OWL-DRAGON

Ben Franklin Bridge Challenge

I believe this race has gone thru a couple of renditions. Currently, it benefits the Larc School which provides services for children and young adults with multiple disabilities. The course is 10K.

The first three miles are from the Jersey side of the bridge to Philly and back. That means two tough hills in those first miles, but great views. The last three miles go thru Camden. For those of you not familiar with the east coast, Camden is a rather depressed community that has been trying to come back by taking advantage of the water front. The race makes use of Rutgers Camden campus. The course takes you by the minor league baseball field (Campbell Field – Campbell Soup was a big presence in Camden.) Here's another view of the field, and also here. Next is the newly renovated RCA building (Nipper after their mascot and now the Victor Building.
Past The Tweeter Center which is a concert venue. Down battleship way and past the USS New Jersey (a retired battleship) . Here's a nice view of the battleship.

You only see the back of the New Jersey Aquarium, but here's a nice view of the path you're on.

You end up back at the base of the Ben Franklin Bridge.

The run made me very nostalgic for the old Zoo run which was a 10K that went from the aquarium to the Philly Zoo.

After my race was finished I slowly ran back out about ¾ mile and cheered the runners still coming in.

If you run a race for the goomies this is the race for you. I have never seen so much food on display after a run. The choices were yogurt, cereal, snack foods, pastries not to mention the old standby bys bananas and bagels.

The course was beautiful (in an urban way) well marshaled and lots of volunteers. Minor complaint is water was in plastic (paper is always better). But I think the charity, the distance and the views make this a very nice race. I have a feeling this race will grow.

Congratulations to the organizers.