What to Know
- The 2018 Blue Cross Broad Street Run happened Sunday, in overcast weather that was good for running.
- Runners reported setting personal records thanks to the conditions.
- The race is the largest 10-miler in the nation.
Thousands of runners and wheelchair racers hit the pavement Sunday for the 39th annual Blue Cross Broad Street Run. Records were broken and new challenges met.
Check out some of the best highlights from the 2018 run.
Top Time [[481857791, C]]
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Elite athlete Daniel Kemoi from Kenya zoomed to first place Sunday morning with a mind-boggling time of 45:43:42. Last year's winning time was 47:37.
"I feel good," Kemoi told NBC10, adding that he expected to finish in third or fourth place.
Fastest Woman on Foot [[481857441, C]]
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Sophy Jepchirchir, an elite runner originally from Kenya, finished at 55:44. Soon after crossing the finish line, she nearly collapsed into the somewhat surprised but helpful hands of NBC10 President and General Manager Ric Harris, who was watching from the sidelines.
“It’s sheer determination: Lots of training, lots of sacrifice, great endurance,” NBC10 commentator Joe Lynch said of Jepchirchir's performance.
From Runner to Wheelchair Athlete [[481858321, C]]
Emelia Perry of Philadelphia was the first woman in a wheelchair to cross the finish line. She previously ran the race three years in a row, but fell off a ladder and suffered a spinal injury last summer. She didn’t let that stop her, however. The athlete crossed the finish line in a wheelchair with an impressive time of 1:08:38.
“When I was running, I would start slow,” she said. “But this time I started out too fast and I got really tired. It was a struggle to finish.”
Perry will remember to pace herself next year, she told NBC10.
Breaking Records [[481857191, C]]
New Jersey resident Tony Nogueira did it again! The Portugal native beat his own time in the wheelchair race during Sunday’s Blue Cross Broad Street Run, finishing at 33:20. In 2008, he set a record for the Wheelchair Master Men's race with a time of 33:52.
“It didn’t rain. The weather was good. The wind was not bad. It was a nice race,” he told NBC10.
Nogueira has raced for 30 years. This was his 16th time at the Blue Cross Broad Street Run.
Never Too Young to Race [[481858411, C]]
Tobias Beidler-Shenk, 15 years old of Students Run Philly Style, crossed the Blue Cross Broad Street Run finish line in just 1:09.14. According to his Fitbit, he took 14,500 steps to get there.