Have I mentioned recently how much I
love Philly? Nothing has affirmed my excitement about this great city as much
as my experience this weekend at the Philadelphia Marathon. As I ran through
the streets with 30,000 other runners in front of crowds at least double that
size, my warm feelings toward this city swelled. From the Mayor’s send-off high
fives, to the residents handing out tissues outside their homes, to the
spectators who remained at the finish line even as slow-pokes like me rolled in
many hours later, I witnessed the community commitment of the people of this
city. Additionally, the route took us through the fascinating mix of landscapes
that Philadelphia contains: over the course of 26.2 miles we passed grand
museums; modern office buildings; historic monuments; prestigious universities;
diverse neighborhoods; and more. In fact, throughout my training I have loved
the opportunity that running has allowed for getting to know this new home.
Philadelphia is remarkably approachable by foot, and I love that I now have a
sense of how the remarkably different neighborhood landscapes fit together.
As Thanksgiving draws near, I also want
to take this opportunity to express my gratitude for the new people in my life
who are making this year not only useful to my future career, but also fun! In
fact, among those wonderful runners and spectators were several of my TEP classmates!
Despite the cold weather and lengthy time commitment, they came out with bright
signs and warm smiles to get me and the other runners through the race. Despite
the countless hours that we spend together at the GSE building, our cohort also
chooses to do things together outside the classroom and I feel so lucky to be
developing these relationships with future colleagues and friends!
No comments:
Post a Comment