PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The Broad Street Run returns for its 44th year on May 5, and registration will open next month. And there are a couple of changes coming this time — with more runners invited and, for the first time in three years, a finish line at the Navy Yard.
Orlando Rendon, commissioner of Philadelphia Parks and Recreation says the Broad Street Run is among the most popular 10-mile races nationwide. “I mean, we get thousands and thousands of entries from all over the country — from all over the world.”
And this year, he said, there will be thousands more. “Last year we had about 36,000 people registered. We're looking to hit approximately 40,000 this year.”
Registration for the race opens Feb. 1 and runs through Feb. 15 at BroadStreetRun.com.
“Oh man, Broad Street Run — it is an essential part of running in Philadelphia,” says runner Michael Panna of Fairmount. “Running is a huge part of the sports and recreation culture in the city.”
Runners often describe Broad Street as the race that kicks off the running season in Philadelphia. Panna says it’s so popular because the course through the heart of the city is so flat.
“It's not the distance of the Marathon. It's not the commitment of training for the full 26 miles of a marathon, or half even. It's a good kind of middle-distance, 10-mile race that explores a wide breadth of neighborhoods in the city,” Panna said.
And now that construction on Broad Street at the Navy Yard is complete, he says, the finish line will be there for the first time in three years: “I think finishing in the Navy Yard … it's a big part of the celebration at the end.”
Runners say now is a good time to start training to build up endurance and fitness and to get used to how it feels to run that distance.
“It would be a lot on your body to just run 10 miles cold turkey,” said runner Nina DeSilva.
“Run for as long as you can for a little bit and then eventually that'll be longer,” says Panna. “You don't need to force anything at the start. It's just about doing what you can and eventually you're going to be able to do more.”