Philly Achilles took Nashville by storm on our second annual road trip to participate in the Country Music Half Marathon. Over 40 of us who raised funds for the chapter got to spend the weekend in Honky Tonk town with our new friends from the Nashville Achilles Chapter.
Carrie and the crew from Nashville really rolled out the red carpet for us, planning a fun meet and greet pasta party for us the Friday night before the race (thanks Cigna for sponsoring the event!). Here we got to meet our southern counterparts and learn more about their chapter and all the amazing things they have done in their 3 years of existence. They were a great match for our fun-loving bunch!
Nashville Achilles also took great care of us on race day, organizing a meeting spot with lots of pre-race snacks and access to REAL bathrooms! Mother Nature was on our side as the thunderstorms held off and we made our way to a dry starting line.
Personally I had been discouraged that because I was recovering from an injury, I may not be much help guiding in the race. But as it turned out, our volunteer Katie, who was participating in her first ever half marathon, allowed me to do the race with her. It worked out wonderfully – with Kara and Jenn rounding out Team Katie, we were able to complete the race together and provide moral support to allow Katie to reach this amazing milestone on an incredibly challenging course!
Sarah and her team from Nashville took great care of us after the race. Not only did we get to hang out at the big yellow Achilles tent with the rest of the finishers and cheerleaders from both chapters, but we were treated to more food and beverages of all kinds. The sun even came out for us as we celebrated our achievements!
After spending the day seeing the sights, we reconvened for a traditional southern dinner at Puckett’s. Carrie and Rachel joined the 40 Philly Achilles team members and fit right into the mix. Tradition required us to find a place to do some karaoke, but Lonnie’s Western Room (surprise!) turned out to have a little more country music than us city folk could tolerate. Before we departed we did stir the pot by performing some Journey (thanks Kinzey, Maddy and Caitlin – my only REAL friends I see) and Grease (poor Katie!). Then we hit the road to continue hanging out as long as we could keep our eyes open!
I’d like to thank everyone who guided, cheered, and photographed the race, and everyone who came on the trip and raised money for Philly Achilles. And of course, a special shout-out to Carrie and her Nashville Achilles chapter for showing us a good time and taking great care of us. Can’t wait to reciprocate and host their chapter for a visit to Philly in the fall!
~Melissa Wilcox
President- Achilles International Philadelphia Chapter