- Jimmy Charles (2015)
“I’m up every morning
the best shape of my life
I’m everything to my three kids
a lover to my wife
still run five miles when I get home
play pickup at the Y
So why’s this doctor telling me
I should be scared for my life
and I didn’t want to come here
swear I’m feeling fine
so you say I got cancer man
I say you lost your mind
To Everyone who’s had to Lose
to every man that wears the Blue
to every guy scared to Know
I’ll tell you are not Alone!
It’s the hardest Thing you’ll ever Do
swallow your Pride, face the Truth
go through Hell, feel the Fear
but if you press on you’ll still be Here
Cause you still got more Miles here on this Road
and I hope that you can Understand
Brother you can’t fight this battle on your Own.
No One’s Superman
No One’s Superman
No One’s Superman”
I’ll never forget the first time I heard this song by Jimmy Charles performed live at a ZERO Prostate Cancer 5K event. It brought a tear to my eye. I think of this song often as I think about my many friends battling prostate cancer.
Today I ran in the 2026 ZERO Prostate Cancer 5K Walk/Run in Philadelphia, along Martin Luther King Drive. It was a gorgeous day for a run. The event raised over $100,000, and combined with participants in runs nationwide we raised over $48 million – all help expand access to lifesaving screenings, care coordination, financial navigation, and community support. It was hosted by veteran market personality Kevin “Muthaknows” Cesar, from 100.3 WRNB, Philadelphia’s premiere R&B station. Muthaknows previously co-hosted the “Rise & Grind Morning Show” on crosstown WUSL-FM (Power 99).
The run started at the Schuylkill Banks Pergola, near the Art Museum, and went out and back down Martin Luther King Drive, across the river from the famous Philadelphia Boat House Row. It was a flat, easy course. Of course no trip to the Art Museum area is complete without a run up the “Rocky Steps” at the Art Museum.
I will say I encountered a few somewhat annoying issues along the way:
1- They sent out an email the day before the event with “All You Need To Know”, including a link to the location. So I clicked on it and let my car’s GPS show me the way. I finally got to the location, which happened to be outside the Please Touch Museum. Now I know I was early (nothing new for me), but I was surprised that I saw absolutely nothing when I arrived- no signs, no directions, no banners. I started walking around when another car drove up, and a guy rolled down his window an asked if I was there for the ZERO Run. He parked and we all pondered what to do as yet another car drove up with the same question. The guy ended up “googling” the Schuylkill Banks Pergola, and then yelled out “It’s 2 1/2 miles away!” They apparently sent out a wrong/bad link to the location in the email. I then drove to the right location but had to find a place to park. It was near the Art Museum, and that area can be a traffic nightmare. After driving around the Art Museum a few times, I finally found the entrance to their parking garage and found a spot to park. Luckily I gave myself plenty of time so I was still early.
2- I got to the race location and found out we didn’t have to “sign in”. It was a fun run and not a timed race, so there no race bibs to pin to our shirts, and no real reason to sign in. I wasn’t in it to set any speed records, and I realize timing a race costs money, but I missed seeing a clock at the end, just for the fun of seeing how long it took me. At although they had a giant “START” archway at the beginning of the race, they took it down after we started so there was no actual “finish line”. Once again, not a big deal, but it is fun to cross a finish line at the end of a run. They did have people with bells clanging and cheering us on as we got back to the starting spot, so that was nice.
3- As always before a run, I wanted to find a bathroom/porta potty before the start. I’ve been to a few of these before, and it was unusual not to see porta potties anywhere near the race spot. I had time, so I took a walk back to the Art Museum and saw a row of porta potties on Eakins Oval. Great! No, hold it- they were zip tied shut. What?? After walking around for a while, I found one that wasn’t tied shut (my guess I someone got frustrated and cut the zip tie), but it worked and I went back to the race site. Note to staff: It’s a good idea to have porta potties on site when you have a bunch of old men with prostate cancer.
4- They started with a few speeches, but midway through the generator died and the power went off, so they had to speak without a microphone. There was also an Action Karate group of kids giving a demo, which was intended to be timed to music, but without power, they had to do it in silence. They did a nice job, though. I’m used to technical difficulties- I know sometimes stuff happens, but it was another hiccup along the way.
5- And a problem that was all my own: the all-too-common event where I can’t find my car. I knew it was in the garage under the Art Museum, but I walked around the place a few times and couldn’t find the garage entrance for the life of me. I was in a hurry at the start of the day and wasn’t really paying attention to where I parked. But I finally found it after adding a few more steps to my busy day.
6- And another issue of my own making: I got my CoVid vaccination the afternoon before the race and was more achy than usual afterwards. That, combined with my normal achy knees after I run had me feeling pretty much wiped out at the end of the day.
My old-man grievances aside, it was a fun time, a satisfying accomplishment, and raised money for a great cause. A special thanks to all who made a donation!
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