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Category: Running

20 Years Of Broad Street – America’s Largest 10 Miler Broad Street Durante Family

20 Years Of Broad Street – America’s Largest 10 Miler 

Published by Patrick Durante on May 2, 2023

Broad Street was my first jump in distance.  The transition from 5K to 10M, then half marathon, marathon, and the rest was history.  It was a gateway from the casual 5K/10K to a “Can I even finish?” distance I took on 20 years ago.

What went right?

I had a blast!  I didn’t have any goals for this race.  I ran to the best of my ability for that given day and course. I had just raced the Philadelphia Trail Marathon the week prior and felt the effects.  I would never miss one of these limited events with my family as we are near the “tail end”.  The doorway is beginning to open with my children. Both my son(7) and daughter(10) are signed up for their first 5K.  They are about to embark on their running journey.  In the podcast from Derek Sivers, I was really moved by this one section where he talks about the importance of raising his son right:

If you do this right, it passes on for many generations —A kid that’s raised really well can pass on that generosity of spirit, you know?  Somebody that’s raised ignored might pass on that scarcity of spirit, you know?  

Derek Sivers – Tim Ferriss Podcast

My parents have been great role models for me, and I hope to pass on the lessons they’ve taught me to my own children. They’ve shown me the importance of perseverance and hard work, no matter what challenges may arise. These are valuable lessons that can help shape the character of future generations.

What went wrong?

I had a marathon the week before that I cared more about than this race.  I gave 100% effort in that race, and this got about 80% effort.  I mostly recovered but knew that it would limit my output. I was tight in my hips and could still feel it, but I still felt nearly recovered. It must have been close to 10 years since I last raced back-to-back weekends.

What I would have done differently?

The best race will be when you don’t care about the outcome.  Future me will try harder to remove myself from outcomes.  I know I have the best performance when I don’t care about time. It’s not like I didn’t try, but I just know my times will fade as the years add up.  I won’t break records as I get older.  I am fine with that.  What I can do is make better videos, live in the moment, inspire my children, and motivate them in their fitness adventures.  The finish time could be 1 hour or 2 hours, how fast you get down broad street really doesn’t matter, or make you any more interesting of a person.  The race is set up to reward those in the front to start first, but that’s it.  I don’t want things to go faster, I just want to experience them deeper, or differently. Maybe I should start with the pink coral? 🙂

The more time goes on the more I detach myself from outcomes and connect myself with those I can share the experience with.  If you focus on outcome you could miss out on the sights and sounds of the race.  If you watch the video I shot I cared more about the feel of the race vs time. Honestly, I don’t think I couldn’t have gone any faster anyway.     

I look back on 20 years of racing with fond members of my family, pre-race dinners, subway rides, and bib pick-ups.  I won’t boil down a race to seconds on a clock when there is history and emotion that runs down Broad Street.  Mile 8 is my street, Ritner, the street I grew up on, and 2 miles from the finish.  I hope I have 40 more finishes, a few more with my family, and my children.  To some, it’s just another race, but to me, it was that spark that lead to a lifetime of adventure.  

Here was my PoV video from the race. My camera died right at the end…

How bad is your shape diet?

How bad is your shape diet?

Published by Patrick Durante on March 31, 2023

Mobility issues

The first injury I had in 6+ years caused me to review my habits.  I strength train, eat right, don’t drink much, and cycle training with high/low intensity. I had picked up a new chair about 7 or 8 months ago for my office. Typically, I stand all day, but recently I had been working out in the morning then sitting the rest of the day. It’s what we do the majority, not the minority that causes the most damage.  What does your shape diet look like?  Are you eating junk shapes all day by sitting in the same position? 

Shape Diet curtesy of Stable Diffusion
Stable Diffusion’s image for a “Shape Diet”…

How do we fix it?

I realized I just had to go back to standing no matter how hard I worked out.  For the past 2 months, I stand on my yoga mat, and I’ve noticed I’m fidgeting, and moving way more.  I’ll spontaneously grab a kettlebell and start swinging it, or maybe do some toe raises or downward dog.  Guess what? My plantar fasciitis went away!

I also just ordered one of these balance blocks to increase my foot drills to strengthen all the supporting muscles in my feet.

Sitting is the new smoking, but why?

“If you sit with your legs at 90 degrees all day and rarely extend your hip flexors, hips and quadriceps can become short and tight. Your hamstrings are also affected, which limits your range of motion and will therefore affect stride length when you run. The same applies to your calf muscles”.

Ask a high-volume runner to touch their toes you will see tight hamstrings and poor hip mobility firsthand. You need to fix your “shape diet” to avoid injury and lead a long and healthy life!  We were meant to move, walk, and be on the go.  A standing desk lowers the barrier to movement. If you are standing you are more likely to just walk around. Do you have some weights nearby, well you are more likely to walk over and do a few reps. Always be moving! Muscles are use it or lose it!  When you’re at your standing desk throw in some 100 ups to help your form!  This is the most amazing single drill that all runners should do!  

The idea of the shape diet was discussed on the recent Tim Ferris Podcast here: https://open.spotify.com/episode/7AacAkUamfs5m4GGN49ZRK?si=Y5L6qfOsQICGE49XMdYq_Q&nd=1