In the running

By now, you might have seen the video of the people who helped a woman reach the finish line for a marathon race in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

"Yo Adrienne! That's the steps that
Rocky ran up, you understand what
I'm saying to you here?"

It was the 2017 running of the Philadelphia Love Run Half Marathon. A marathon being 26.2 miles, a half marathon is 13.1 miles, and I don't even like to drive that far, let alone run. 

I know a few people who like to run these things, and one thing I like about it is that most of them are in it for the benefits of running, and trying to better themselves and their own personal best scores, not doing whatever they can to beat their opponents and run away scoffing. Before the races, they get to carb load with a ton of noodles, and after the races, they tend to cool down by wrapping up in aluminum foil and guzzling passion fruit-infused coconut water. What's not to like about these people?

And here's another cool thing, which the video shows you. A woman was almost at the end of the race and she became exhausted, unable to finish on her own, and several other runners came along and held her up with their arms until a another dude came and scooped her up for a lift to the edge of the line, at which point she finishes on her own feet...still with help from people who were all strangers to her until a minute before.

Philadelphia is called "The City of Brotherly Love," and was once the home for the broadcasts of a radio DJ who called himself Brother Lee Love. It's a shame that the city, the next big town up I-95 from our Baltimore home, gets a rough knock a lot of the time from those who recall when their football fans threw snowballs at Santa Claus. I don't know that this helpful sportsmanship (these helpers lost seconds off their race times, after all) wouldn't  have taken place in any other town, but I'm glad that it did and that we can all see kindness in action.

Trust me: Next time you see me running, you won't see me running.