Katie Sweeney
Favorite Spot: “The Loop,” Kelly Drive running path
Favorite Spot: “The Loop,” Kelly Drive running path
Neighborhood: Fairmount Park-ish
Address: surrounding the Schuylkill
I am: an advertising copywriter and product/company namer who dabbles in broken umbrella photography and triathlon in my spare time.
Years in Philly: closing in on 8 (woah!)
Current Home: Fairmount
My Love Note:
Dear 8.42 miles,
Thank you for turning me into a Runner. For the quarter mile markers that pushed me to go further until the first time I saw every single one, finishing right where I started. Rocky held his arms a bit higher for me that morning.
Thank you for the water fountains every two miles, (but not really for that one fountain at mile four that always tastes like rust, but yes, even thank you for that one, because it’s bonded me with plenty of others like me when we exchange knowing looks and shake our heads, grateful at least for the breather), and for your luscious shade on the MLK side
Thank you for early mornings before work, knowing if I’m on schedule or running late, depending on where I pass familiar faces running in the opposite direction. Thank you for the rowers slicing through the water, and their coaches who bark feedback, some of which I tuck into my own stride. Shoulders back, Sweeney! Thank you, especially, for the crew team wearing ROYGBIV during morning practice on March first; I was closing in on my first half-ironman and this was the first day this year that I switched my training runs to morning sessions. It was overcast and lonely, and I was happy for a rainbow.
Thank you for being an 8.42-mile respite in a busy city – an oasis from honking taxis, belching bus exhaust, and drivers who don’t look both ways before turning. Thank you for allowing me time alone, and time to share stories with multiple running partners. Thank you for turning me into a Runner.
-Katie
-Katie
Lovely entry.