Kelly and daughter, Carly, looking proud and #26Strong after Philly finish.
Dimity and Sarah wrap up their involvement with the Saucony 26Strong program with a conversation with their cadets: Kelly, who completed the Philadelphia Marathon, and Alison, who spectated and cheered at Philly rather than running due to injury. Kelly recounts running the first half with Adrienne Martini by her side (alas Dimity was out due to injury as well), including a clever potty-break and reminders to stick to her run-walk pattern. Kelly gives a lively recounting of, “embracing the back of the pack,” including friends she made along the way. Dimity adds to the fun with details of cycling much of the route with Kelly’s 12-year-old daughter, encouraging signs and all. Find out how lyrics by Gorillaz featured in the party atmosphere, then find out how the race went for Sarah. (Spoiler alert: As her second marathon in six weeks, Philly involved climbing into a “pain-cave,” then pulling herself out.) Sarah’s cadet, Alison, reveals how she felt to watch a race she had trained for months to run.
Before all the Philly fun, Sarah shares details of a difficult, but important, conversation she had with her elderly parents. It felt more draining than the marathon—and there’s no finish line in sight for that journey.
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I completely agree with the leggings/capris thing Dimity! It just seems like leggins are a bigger commitment to wear out in public, like, LOOK, I AM A RUNNER! And I do think my butt looks funny in them, haha.
SBS, wishing you the best with what you are facing with your parents. That is so tough. Glad the talk went well.
Great job 26Strong ladies!!!
Sarah’s discussion about “the talk” with her parents is exactly where I am in my life right now. Just broached the subject, very gently, with my Mom and much to my surprise she was very receptive. My heart is with you on this journey.
SBS – I wanted to thank you soooo much for discussing your talk with your parents. I work in insurance, and advisors are constantly trying to explain the importance of “the talk” in terms of financial planning. And it is important! But hearing about it from someone who has no agenda was amazingly refreshing. It’s such a hard topic, but it’s so important for families to have this conversation. Thank you for being so open and authentic!
As a Philadelphian (and father-runner) who works in the field of aging and who ran the Philly Marathon for the second time this year (also my second in 6 weeks – I ran Steamtown in October), I truly enjoyed this podcast from beginning to end. Sarah, thanks for your candor in sharing what you’re going through with your parents – there are so many children of aging parents who could benefit from hearing from others who have had “the talk”. I run a nonprofit organization (www.mywayonline.org) that assists seniors who wish to remain in their homes, and see the struggles of our clients and their adult (and sometimes senior!) children first-hand. Thanks again for sharing, and for reminding me why I do what I do.
I also thoroughly enjoyed the race and spectator recap of Philly, and I’m happy that you all enjoyed this fine city as much as you seem to have. Every race I run in Philadelphia, from the Broad Street Run to the ODDyssey Half Marathon, to the Philly Marathon and more, reminds me what a great running city this is! Note: Dimity, if you wish to return to Philadelphia, please stop referring to Kelly Drive as “Riverside Drive”, or no cheesesteaks for you!
Anyway, thanks again for a great podcast. I always enjoy it, but this was one of my favorites. Hope to see you in Philly sometime soon!
i want to thank you for this podcast. Yes race reap was nice. But the first 12 min (I was running and looked at my watch towards the end) on SBS’s conversation with her aging parents hit very close to home. It was so comforting to hear that I’m not alone and I even have a “gen” nickname. The Sandwich Generation. I learn all sorts of wonderful and surprising things about running from the AMR podcasts, but this was by far the most valuable piece of information I could have never thought I would learn. Thank you from the bottom of my well sandwiched heart!