This year some big city Marathons will cost you more than $200 to enter. You probably have to fork over another $200 to get a hotel room that is within 10 miles of the start at best. By setting your alarm clock to 2:00 AM you get a shot at a parking spot somewhat close to the start and you get to “warm up” for another 3 hours until you finally get out of line for the Porta John’s.
The ½ Sauer ½ Kraut offers a somewhat different experience. You can park at the Cannstatter Volksfest Verein German Club and hop onto a free bus shuttle. You will be running on a mostly shaded & (mostly :-)) flat bike trail alongside the Pennypack Creek. You will be supported by 15 aid stations (7 for the half), including Oktoberfest Aid station. Heidi, the Bavarian waitress will hand out gels, and we will invite you (yes, first beer is on us) to beer and brats at the post race festivities, while “Hans” will entertain you with his accordion. Find out who else is crazy enough to run a race like this in the summer and rehydrate properly at the German club afterwards. You will dramatically increase your chances of winning something by dressing in Lederhosen or Dirndl (traditional bavarian dress).
Course utilizes the paved bike path along Pennypack Creek. No traffic at all. You get to run miles and miles within the city limits of Philadelphia without seeing a house or a car at all. The midsection of the course features a bunch of short but steep rolling hills along with a trail section (Mount cuckoo). Some have referred to our course as an Achterbahn (“rollercoaster”). It’s certainly not an easy race, but do-able, a good challenge for the experienced runner. Beautiful course along the Pennypack creek. No traffic, no cars, just trees, nature and views of the creek.
Is this a Boston Qualifier? Hell no!!!!!!!! This is a summer race, there is a good chance that high temps will make this harder than you anticipate!!! I recommend running the marathon only if you are an experienced runner, who can handle all kinds of adversity. You have been warned :-). No whining on race day.
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Believe the headlines
This is a beautiful race. Great vibe and well organized. They are not kidding that it is not easy and you should not expect to PR. We were lucky with … MORE
This is a beautiful race. Great vibe and well organized. They are not kidding that it is not easy and you should not expect to PR. We were lucky with the humidity this year but it was enough that I am glad I had my own water and salt pills. The up and down is present on the whole course and starts at about mile 4. Since it is an out and back, everything you experience in the beginning will come back to you in the end. The only thing you don’t repeat is the dirt trail that takes place between mile 6 and 7. If you have ran a trail or two, you know how important it is to pick up your feet and watch where you are going. However, this doesn’t mean you won’t stumble. It is a single track, so if someone goes down, you have to wait for them to roll off the trail or standup.
Overall, it is a great race to come and enjoy yourself. The after race is fun to sit back and enjoy so don’t leave without celebrating.
Summer Run in a Park
As a German Runner, u was intrigued in participating in that German themed race. I was visiting Philadelphia and didn’t want to go back and forth from the city Center … MORE
As a German Runner, u was intrigued in participating in that German themed race. I was visiting Philadelphia and didn’t want to go back and forth from the city Center to the burbs. So I decided to pick up my race packet on race day and took the provided (school) bus to Pennypack Park. The weather was rather mild and not terribly humid. Running on the bike path along a river in the park, over the green (ribbons in the tree, signals on the ground) and a bit down on “off track” was never dull. The water stations were serviced by the German Folklore Dance Group in Bavarian outfits. The music at the start/ finish was traditional south German and even live music from an accordion player. Instand replenishs included water, home made cakes, chips and salty nuts (good for the electrolytes). At the Cannstaetter Festival area we got served with beer, sausages etc. the dance group performed a couple of songs and at the award show the winner got awarded with weather stations and clocks in the traditional Black Forest/ Bavarian style. Swag included a long sleeve shirt for autum/ winter running.
The whole experience was kinda more “German” than what I see in Germany and as third in my age grouo, I took home a weather station with pride….
Well done Uber Endurance Sports!
This group, (Uber Endurance) really puts on a quality event at beautiful Pennypack Park in North Philly. They are very honest on their website about the course. "Is this a … MORE
This group, (Uber Endurance) really puts on a quality event at beautiful Pennypack Park in North Philly. They are very honest on their website about the course. “Is this a BQ course? Hell No!” it’s June in humid Pennsylvania. It’s a 13 mile Half that you do twice for the Full. The course is mostly a bike path that meanders along the Pennypack Creek, which is very scenic. There are a bunch of short but steep rolling hills that along with the humidity, eventually take its toll. I used this marathon as a long training run, so very glad I wasn’t shooting for a specific time. Their pre race communication was spot on. Packet pickup was a breeze. Great volunteers with ample gatoraide and water every 2 miles. Very inexpensive $65 marathon with nice swag. 2022 was a stylish full zip long sleeve tech shirt. Medals are very stylish. Age group award was a really cool ‘German Weather House’. To top it off, the award presentation was at the nearby (free shuttle there) German club, where we were treated with a performance of the German Almrausch dance group while sipping our free post race beer. Definitely a unique experience, but not a race if you’re looking for a fast time.
1/2 Diet Coke 1/2 Impossible Burger
This is a German themed half or full marathon produced by Uberendurance Sports in Pennypack park in Philadelphia. This is always held in June and is known to often be … MORE
This is a German themed half or full marathon produced by Uberendurance Sports in Pennypack park in Philadelphia. This is always held in June and is known to often be a very hot race. I had my eye on this race when looking for half marathons in driving distance this weekend and on almost the same day that Philadelphia announced allowing outdoor events making this race likely to happen, the nearby Delaware Running Festival that I was already registered for moved to the day after this race and I couldn’t resist the opportunity for two halves less than an hour apart in one weekend. This is a very cheap race ($60-$70) for a race in a bigger city. However it does not have a big city feel so if you wanted a high energy, big city race where you see all the sights of Philadelphia, this is not the race for you. If you want a more laid back, smaller race with easy logistics and a cheap price tag then sign up for this one. There wasn’t as much pre-race communication as some races but the week before you are sent a helpful (and very funny) race guide. Logistics were very easy and smooth. Packet pick-up is either the day before or the morning of which is great since its a Saturday race so I don’t need to take off Friday or find someone to pick up my packet. If you are doing race day packet pickup you have to park at the German club and then take a shuttle to the park. If you picked it up early you can park at the park. It is stressed a lot that for same day packet pick up you must go to German club first. This is a smaller race with about 500 participants so packet pickup was smooth and it was the perfect sized race for right now as it was small enough to pretty much be a normal race. I don’t think there were any special protocols except wear a mask on the shuttle. Packet included a long sleeved zipped jacket with a patch of the race logo. It’s pretty nice but kind of weird for summer swag as I doubt I will use it for several months. The shuttle was super smooth and easy. The start of the race was festive with an accordion player and there were enough porta potties that the lines weren’t too long. Weather was actually pretty good today in the mid 70s. We were lucky we didn’t have last week’s weather. The start of the race was just a normal mass start. It was a big enough race I think some self seeded corrals or at least signs to line up for pace may have helped but the race thinned out pretty quickly. As I said the course is through a park. The park is quite pretty but nothing special. It is as pretty but not prettier than parks we have here in Rochester. The course is a lollipop with 5.5 miles of paved road through the park followed by a loop that is mostly trail then you repeat the same 5.5 miles. The first 3 miles are pretty easy just some minor hills. None of them had to be walked though I did walk a few of them to save energy since I was doing two halves this weekend. The next 3 miles are paved and hilly. I definitely walked these hills and would have walked them even if I didn’t have a half the next day but if you actually hill train and don’t just walk hills like me you could run them. The next mile is bonkers. There is a short portion on grass. Gross I walked this since I didn’t want to get injured and don’t like grass and then a quite technical hill section up to “Mount Cuckoo”. I’ve done worse trails but this was harder than I expected. Not so hard that you need to do trail training or wear trail shoes for just this mile but hard enough to prevent you from reaching your time goals. Mount cuckoo was both my favorite and least favorite part of the course and definitely added to the quirkiness and charm of the race. You then finish the loop and do the steep hills and then the flatter section. The race was pretty well stocked with aid stations but given the potential heat and humidity I would recommend carrying water. It was nice to have normal aid stations with cups of water and gatorade handed to you. One aid station in the middle that you pass twice also had snacks and gels. Half marathoners go through the finish line while marathoners do it again. If you are on the fence about the marathon you are able to chicken out and get an official time and potential age group award for the half marathon (the age group awards are really cool but I’m way too slow a turtle to have a chance). At the finish line you get your medal and there is a nice selection of snacks before you take the bus back to the German club to celebrate. I was aiming for a 2:45 finishing time since I wanted to save energy for my half the next day. I was about a minute and a half slower than my goal. Mount Cuckoo….man. Despite just missing my goal I was super excited to see at the post-race refreshment table there were both twizzlers and granola bars, my two favorite post race snacks. There was also some delicious and refreshing watermelon slices. I think there was other stuff but I got too excited by the twizzlers to remember the rest. The medal is fine. It is on the smaller side for a half marathon medal but not tiny. It has a plain ribbon. It is not distance specific but does have the date. After I ate my granola bar and twizzlers, I took the shuttle back to the German club. There runners can go to the beer garden to redeem their two tickets they got at packet pick up for a beer and a brat (or a diet coke and an impossible burger in my case). Overall I thought this was a fun, solid race and a good price. It wasn’t the most exciting scenery or swag but especially if you are used to big city races this would be a nice break. I’m not sure I would drive down to Philadelphia for this race alone but I’m very happy I did it this weekend when I was practically in town anyways and would do it again if I were in Philadelphia for another reason and would definitely recommend it to locals.
Love the run scenery
I was so nervous to do my first marathon. I used the Hanson Method- it was really helpful. You do the half marathon twice here in Penny Pocket Park- you … MORE
I was so nervous to do my first marathon. I used the Hanson Method- it was really helpful. You do the half marathon twice here in Penny Pocket Park- you have the chance to chicken out which I was contemplating. But when you are running – the environment was nice and kind of getting lost in it which is good because it distracts you from realizing your running more than 20 miles. There were some shaded areas ( which was great) and the people running it are cool. You take a bus from the parking lot which was easy to get there. I hesitated based on the reviews which talked about the heat. But the shade was perfect- don’t let that stray you.
Well Produced Race
Stephan does not an amazing job organizing this race. Course: Essentially an out and back through Pennypack Park. Mix of dirt and pavement. Hilly in the second and third quarters … MORE
Stephan does not an amazing job organizing this race.
Course: Essentially an out and back through Pennypack Park. Mix of dirt and pavement. Hilly in the second and third quarters of the race and flat for the first and fourth.
I was fortunate that it was not as hot as previous years. This is not a PR race.
Swag: Nice pullover and medal with cuckoo clocks as awards for the top 3 in each age group
Post-Race: Light snacks and water at the finish. Buses then take you back to a German beer garden for a free beer and brat with the option to purchase more. Traditional German music and dancing are performed for the runners.
Beautiful scenery, challenging hills
This beautiful race goes through a park, with the full marathon consisting of a double loop of the half marathon course. Even though the race is in the summer, you … MORE
This beautiful race goes through a park, with the full marathon consisting of a double loop of the half marathon course. Even though the race is in the summer, you remain completely shaded for about 90% of the run, so the sun is no big deal. The rolling hills are the real challenge, and will definitely take a toll on the unprepared. Definitely not one I would recommend for a PB, but would definitely recommend for a gorgeous view of the scenery on a more “leisurely” run. Also, the sweatshirt they gave out was of amazing quality and the post-race festival had some nice goodies.