Philadelphia

PHILADELPHIA 20 in 24 is a 24-hour race re: crazy-ass runners driven by an obsessive desire to help the homeless

July 21, 2008 by HughE Dillon 4 Comments

A few weeks back our friend Jeremy told us about this insane event he was participating in. The 20 in 24 is a 24-hour race hosted by Back on My feet, a non-profit organization that uses running as a vehicle to promote the self sufficiency within Philadelphia’s homeless population. Participants can compete in the Relay Challenge (5 members per team), Ultra-Marathon, or Glow-in-the-dark Midnight Madness Run. This event is sponsored by Nike. Mike and I went out about 1PM to support his begining run.Then returned around 1AM to cheer him on again (Mike brought his bike to find Jeremy on the course and ride with him for a few miles). I hung out with his boyfriend George who was out there the entire 24 hrs with the other runner widows offering support, and cheering their spouses onAfter a few moments of rest and greetings, Jeremy was on his way. Mike returned home and I thought I would just walk a few minutes along the route with Jeremy. Here I made him pose with “Rocky” Then I decided since there was extra police and bike monitors along the route, I would shoot boat house row for the first time in 10 years.


And in the end I made the mistake, or inspirational trek with Jeremy to finish the last 10 mile lap with him. Here he stops at one of the 4 rest stops along the way that were manned by volunteers, some who were out there the whole 24hrs too. I tried a Fuze Juice, they were delicious. So it’s about 3Am at this stop. All the time I am thinking, what am I doing, I have to shoot the Philadelphia Film Festival Brunch at NOON, am I crazy?
4AM, catching the full moon and Falls Bridge. During our walk Jeremy told me how he got into running. A few years back he was about 100lbs over weight, depressed and very unhappy. He decided to do something about it, but in the dark of night, just in case he failed at it he didn’t want anyone to see that he even tried. He started out by running about a 100 feet, then each night added another 50 or so, he never did less than the night before’s run, and before you know it he was up to a mile, and dropping weight eventually losing 100lbs. He really is an inspiration to anyone who has battled weight problems
Then my favorite scupltures “Three Pans” dancing in the light of the Full moon. This is one of my favorite photos in recent memory. It’s about 4:15AM here
Jeremy reaches the 50 Mile mark, but we still have 1.7 miles til the end of the course. I am crazed with delusions and experiencing a few blisters.

by the time we reached the finish line it was daybreak. The timer states that it’s benn 19.41 hours since the race began. Jeremy adreline kicks in yet again and he
is beaming when he crosses the official finish line
George, who has been up for just about 24 hrs is estatic for Jeremy. I take one last funny shot of them and can’t wait to go home. Thank god I live just a few blocks away. (I did make the brunch and will be posting the photos this week). I enjoyed the walk, especially since Jeremy and I have the gift of gab. The 3.5 hrs really did fly by. Don’t quiz me on what we talked about, that is lost in the daze, I have no idea. But it certainly is a good starting point for me to get my butt in gear and get back into shape.
Thanks to KYW, Dunkin Donuts, Fuze, M&M’s, Gatorade, donate to http://www.backonmyfeet.org/