Broad Street Run

We spent this past weekend in Philadelphia visiting Bret and Calvin. I also participated in the Broad Street run. Alison’s brother Bret runs this race most years and after taking 2022 off from running I decided to train for the Broad Street run in 2023. Bret didn’t end up running this year, but his boyfriend, Calvin ran with me. So it was really fun. 

We arrived in Philadelphia a few days before the race so that we could spend time with Bret and Calvin. Flight schedules between Salt Lake and Philadelphia are not good right now. The only direct flight to Philadelphia is the red eye. So while we are loath to take red eyes, it was our best option. Blake and Debbie came to Philadelphia this weekend too, and they flew to Newark, New Jersey, and took the train. It avoided the red eye, but it required a full day of travel. Alison and I are good at sleeping on planes. I mean the sleep you get on a plane isn’t good but we both slept the entire red eye. We also booked a hotel for the night we were flying. So we had a room ready as soon as we arrived at 6:30 am. We immediately went to bed and slept for another 4ish hours. 

Once we woke up from our nap we felt fairly rested. We met up with Blake, Debbie, and Bret at Citizens Bank Ballpark for a Phillies game. This was my first Phillies game (Alison and Bret came to a few when Alison was working nearby). Citizens Bank ballpark is a great stadium. I don’t think there is a bad seat in the stadium. We were surprised by how many people were there for a Thursday day game - Philly shows up. Our seats were field level on the third base side of home plate. They were great seats. 

The Phillies were hosting the Mariners. We really dislike the Mariners and hope they lose every game. We are still bitter they fubared the Cliff Lee deal. So needless to say we were pulling for the Phillies. It was an exciting game. Both starting pitchers were sharp today. Strahm was pitching for the Phillies and he was a strikeout machine. Kirby pitched for the Mariners and was sneaky good. He ended up pitching a complete game for the Mariners. Despite his brilliant effort, Kirby ended up taking the loss. The Phillies struck early when they strung together a couple of hits to score one run in the 2nd inning. Roger Clemen’s son Tyler, who is playing first base for the Phillies, got an RBI on a hit-and-run play that scored Castellanos all the way from first. The Phillies made that lone run stand up and won the game 1-0. 

After the game, the Phillies hosted a stroll the bases event where seniors (55+) could run the bases at Citizens Bank Park. Of course, Blake and Debbie participated. It turns out this event was extremely popular as the line stretched around the stadium. After nearly an hour's wait Blake and Debbie got their turn. It was well worth the wait as Blake had the biggest smile on his face as he jumped on each base. 

After the game, we headed to Cleavers for cheesesteaks. Calvin met us there after he wrapped up work. The cheesesteaks were great. It is one of those foods you have to eat in Philly. Then we wandered over to Rittenhouse Square and found a bench. We sat and watched people walk by with their dogs and we caught up on the goings-on in each other's lives. As the sunset Blake and Debbie headed back to their hotel and Alison and I stopped by the Rittenhouse with Bret and Calvin for a nightcap. 

Friday was a rainy day in Philly. The whole weekend was rainy and somewhat cold. We just haven’t found a lot of nice spring weather this year. Despite the rain, we made the best of it and had a good day. 

Alison and I started the day with a visit to the Rodin Museum. I have had a soft spot for Rodin ever since I first saw his work while I was living near Stanford (they have a large Rodin collection there). We didn’t end up going inside the museum since most of the big exhibits were in the garden outside, which is where we spent our time. 

We met Blake, Debbie, and Bret for brunch at Sabrina’s. This is one of Bret’s favorite brunch spots; I can see why - the delicious food. 

After brunch, it was quite rainy, which was alright because we planned to spend the afternoon at the Philadelphia Art Museum. Alison and I did not make it here on our last trip to Philly and since Alison loves art this was a must-visit spot this trip. Of course, on our way there we stopped by the Rocky statue and ran up the steps. (We did run carefully because of the rain). 

Blake running up the stairs

We spent the afternoon wandering around the museum. Alison was in heaven looking at all of the Cezannes, Monets, Van Goghs, Picassos, and more. It is an impressive museum. 

Alison loves this painting by Picasso

This is modern art

After the museum, we headed to Bret and Calvin’s apartment where they graciously hosted a barbecue. We enjoyed eating good food and spending time together. We enjoyed the activities, but our favorite part of this trip hands down was the opportunity we had to spend so much time with Bret and Calvin and to see the life they have built together. 

Saturday brought another rainy day. We sure picked a great weekend to visit Philadelphia. Despite the rain, we found plenty of fun things to do. Although in part because of the rain we opted for a later start this morning. We all slept in and relaxed at our hotel. It was not a bad way to start the day. When we were ready to go we met up at Blake and Debbie’s hotel and went looking for food at the Reading Terminal Market. It is one of America's largest and oldest public markets. We love visiting public markets and seeing all the hustle and bustle. We took a loop around the market before deciding on what we wanted to eat. We got some donuts from Beiler's Donuts. We also got real food (lobster mac and cheese and salads) from another storefront. Then we miraculously snagged a table for 5. Which was quite a feat because the market was bursting at the seams this Saturday. 

After our food, we headed to the Broad Street expo to pick up our race packets and stuff. We spent some time wandering among the booths and Alison and Bret made signs. 

We had a few hours so we decided to visit the Franklin Institute. The Franklin Institute is a science museum. We found something for everyone to enjoy. We started with a spirited presentation on liquid nitrogen, then we saw a giant pendulum. We also visited a room where we learned about the physics and physiology of sports. We stopped by Sir Isaac's Loft where pulleys, prisms, and pendulums illuminate classic scientific principles. We visited the iconic giant heart and I showed Alison, Bret, and Calvin what a bicuspid aorta is (a heart condition that I have personal experience with). We also explored the giant map of Philadelphia to see where we had been and where we were going. My personal favorite room was focused on electricity. There was even a little exhibit that shocked you - awesome. We visited the train room and made our way down to the space command where we learned about space all before the institute closed for the day. 

Tonight we had dinner reservations at Via Locusta. It is a fabulous Italian place in Rittenhouse Square. It was an excellent meal. We took our time enjoying our dinner and Debbie even told the waiter we were celebrating Alison’s birthday so she got fireworks in her dessert.

After dinner, we walked over to City Hall before calling it a night. 

We were up early on Sunday for the race. The Broad Street Run is the biggest 10-mile run in the US. This meant 36,000 other people were running with Calvin and me. I met Calvin at the City Hall subway station and it was pure madness. Two overstuffed trains came through before we could finally squeeze our way onto the third one. This one got us to the starting line a few minutes before the race began. 

We were in the green corral which meant our wave started ~15 minutes after the official race start time. Once we got going the race was great. I was surprised by the density of the crowds. The race never really thinned out, we were in the midst of the crowds from start to finish. It was a cool cloudy day. There was no rain until around mile 5 and then it poured off and on for the rest of the race. I bought a rain poncho for the race right before we came to Philadelphia because I thought it might rain during the race. That was a good decision. I carried the poncho for the first few miles of the race. The longer I went with no rain the more I was tempted to ditch it, but once it started to really rain I threw it on and I was glad I had it. 

Calvin and I ran the race together. We weren’t necessarily planning on it, but it worked out as we matched each other stride for stride and made the race much more enjoyable. Around mile 5 we passed by Calvin’s family who cheered and waved and around mile 6 we ran past Blake, Alison, and Bret who were also cheering us on. It was a fun race and I especially enjoyed running it with Calvin. I have never run an entire race with someone before, and it really does elevate the experience. 

After the race, we all got cleaned up and dried off and then we met up with some of Bret and Calvin’s friends for brunch. It was a fun brunch and we enjoyed meeting their friends. Bret has a great group of friends that he has made over the years while he has been in Philly. We have heard a lot about them, so it was fun to finally put faces to names. They were so friendly and welcoming. 

We had an uneventful afternoon where we lounged and caught up on a few things while staying out of the rain. 

In the evening we met up with Bret and Calvin at Tria, a wine bar/charcuterie restaurant. It was a nice quiet intimate setting. We had a fabulous time spending time together enjoying delicious cheese and small bites. The small bites didn’t quite do it for Calvin and me so we also decided to hit up a Mexican restaurant, El Ray, so that we could get some tacos. Those hit the spot. 

Then our trip to Philadelphia came to an end. Bret and Calvin walked us back to our hotel. We exchanged our goodbyes. This was a really fun trip to Philadelphia, while the activities we did were fun, the best part was the time we spent with Bret and Calvin, meeting their friends, having them show us a place they love (Philadephia), and seeing their happiness. They have built an amazing life for themselves and it was fun to be a small part of it this weekend.