A runner who missed out on the chance to take part in the famous Philadelphia 10K marathon decided to create her own version of the sporting event that allowed her to flex much more than her legs – she also got to put her stomach to a real test of endurance.
Runner Anna Orso, Age, was outraged when she missed the Philly 10K marathon deadline, an intense race which she has already completed twice. But the young journalist found a silver lining in saving the $65 registration fee and instead created her own version of the mega-race with an added twist.
Rather than rack up miles, she decided to push her foodie limits and followed the official race course but stopped at every single one of the city’s many taco restaurants along the way, eating at least a bite at every single one.
A race to the finish: Foodie Anna Orso missed the deadline for the Philly 10K marathon and so decided to travel along the same course in her own race, but with a taco-filled twist
First stop: Anna started her journey at Mexicana Foto El Trompo Loco (left) with steak tacos (right) and felt excited about her race that stopped at every taco joint on the marathon route
Round two: The next stop on the five hour taco race was just as delicious for the young runner
On August 23, she embarked on her five hour race – which she added on Google Maps for any die-hard taco fans – where she impressively scarfed down 14 tacos and one mandatory margarita.
‘I put on my stretchiest pants and my loosest tank top and started my own version of the Philly 10K — one in which I vowed to walk the entire 6.2 miles and stop to eat a taco at every single Mexican spot I came across along the way,’ she wrote on her experience on BillyPenn.
The young blonde then embarked on an exploration of Pennsylvania’s largest city and entered her first restaurant at 11:25am, where right off the bat she encountered her first foil: taco’s are sold in groups of three and can’t be purchased individually. Following was her quickly revealed second slip-up: her lack of self discipline to eat just one.
‘These tacos are delicious. They are so good and I am so hungry that I eat two because I have no self-control,’ she confessed.
Anna hilariously makes her trek and includes a photo of each restaurant, taco, and an in-depth review of each taco joint she trials. And her palate isn’t a simple one. On her journey she tried everything from chorizo and carnitas to brisket and fish tacos, as well as a bag of free chips.
But by the ninth stop she begins to regret her grand undertaking.
‘I see my reflection in a storefront and self-loathing starts to set in. I cut up 12th Street and am starting to regret being so overzealous at the beginning of this endeavor,’ she shared.
Tacos for one! The young journalist tried all sorts of bites from brisket to fish tacos in her 10K food face across the city
Yum! Her race was not only 10K but it stopped at 13 joints, all of which she had to buy more than one taco, leaving her munching on multiple per stop
Mucho taco: The eighth stop had Anna bloated and bitter, but a margarita stop made her journey all the more appetizing
Regret: By the end Anna didn’t felt very regretful about her decision and said ‘The bike ride home is not easy’
‘I imagine myself throwing up at El Vez. What will they do?’ she pondered.
By the 10th stop she was ready to quit.
‘I walk by Dirty Frank’s and think about going inside and asking them to kill me. Dirty Frank’s seems like a good bar to die at, and then I know what they would say about me: She died doing what she loved,’ she joked.
At this stop she decides against taking her tacos to go – as she did at every other stop and sits down to relax and even indulge in a margarita.
‘I walk into El Vez looking like the garbage person that I am and sit at the bar. I think about ordering my tacos to go like I did at almost every other place, but I instinctively order a margarita. Oops. Guess I’m stuck here. It’s delicious, and I deserve this,’ she reflected.
After a couple more stops she’s filled to the brim and ready for her marathon to be over. And just when she thought she could finally catch a break, she said ‘all hell broke loose.’
Her oath to eat at every taco joint in sight cursed her when she passed an unplanned Chipotle and was forced to go in by virtue to her mission and she reluctantly ordered two barbacoa tacos.
‘The bike ride home is not easy. I think hard about my actions, and realize I have a dinner reservation in three weeks that I wonder if I’ll make it to,’ she admitted after she wrapped up her final delicious taco at her 13th and final stop.