Beat the Commute with West Philly Runners

Philadelphia commuters have all experienced the pain of rush hour gridlock at one time or another.  How often in that moment have you thought to yourself, I could probably run home faster than driving? Well, here's your chance to test your abilities.

On Friday, May 29 at 5 p.m., you can join the West Philly Runners as they put that theory to the test against a car and bus on a 6-mile stretch of road in the midst of prime-time rush hour traffic.

According to Kyle Cassidy, a member of the West Philly Runners group and the creative genius behind the event, the idea popped up at a bar after one of WPR's Wednesday night group runs.

"Once we got the ball rolling, it was a matter of trying to come up with something that's actually competitive," Cassidy and WPR founder Alon Abramson told Philly.com. "We had to find a way that we could make it work so both teams would have a shot at winning."

Here's how it will work: The runners, driver, and public-transit rider will gather at the Philadelphia Runner store in West Philadelphia (3612 Walnut Street) to begin their commute together to the Wissahickon Transportation Center.

At 5 p.m., the driver will make his/her way to their car parked in a garage, the public transit rider will walk to the bus station, and the runners will start their race out to the Schuylkill River Trail. The drivers will take the Schuylkill Expressway near 30th Street Station heading for I-76 and then Route 1 to get to the final destination.

"We wanted to make this as real world as possible, so whoever is taking the bus, will have to wait for it to show at the pick up location," Cassidy and Abramson explained.

There will be two routes for the runners, a 5.7 and 6.6-mile course.

"The 5.7-mile course runs up Spruce Hill and is very hilly; while the 6.6-mile course runs along the river and is a lot flatter," said Cassidy and Abramson. "It'll be interesting comparison to see the topography difference."

Without traffic, the organizers estimate it will take around 28 minutes for SEPTA and the car to complete its route. The run should take anywhere from 40-60 minutes to complete.

"I'm going to race it all out," said Abramson. "Depending on which route I chose, I'm hoping to make it there in under 45 minutes." Cassidy is shooting for a 50-55 minute commute.

There will also be live updates on Twitter using the hashtag #BeatTheCommute by volunteers in support of Team Bus, Team Car, and Team Runner.

"We're hoping to get across the message that there are too many single occupant drivers on the road," said Cassidy. "It's pretty sad that you can't drive six miles in a reasonable amount of time. We want this to highlight the benefits of a working mass transit system."

So far, 40 people have signed up for the event. Runners should note that this an unofficial race with no street closures, no entry fee, and no aid stations along the course. Organizers recommend runners bring SEPTA tokens and a little cash to get home. Though Abramson and Cassidy are currently talking with SEPTA in hopes of getting everyone a ride back to Philadelphia Runner.

This event isn't WPR's first foray with SEPTA. In November, Abramson and Cassidy organized a "Beat the Bus" event where they raced the 21 bus for about 3.5-miles on a course that was basically a straightaway down Walnut Street.

Runners prevailed then. Will have they have the same luck this time? Sign up here to find out.

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