Day 594 – US – Delaware/ Pennsylvania [Wilmington to Philadelphia]

19/11/21

44km

  From Wilmington (Maryland) to Philadelphia (Pennsylvania)

North America

A sunny day for a run into yet another big city, Philadelphia!

Leaving Wilmongton by the Brandywine Creek

Some people (Fergus the latest!) recently hinted at me that I seem to be posting less pictures of people I meet along the way. And it is true that since Minnesota, there have not been that many encounters (except Chicago, Connie & Dave in Indiana, Washington DC and yesterday’s Police officer). In fact, the first big city I met since Seattle was Minneapolis. And since then, as I am running through more urban areas… I guess I go unnoticed!

Approaching Philadelphia’s University area

Running into urban areas has other consequences. Today I noticed I felt some tiredness in my upper body. I gave it some thinking and I realise that running through all these suburbs and cities, I spend a lot of effort lifting BoB (30kg) onto pavements, lowering it (as there is not always a ramp) and also manoeuvering the broken down pavements. It’s a constant effort that has “appeared” more and more since Chicago, and non stop since Washington DC. I’ll soon look more like a bodybuilder than a runner, if that’s not already the case!

Philly by night, market Street

Today’s run was sunny, with some crosswind that made it a bit hard at times. I was running through industrial areas and very poor suburbs and then… very suddenly, the University was in sight and the change was immediate. Very strange. Suddenly I was running on even pavements, the streets were filled with students, professors, the streets and buildings were pristine. What a strange divide. And into Philadelphia I ran, via Market Street, past the Liberty Bell and the National Historic Park. I went back for another walk in the evening as well, to take in all the sights as well as the Christmas decorations. A beautiful and very pleasant city.

Philadelphia is also very rich in history, being one of the oldest US cities (1682) and the place where the declaration of independance was signed in 1776. Philadelphia is also a name of greek origin: philos (love) adelphos (brother) – the city of brotherly love, as envisionned by its founder, William Penn (… hence Pennsylvania too).

Enjoy the video of today’s run: https://www.relive.cc/view/veqzB2rp77q

Check my daily run GPS data on or

Here is the map of today’s run: