Four School District of Philadelphia Educators to Pass the Baton at Penn Relays
Four of Philadelphia Runner Track Club’s favorite 7am-3pm-ers (also known as the School District of Philadelphia employees who will never be able to attend the 7am South Street Bridge Runs) have made a historic move: they are racing the Corporate Distance Medley Relay (DMR) in the 2024 Penn Relays Carnival.
The Penn Relays Corporate DMR rep says he has never had a school district team enter before! The team understood why when they got the entry fee tab (yikes). Hence the inspiration for this 50/50 prediction pool. While being the first team of teachers in the history of the event is an honor, they’re going to run as fast as possible.
The 50/50 Prediction Pool:
For $5 an entry, try to guess the team’s total finish time (Price is Right Rules - closest without going over will win). 50% of the pot will go to the winner, and 50% of the pot will go to the team to recoup the entry fee with additional funds going to each participant’s school’s Cross Country/Track and Field programs or Students Run Philly Style clubs.
Please Venmo Elaine Estes @laineyestes (last 4 - 8621) with your time guess. For reference, times for last year’s Corporate DMR ranged from 11:09 and 17:42.
$5 per entry, number of entries is unlimited!
The race is on Friday, April 26th @ 8:30pm so get your guesses in before then. Follow our results here!
1st leg (1200m)
:
RONI TEICH
Science Teacher at the Academy at Palumbo
“In the years since the conclusion of my DIII track career, I have steadily moved up in distance and lost most of the fast-twitch muscle I could once count on. But with age also comes experience—and the desire to relive the glory days and run the least-coveted of the DMR legs, the lead-off 1200. I actually did run this leg at least once back in high school and, judging from the 5 or 6 pixels in this video from my senior year, I think I ran a 3:20 or so! (I’m the short one in the green who takes the lead on the 2nd lap). My most recent season of road racing ended with a 77:32 at the Philly Half Marathon (a couple minutes off my PR), and an all-time-best placing (6th place) for me at my home Turkey Chase 10k. While the grand plan was to get the mileage up again and grind out the SRT long runs in preparation for a Spring marathon, those plans were derailed by a pretty nasty cold, prioritizing my school’s Science Olympiad team over running for a hot second, and buying a house and moving! Life does get in the way sometimes, but opportunities like this DMR often materialize at just the right time. A mid-distance track race is now super appealing given my training lately, so I’m excited to see how close I can get to that 3:30 mark! “
“Proceeds from the Prediction Pool will go to supporting Palumbo’s Students Run Philly Style club, an extracurricular opportunity that helps our students gain confidence, make friends, and find a passion for running. The students will be grateful to have an array of post-run snacks and treats to refuel with as they gear up for the Broad Street 10 miler!
2nd leg (400m): EMILY DOOLEY
English Teacher at the Philadelphia Military Academy
“Another marathoner on a DMR, good idea right? Yes, definitely. I’ll be joining the team for the shortest, but hopefully not the slowest leg of the relay :grimacing:. In high school I spent one season racing the 400 hurdles, so I’m super prepared for this distance. Currently, I’m in the middle of training for a 50k trail race w/ over 6000ft of vertical gain, happening only six days before we take to the track. In November I ran 2:57:59 in the marathon and I’ve been trying to add some speed into workouts and have been known to throw some hill sprints into a run or two.”
“My goal for the 400 is to get as far under 80 as I can get and just go for it, there’s a first time for everything! Proceeds will go to PMA’s cross country team! This past fall we placed top ten in the Public League and had 2 All-Public runners, who just barely missed going to states.. hopefully some funds for extra snacks, gatorade, and the like will help us level up next season!”
3rd leg (800m)
: ELAINE ESTES
Spanish Teacher at Horace Furness High School
“I ran the race of my life in December of 2023 when I qualified for the Olympic Marathon Trials at the California International Marathon. With an 8-week turnaround between that and the Trials, in which time I got the flu and got engaged, I had a blast getting to the finish line at the Trials in Orlando. Now that that is out of the way (it was the time of my life), I have focused my attention to staying in one piece to run the Boston Marathon on Monday, April 15th. Yep - a week and a half before the first 800m race I will have run since high school. I always claim the 800m is the toughest distance, so my plan is just to run tough. The goal is to see how far under 3 minutes I can go!”
“Additional monies headed my way will benefit the Students Run Philly Style - Team Furness. My high school student population is largely made up of newcomers to the US who are learning English for the first time. Our club was founded to be a conversation opportunity for them outside of the academic setting! We will more than likely use the cash to lure students to Saturday long runs with the promise of Federal Donuts after. We are training for Broad Street!”
4th leg (1600m):
PETE CELONA
Math Teacher at YouthBuild Philadelphia Charter School & Master’s Athlete
“As a marathon and ultra-marathon runner, one way I used to celebrate my birthday was running my new age in miles in a single, several-hour long run: 34 miles for 34 years, for example. I kept this up into my thirties but for my 40th birthday I embraced the mantra “quality over quantity” and decided to attempt a sub-5-minute 1 mile run, a feat I hadn’t accomplished since my senior year of high school in 2000. And, as luck would have it, a new tradition was born: I ran 4:56 in 2022 and 4:57 in December of 2023! For what it’s worth, I’m usually training for the 26.2 mile Boston Marathon right about now (2020, 2022, 2023 finisher!) but was not accepted this year despite running a 3 minute 54 second BQT (1-800-THEIR LOSS). I did, however, gain 6 pounds over winter and sign up for this relay medley last minute. That said, I am confident, regardless of my overall lack of fitness, that I will 1) run the first lap faster than I should, and 2) shout “this is my legacy!” anytime I pass someone. Am I reading this right that the race starts at 8:30 p.m. on a Friday night?!”
“Sooo thank you in advance for your support of me disrupting my circadian rhythm as the “mandatory” (i.e., recruited, highly sought after, blue-chip) Master’s member of our history-making Philadelphia School District teacher corporate distance-medley relay team! All funds will go towards post-run snacks for my Students Run Mile Up Program team. It is a running and mentorship program in partnership with the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office that serves youth facing delinquency charges who were formerly ineligible for restorative interventions. Students in the Mile Up program who complete all milestone races and reflection receive paid restitution, have their charges dropped, and record expunged. We, too, are currently training for the 10-mile Broad Street run!”