South Street, the line that conventionally demarcates Center City and South Philly, lies at about the 6-1/2-mile point of the course. Had the day been cool, I might have noticed more of my surroundings; yet at this point, I was focusing increasingly on staying cool, hydrated, and, relatively speaking, comfortable. Of this part of the race, I can recollect little more than staying on the lookout for water stations and fire hydrants.
I hadn't lost any of my enthusiasm, nor had I grown impatient. Yet what stood out in my mind was the next mile. And passing each successive mile marker does stick in my mind. Three miles is, for me, a short run. In fact, I seldom run fewer than four miles at a time, so realizing that I had only three miles to go provided me another psychological boost. And soon, three miles turned to two, and two ...
Memories begin to stick after I passed the residential part of South Philly and approached the stadium complex on the right and, a little further on, Franklin Delano Roosevelt Park on my right. At this point, I began to see some of the casualties of the day: a few people off to the side receiving medical attention. (I understand that there were far more earlier in the race, perhaps about a half-hour before I arrived at the same point.) Were they not ready for the race? Or were they ready but nevertheless pushed themselves too hard in the heat of the day? I don't know, but I felt sorry for them for having lost the opportunity to finish the race yet grateful that they were able to get the medical care they needed.
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