Philadelphia, Sep 20 (THAINDIAN News) The race, at which the world looks with bated breath as new records are smashed and new ones created is the ING Philadelphia Distance Run 2009 which in its 32nd edition clocked a full-house of serious athletes.

In an unfortunate result, the hot favorite Ryan Hall (U.S. Olympian and American Half Marathon Record Holder) lost to Norm Jones by under a minute and secured the second position in the Half-Marathon. Surprisingly, the women’s section had better timing over the gents.

Cynthia Ferguson with a timing of 56:53 topped in the women’s section of the half-marathon.

From next year onwards, ING Philadelphia Distance Run will be renamed as ING Rock ‘n’ Roll Philadelphia Distance Run, along with a new logo as well. The re-branding of the ING Philadelphia Distance Run is being done to increase its economic viability. It can become a good tourism spot if branded correctly. Esp. in recession times when off-beats sources of revenue are particularly required in any country.

The ING Philadelphia Distance Run is a big hit on Twitter as well, with the runners (@megsaint, @sophp, @run_Lance_run ) bragging about their timings and their experiences. The ING Philadelphia Distance Run also acts as a qualifier round for the prestigious New York City Marathon, hence the high local interest.

For more details log on to the http://philadelphia.competitor.com/ site.