Roxborough Woman, Upenn Coach, Will Compete For Top Broad Street Run Spot

By THOMAS DERR

More than 22,000 women (40,000 runners overall) will take part in Philadelphia’s Blue Cross Broad Street Run on Sunday.

Roxborough’s Claire Hewitt, an assistant distance coach with the Penn Quakers’ track and field teams, will be one of the local elite runners looking to do well in what she calls her “favorite” distance race.

“This will be my fourth Broad Street Run,” Hewitt says. There would have been more, but her work as a track and distance coach generally meant that scheduled meets would keep her elsewhere during Broad Street Run weekend.

“This year it’s still going to be something of a whirlwind,” she says. The Penn Relays also take place on Broad Street Run weekend, but end on Saturday, the day before the race. “It’s going to be a busy week,” she adds.

Hewitt also has run the Philadelphia Marathon three times, including one she undertook shortly after giving birth to her four-year-old daughter. She described the experience as “challenging.” She marked her personal best in 2013 with a time of 2:49:33.

Hewitt grew up in West Philadelphia and attended the University of Pennsylvania, where she was a three-time Academic All-American and four-year letter winner for the Quakers. She initially set the school record in the steeplechase as a freshman in 2002 and improved upon that mark throughout her collegiate career.

Prior to joining the coaching staff at Penn, Hewitt spent six seasons as an assistant coach of the Saint Joseph University's women's cross country and track teams. During her time there, she worked with 32 individual ECAC qualifiers, 13 relay qualifiers, and an NCAA Regional qualifier (steeplechase). Her athletes set school records in the distance medley relay, indoor 4x800, steeplechase and 10,000 meters.

Prior to her St. Joe’s experience, she coached three seasons at the high school level, including two years as the head girls indoor and outdoor track coach at Germantown Friends School while also serving as an assistant cross country coach. She also served as the head girls cross country coach as well as the head boys and girls track coach for one year at Friends Central School soon after graduating from Penn.

Hewitt lives in Roxborough with her husband, Rob, and daughter, Emma.