Athletes brave cold to take part in Philadelphia Marathon
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – It was a chilly start for runners participating in this year's Philadelphia Marathon. Despite temperatures just above freezing, they were racing to the finish along the 26-mile course where top prizes worth thousands of dollars awaited them.
Runners had their spirits high Sunday morning as they hit the pavement. They said the cold did not matter because their adrenaline was just pumping, and that's what's going to get them through to the finish line.
Thousands of runners from all over the U.S. came to Philadelphia to run in one of the top 10 marathons in the country.
The first wave began at 6:55 a.m. with about a dozen wheelchair athletes, followed by 11,000 runners.
For the first time, we also had a chance to meet some 50 nonbinary runners who registered to compete this year.
Adding the adaptive athlete category is the organizer's attempt to open the marathon to more people and to become inclusive.
The course has its scenic benefits as it features many iconic landmarks that the city has.
It was even the first time for some runners to compete in a run like this.
"So excited. We've invited so many friends so far. Excited to be here together. We woke up, and we were like, 'it's not that cold.' But now, standing here, its pretty cold," runner Weilyn Chong said.
It doesn't matter how cold it is, people were still pumped up to run this race. CBS3 saw many people in costumes who were just so excited to be here because it's also a time for a lot of runners and athletes to reunite.
And alongside the runners, a lot of volunteers make this race happen every year.
The marathon is also a way to raise money for charitable causes like cancer research.
"We say 'great city, great run, great cause.' Really proud that we've had over 600 runners that are running as our Runners For Research team. They're raising money for cancer research," Mitch Stoller, chief philanthropic officer from AACR, said.