PRSA set the conference bar high by including a group run through Philadelphia

Posted on by Vanessa Junkin (She Runs by the Seashore)
PRSA Travel & Tourism Conference participants pose for a group photo inside the Loews Philadelphia before starting the run.
Here’s the Morning Run Like Rocky group before starting our run through Philadelphia.

I learned about the Public Relations Society of America Travel and Tourism Conference through a Facebook group for another organization I’m part of — the Mid-Atlantic Tourism Public Relations Alliance.

I clicked on the link and looked through the schedule. The sessions, of course, sounded interesting, but there was something else that caught my eye, too — the Morning Run Like Rocky. A group run as part of a work-related conference? So amazing! Once I registered for the conference, I even sent a tweet out expressing my excitement — which was featured in a PRSA email.

Runners cross a crosswalk in Philadelphia.
Runners make their way through Philadelphia on the Morning Run Like Rocky that was part of the PRSA Travel and Tourism Conference. (Vanessa Junkin photo)

I am not a morning person, but the run was at 6:30 a.m., and I knew this would be my only opportunity for a group run in Philadelphia, so I made it to the meeting spot at the Loews Philadelphia by that time. When I put my name down on the list for the run, I noticed that many people had signed up, and I was excited that so many people wanted to take part. We took a photo before we started, and I just counted 27 people in the photo.

There were representatives from Philadelphia on the run, and the one that I was near at times talked some about the city. I got to run with people from throughout the country — among the locations participants traveled from were Hawaii, Minnesota, Ohio and Florida.

Vanessa Junkin poses in front of the Rocky Steps at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
Here I am in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art steps.

We started at the Loews Philadelphia, the host hotel, then traveled through Love Park and up Benjamin Franklin Parkway, seeing flags from numerous countries, to the Rocky Steps at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. We posed for some photos there and continued onto the Schuylkill River Trail, then leaving the trail and heading through Rittenhouse Square Park.

My GPS was a little wonky (maybe because of the buildings — the map looks odd), and I started it late because I forgot to find the GPS before the run began, but the run was about four miles. I wanted to get some coffee, so I found a nearby coffee shop, Square One Coffee, and since I’d already run to the start from my hotel, I ran a little extra to end there for a total of five miles.

I made sure to represent the Eastern Shore Running Club and BibRave on the run with my singlet and visor.

View of the Philadelphia skyline from top of steps at Philadelphia Museum of Art.
Here’s a view of Philadelphia from the top of the steps at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

I think I’ve been spoiled now. All conferences should include a group run — it’s a great way to explore an area, chat with fellow attendees and get in some exercise outside before a day inside.

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Runners on Schuylkill River Trail with some skyscrapers in the distance and trees on both sides.
Group run participants run on the Schuylkill River Trail in Philadelphia. (Vanessa Junkin photo)

6 thoughts on “PRSA set the conference bar high by including a group run through Philadelphia”

  1. Pingback: June running wrap-up: Less running, but lots of cool locations – She Runs by the Seashore

  2. I belong to CREW – Commercial Real Estate Women – and we always have a Netrun/Netwalk in assocation with our summits and conferences. With time changes, it can be challenging but I always have so much fun that it is worth the early morning wake-up call. I’ve been known to sleep in my running clothes to facilitate the early start.

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  3. How fun is this? When the American Academy of Pediatrics was in Chicago, there was a group run. I was so tempted to do it, except then I’d be all sweaty for the conference.

    Liked by 1 person

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