Philly Marathon: May the better man win

Philadephia Inquirer Sports Editor John Quinn is sharing his thoughts as he prepared to run the Rothman Institute 8K as part of the Philadelphia Marathon weekend.

by John Quinn

I am laying down the gauntlet, Sam Ndereba.

I don't care that we were side-by-side on Sunday, November 4 when you were accepting your first-place medal in the Cooper Norcross Run the Bridge 10k and I was just finishing the race, traversing Campbell Field so I could get to the Dunkin Donut truck before it ran out of coffee.

I am running the 8k Saturday (actually, you are, too). But when I finish, the challenge begins. I am betting my time in the 8k against your time Sunday in the half-marathon.

Last year, you finished in 1:04.04, and you won.

Last year, I finished the Rothman 8k in 1:05. (And wasn't last.)

I know you are training hard. You won the Bridge Run by one second and got some coin for finishing first. Beat me by 52 minutes.

You should get some more escarole Sunday when you win the half marathon.

But will you beat me?

I have no money to offer. We will run your photo in the Inquirer anyway because you deserve it.

I ran the Miles for Medals 5k at Rowan University last Saturday in 33:51.

I'll see you at the start.

Read John Quinn's previous marathon blog entry: