PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Thousands of runners took over Broad Street Sunday morning for the nation's largest 10-mile run, the annual Broad Street Run. For the first time since 2019, the race returned to its roots.
More than 27,000 fully vaccinated athletes took part in the first springtime Broad Street Run since before the pandemic.
Robert Gaitho crossed the finish line first for the men, with a time of 45 minutes and 41 seconds, while Sarah Naibei finished first for the women with a time of 52 minutes and 3 seconds.
Another of those athletes was AJ Namayakkara. "It feels like coming back home again, doing it in the spring, in May. It's a beautiful feeling being here," he told KYW Newsradio.
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He said Broad Street has always been a special run for him, and that having it in May instead of the fall shows a return of normalcy he's been missing.
"I've been in a wheelchair for over 30 years. This is one of the few opportunities we get to be doing the same thing as able-bodied people," Namayakkara shared.
"Most of the runners will pass me by, but we're all doing 10 miles just the same. It's a great sense of camaraderie and fellowship, and everyone is supporting each other."
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For Christian Riddick, it's also a welcome return, but he's still trying to get comfortable with being amongst other runners in the spring. "It definitely feels weird just to be back to somewhat normalcy, but at the same time, it feels good," he said.
"Just feels good to be out there and running again, just doing what we do."
Namayakkara said this is his 10th time taking part in the run and he wants to do for years to come. "I love coming back to this race," he expressed. "I started when I was living in Philly. Now that I'm down in Maryland, I still come back."
Some were Broad Street Run newcomers, however, like Randy Benton.
"I did the Philadelphia Half Marathon in November," he said, "and I decided to give the Broad Street Run a try. I've always kind of wanted to do so. It's been a bucket list item."
A virtual option was also available to runners.
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