South Philly Review

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Jordan Payne has spent the last eight months shedding unwanted weight and gaining desired motivation. Never more determined, the West Philadelphian and senior at The Academy at Palumbo, 1100 Catharine St., will make Sunday the latest proof of his resolve when he competes in the half-marathon portion of the Philadelphia Marathon. He will receive the bulk of his support from his dozen Team Palumbo colleagues and running leader Joe Whelan.

Payne and his mates comprise one of nearly 50 group and school squads under the guidance of Students Run Philly Style. The seven-year-old Center City-based program serves as the lone local entity providing youths marathon training as a means to bolster self-belief and has counted on Whelan to head Team Palumbo for the last two running seasons.

The area unit, featuring pupils from other high schools, gathered Nov. 10 for a seven-mile session stretching from 728 S. Broad St. to the stadium complex area. Since July, the runners have used the former, where Whelan, of Front and Pemberton streets works for a public policy and technology company, as the origin of their three-times-a-week travels and impress the 27-year-old with their maturity.

“They have developed strong accountability to one another,” the Queen Village inhabitant, whose own running career last year motivated him to become a Students Run volunteer, said.

Four times an entrant in the Philadelphia Marathon, he constructs Team Palumbo’s routes and gives the teenagers ample encouragement, the latter to the delight of Payne. The young man chose running to bring his weight loss plan to fruition. While many novices experience beginner’s luck, he dealt with amateur angst.

“It was the worst thing ever,” the youngster said of his initial run, a March practice for the Broad Street Run. “I had tight legs and so much doubt.”

Payne overcame pain and uncertainty in time for the 10-mile test, which concluded inside The Philadelphia Navy Yard.

“He pulled me through it as much as I pushed him,” Whelan said of the rookie. “That kid’s got a ton of heart.”

Students Run has assisted more than 2,500 students and enlists mentors to keep learners intent on conquering intense schedules, eight road races and apprehension. Whelan helped his concrete canvassers by upping the treks to 10 to prove extra challenges yield additional confidence.

“It all kind of clicked for me then,” Payne said of not letting his ambition take a vacation.

Team Palumbo began its marathon training plan Aug. 9 with a four-mile hike, which included incline preparation. The subsequent weeks have included more hill trials and aerobic intervals, repetitions during which Whelan’s charges have darted at paces faster than their normal strides. Today marks their final session, a brief excursion that will not burden Payne, who now excels at handling longer distances and crueler conditions.

“This is definitely the most grueling experience of my life,” he said of being sound for Sunday.

He has set no time goal for the race but knows pain will be only a homophone to his last name and not a source of sadness.

“Running is natural now,” he said, “just like walking.”

While Payne will cover 13.1 miles, junior Jacqueline Le and senior Alex Muller will tackle 26.2. Organizers of the first modern Olympic Games, the 1896 competition in Athens, Greece, chose the latter to honor Pheidippides, a messenger who ran roughly the same distance from Marathon to Athens to announce Greece’s triumph in the Battle of Marathon.

Le will not run to proclaim any victory, but she will be attempting her first marathon. The third-year participant ran the shorter race her first two years and sought to see if last November’s success could translate over a course twice the size.

“I finished easily last year,” the resident of the 600 block of Washington Avenue said.

While her inaugural outing went poorly, she never wavered, with last year’s time of 2 hours and 21 minutes as a testament to her tenacity.