From Academy to Yale: Local Man Runs Swarthmore Streets (All of Them)

Will Starr ran all the streets of Swarthmore on May 10. Photo: Dan Atkins

A marathon plus five: That’s how many miles you have to run to cover all the streets in Swarthmore. Will Starr did just that earlier this month, embarking a journey that he named “Swarthmore in a Day.” Starr writes:

I teach fourth grade at Plymouth Meeting Friends School, and whenever I have a cool math-related idea, I work on it with my students. When I thought of running all the streets of Swarthmore in one day, I took a blank map of our town, enlarged it, and had the kids plan out a route. 

I started my run from my home, on Walnut Lane, in the northwest part of town, and ran counterclockwise, covering the streets between Cedar and Riverview. Then I turned south, and covered the roadways around Yale Avenue. Finally, I tackled the southern tip of town, around Michigan Avenue and Morgan Circle, then headed back home. 

Less Traveled Streets

On this run, I got to experience some of the borough’s less traveled streets. The first was Swarthmore Place, off Chester Road. I have run by it plenty of times, but this was the first time I ran down it. It has a couple of very nice houses tucked away in a kind of private enclave.

A second — more mysterious — was Meadow Lane, off Riverview Road. Lying halfway between Baltimore Pike and Widener Road, it is marked by a small wooden pillar with a road sign. I ran just a short way down it before seeing that — though it may once have been a road — it is now a private driveway. What a fun discovery!

Timing

The whole 31 miles took me just over six and a half hours to run. This included breaks to consider my route and chat with neighbors. Over the course of the day, I was joined by a number of other Swarthmore residents for various stints, including, toward the end of my run, my son Max. 

Scenes

May is a gorgeous time to be out and about in Swarthmore. I passed many shrubs, trees, and plants with stunning colors. Many people were riding bikes, or running, or just hanging out enjoying the weather. On the Swarthmore College campus, I saw small groups of people (mostly socially distancing), as well as couples walking together, and kids on bikes with huge smiles on their faces. 

It was a beautiful day, and it was great to see people out enjoying Swarthmore during this difficult time. For me, Swarthmore in a Day was a glorious (re)discovery of our beautiful town.

Thanks

My Swarthmore in a Day experience was enhanced by the participation of Dan Atkins, Tony Liu, Scott Manaker, Seva Rostovtsev, Doug Harnsberger, and my son, Max Starr, who all ran part of the way with me. And special thanks to my wife, Lise Reno, who brought me food and fresh water. Needless to say, she played a huge role in making this project a success.