. My training had gone well, and I was excited to see what I could do. I had the best 18-mile run of my life–I didn’t stop or walk once–but then the wheels started to come off. The back half of the course is completely exposed to the sun, and temperatures climbed into the mid-80s. This was early April; I was not heat-acclimated at all. My calves tightened, I started cramping, and the last three miles became a jog-walk-hobble situation.
Despite the suffering at the end of the race, I was happy with my time. I also just assumed that is how I was supposed to feel at the end of a marathon. However, I was absolutely not doing that again! The last hour of the race was so hard. (Spoiler: by the time we got home from Rehoboth, a few days later, I absolutely wanted to do it again.) I had thrived with the structured training and knew I could run a better marathon. The only caveat was that I wanted a cooler race day. Philadelphia in late November? Ding, ding, ding.
Because of my travel plans, I didn’t want to run the full Philly Marathon that fall. But I did sign up for the half with Sandie Kincaid and had an awesome experience. I knew I wasn’t in PR shape because of travel and a nasty cold, which actually took the pressure off and let me enjoy the day. I’d never run a race that big, and the crowd energy blew me away. I signed up for the 2025 full marathon as soon as registration opened.
Upping the Ante
Knowing I had a big fall goal, I wanted to get to work early. I signed up for the Scranton Half Marathon with Blair Hogg, scheduled for April 2025. Around this time I also realized that if I was going to be running so much anyway, I might as well commit to Blues Cruise 50K, and if I was doing that, why not complete the entire Triple Trail Challenge?
I wanted Scranton to be a PR race. I trained hard from January through April and believed I could finally get that sub-2. It didn’t happen. That race felt hard very early, and although I had a great weekend with Blair, Karen, and Jerry, I was disappointed and started wondering if I was simply slowing down with age. I’m proud of myself for kicking that thought to the curb. Now it was time for two months of fun running before marathon training started in earnest in July.
In May I ran Broad Street just for fun, then the Charlie Horse Half at the end of the month. No pressure, just keeping my base mileage up. After that, I started hitting trails and hills to prep for Run for the Ages in June.
July 1st arrived and it was time to start building for Blues Cruise. I was in Cape May that week, and, lucky for me, Jules (Julia Hager) was there too! Our long run was 10.5 miles in 92% humidity and high-80s temperatures. Even at an easy pace, it was brutal, a character-building run I carried with me for the rest of the training block. Cheers to summer training in the Mid-Atlantic!
I decided to reuse my previous marathon plan since it had worked well. For this cycle, Blues Cruise would serve as my “marathon.” I had a few peak weeks close to 50 miles, which is a lot for me. Aside from the humidity, training was going great. I ran Double Trouble 30k in July and then the Curran Brewing Trail 5K in mid-August where I placed second in my age group: small win, big smile. Then came Labor Pains, which I planned to use as a training run, and I completed 50K.
Then it was time for Blues Cruise. I thought a 50K PR was possible even with the hot forecast. I ran really well through mile 28 and was still on track for a small PR…until my calf cramped so hard that I fell and literally couldn’t get up for a few minutes. Lying there waiting (hoping!) someone would run by to help me up was surreal. I went from cruising to wondering if I could even finish. Humbling, to say the least. And in retrospect, it was a great learning experience. It’s not over until it’s over. Eventually I inch-wormed myself up (no one came by) and prayed I wouldn’t re-cramp. Running was out of the question, so it became a three-mile death march I’ll never forget.
The following week, I went to Vermont and took a planned, glorious week-long break from running. I came back refreshed and ready for one more four-week build, which I planned myself, followed by a two-week taper. I raced the Oley 10-Miler in that block, felt fantastic, and earned a PR, another little confidence spark going into Philly.
All In
The morning before the marathon I went for a shakeout run. Strava helpfully pointed out this was my highest average heart rate in three weeks, and it felt like I’d never run three continuous miles in my life. Nerves.
After packing up, Jerry and I headed to Philly. We walked around Center City, grabbed my bib at the expo, and checked into the Sheraton Downtown. Later we met Steve Vida, who was also running the marathon, for an amazing dinner at Giuseppe & Sons—highly recommend if you want a nice spot downtown. Then it was back to the hotel to try to get some sleep.
Once I finally fell asleep, I got a few solid hours and woke up five minutes before my 4:45 a.m. alarm. I got ready quietly and had my usual race-day breakfast: a plain bagel with a tiny bit of peanut butter and a Red Bull. I walked alone to the start near the Art Museum, about a mile from the hotel. It was 34° but I knew the forecast (low 50s and partly sunny) was perfect.
I breezed through security, filled my pack, hit the porta-potty line, and got into my corral. I snapped a selfie and ate my first gel and then it wasn’t long before the National Anthem played and the first wave began at 7 a.m. I started running around 7:25. To my surprise, I felt happy and calm; the nerves were completely gone. I knew Jerry, Alyssa, and Jon would be at mile one, and focusing on spotting them helped keep me from going out too fast.
After seeing them, I locked into pace. My goal was 4:15–4:20, which would be a PR, but still conservative. My rule: not a single mile under 9:30 for the entire first half, no matter how good I felt. And I felt great, almost floating. But experience told me the same pace would feel very different hours later.
I wasn’t expecting to see anyone again until mile nine at the zoo. I held steady between 9:30–10:00 minute miles, enjoyed winding through Center City, sipped Skratch from my pack, and got down the gummies and gels I’d planned for the first hour. I was targeting a minimum of 60g of carbs and 600mg sodium per hour, given my history of calf cramping.
Mile nine came quickly. The zoo area was packed with spectators–one of the denser parts of the course. I slowed slightly to look for Jerry, but I didn’t see him, so I pushed on. I did spot Dave, which made me happy. I found Jerry and the crew around mile 12.5 and stopped for a quick hug and selfie.
Right after I crossed the half-marathon point, I had the completely unhelpful thought: If this were a half, I’d be done right now. And then, as if on cue, I saw Matt cheering. Perfect timing. I got my mental game back on track.
Next I focused on reaching Manayunk, miles 19–21, which I knew would feel like a party. I got there before I knew it, and past mile 18, where I’d fallen apart in Delaware. I saw my friend Beth with the Philly Hashers, drank a small beer (planned!), then looked for Sorita and the other Fleet Feeters in their banana costumes. Found them! Beth handed me another small beer around mile 21 and gave me a giant hug. A little aside about Manayunk: it was the most crowded part of the race with runners going in both directions and bacchanalian spectators. It was very hard to hold a steady pace with runners slowing down around me. I also almost got taken out when I bent over to pet a dog wearing a sign that said “Pet to Power Up” and a very large man barreled into me scaring everyone involved and did not apologize either.
Steve had told me he loved the stretch after Manayunk because you’re headed straight back to the finish and can just count down the miles. That was exactly my experience. I couldn’t believe how good I still felt. I saw Ron and Helene Horn, and Dave one more time.
At mile 25, I couldn’t stop smiling. The crowds were unbelievable, constant high-fives, nonstop cheering, and the last half-mile was just a roar. I crossed the finish, got my medal, and realized I’d forgotten to look at the clock. My watch said 4:19 with a 9:45 average pace, so I assumed that was close. I didn’t check the official chip time until later: 4:22. Technically slower than my goal, but still a five-minute PR. My splits were pretty even; when they slowed it was because of the crowd or because I was looking for my people and I picked it right back up. My last two miles were 9:35 and 9:25.
And honestly? The hugs, selfies, mini beers, and one porta-potty stop were worth every minute they cost so that I was relatively comfortable and still had fun.
Afterward, we met up with Matt, Steve, and a few other friends for a celebratory lunch at Victory Brewing. It was just a unicorn of a day: perfect weather, amazing friends, incredible spectators and volunteers. I wore my medal the rest of the day. (However, we will not discuss the Eagles / Cowboys game.)
We stayed in the city one more night. As we drove down the reopened Benjamin Franklin Parkway Monday morning, I saw crews taking down the banners and tents and couldn’t help feeling a little melancholy. I know there will be plenty more races, big running highs, miles with friends, and hopefully more PRs, but the 2025 Philadelphia Marathon truly felt like a little bit of magic.
Big-city races and/or road marathons aren’t for everyone, but I hope everyone who made it to the end of this gets to experience their own truly perfect running day in one form or another.
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