Philadelphia Distance Run

ALL RUNNERS WELCOME
PDR will honor its competitive past while building a new future where running is more inclusive and accessible to everyone.  PDR will follow a unique nonprofit/for profit model ensuring that the event has long term success while providing tangible impact on the community.  We believe the future of PDR is a world class event that expands the world of running to a wider, more diverse audience, and is strongly rooted in the Philadelphia community.

Initiatives

• Non-profit stakeholder. Students Run Philly Style is a co-owner of the event, a unique nonprofit/for profit model that ensures a significant amount of race proceeds is invested back into the community.
• Reduced fee bibs for participants experiencing hardship and underserved communities.
• Gathering data and emphasizing hiring of BIPOC contractors and vendors.
• Creation of a dedicated Advisory Board to help us accomplish our goal of creating better inclusivity in running.
• A non-binary gender option during registration and equal prize money and awards for non-binary runners.
  Demographic and financial opt-in data collection to baseline our initiatives and help us better accomplish our goals and serve our community.
  

Advisory Board
The PDR has assembled an advisory board to help us accomplish our goals toward more inclusivity in running. The board is made up of over 15 members for the running community as well as leaders in LGBTQ advocacy, Public Health, DEI, and advocates for underserved communities in general.

We meet with the board every quarter to create policies aimed at providing better support for underserved running communities and to hold The PDR accountable to its goal of increasing access to the sport of running regardless of background.

We aim to continue to add new perspectives and voices to our board. If you are interested in learning more, email info@philadlephiadistanceurn.com.

Students Run Philly Style
Students Run Philly Style (SRPS) is a free, nonprofit mentoring program that engages young people in distance running. For nine months each year, our student runners sign up to train side-by-side with their volunteer mentors to complete distance races up to and including a full marathon.

On race day, when our school buses pull up and hundreds of teenagers from all over Philadelphia clad in blue and green shirts spill out, it’s hard to miss that Students Run Philly Style has arrived.  But when our students—who are mostly Black and Brown youth—spill out of those buses into a sea of hundreds or thousands of runners, it’s hard not to miss that the majority of people there don’t look like them. 

We are constantly toeing the line between trying to build the world we want our young people to grow into while simultaneously equipping them to operate in the world that exists. We want them to walk with courage into races and running spaces as runners, having put in the training for any miles ahead. We also respect our students enough to prepare them for environments that weren’t built with them in mind. PDR affords our students an opportunity to walk off the bus to the start line of a race that was built with them in mind.

Team Tethered Together
Team Tethered Together is the U.S. Association of Blind Athletes (USABA) endurance running program for runners with visual impairments and sighted guides. In 2022, the program will expanded from its original race, the California International Marathon (CIM) to a second race offering a half marathon and 5k, the Philadelphia Distance Run (PDR).

Going into the 13th year of the USABA Marathon National Championships in 2022, there are many runners and guides who race CIM every year because of the community, camaraderie and support, which will be replicated at PDR. During race weekend, USABA provides a one-of-a-kind experience including pre-race meals with race briefings, awards ceremony, logistical support and help with identifying sighted guides.