Skip to content
Sports
Link copied to clipboard

Independence Blue Cross Broad Street Run: The Team Philly project

You may not believe it if you’ve stepped outside this morning—but the Independence Blue Cross Broad Street Run is a mere two months away.

You may not believe it if you've stepped outside this morning—but the Independence Blue Cross Broad Street Run is a mere two months away. Preparations have begun in earnest, including the 2nd annual lottery that took place earlier this month.

Tomorrow, the build-up to the Run continues with the kickoff to a partnership between Team Philly Race Training and the Sports Industry Research Center at Temple University. The joint venture will conduct a study to evaluate a 10-week training program for Broad Street. The plan will be unveiled tomorrow morning at 8 a.m. at Philadelphia Runner, 3621 Walnut Street. Runners of all levels are invited to attend.

"We've been studying attitude and behaviors of runners for the past few years," says Jeremy Jordan, Ph.D., Director of the Sports Industry Research Center at Temple. "It was a natural fit to get involved with Team Philly, especially for an event like the Broad Street Run."

"We've seen their work with different groups, and our members want to see that they're getting healthier," explains Ross Martinson, co-head coach of Team Philly along with Sarah Walmsley. "Our goal is to get everyone who joins to become a runner for life—not just for the Broad Street Run."

So far, about 140 people are registered for tomorrow morning's informational event, where the specifics of the training program will be discussed. Martinson did reveal that things will get started with a health assessment sometime next week. "I think about half, or maybe more of the group will consist of very early beginner, or brand-new runners," he says.

Training schedules will vary based on experience levels, but Martinson says the beginner group can expect to begin with about a two-mile run, then build slowly to an 8+ mile run a couple weeks before the event. More advanced runners can expect to train with runs up to and perhaps surpassing half-marathon distance (13.1 miles).

"A few of these advanced runners ran the Philadelphia Marathon last year," says Martinson. "They've built up to those higher mileage totals."

For the basic training plan, participants will be asked to run a minimum of three days per week, and to mix in some additional cross-training. Group runs will take place on Wednesdays and Saturdays, with a "fun run" scheduled for Thursdays.

"Whether beginners or advanced runners, we'll sprinkle in discussion from our Rothman Institute physicians, who are our official team doctors this year," added Walmsley. "They'll discuss preparation and nutrition. On the training side, we'll also mix in some socialization and team-building activities."

More information on Saturday's introductory event is available at www.meetup.com/teamphilly

For questions on the study, contact James Du of the Temple University Sports Industry Research Center at tue39446@temple.edu

Read more Sports Doc for Sports Medicine and Fitness.