UPenn runner ends season on his own terms after coronavirus outbreak

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Franklin Field is on lockdown. When the Penn Relays and the outdoor track season were canceled due to the coronavirus, Quakers senior runner, Andrew Hally, was devastated.

"It's a surreal feeling having my senior year coming to an end in a very abrupt way," Andrew told Action News.

And so, the cross country and track and field athlete and Salesianum School grad decided to take matters into his own hands and go out, on his own terms.

Last week, Andrew plotted a course through Center City Philadelphia and, with a group of friends, ran a marathon. His very first! And marathon runners get a medal, right?

As a sign of the times, Andrew's was a bit different.

"So I finish, and my sister puts it around my neck, it's a piece of string with a bottle of hand sanitizer on it and she said it's the Corona Virus Marathon.

Humor helps when everything is a mile a minute. It was definitely a morale boost to have that at the end of the marathon" Andrew said.

The experience as a whole has given him, and likely all senior athletes, some unexpected perspective.

"I think athletics will be better because of this because it really instills the significance athletics has in our lives. If I have one message, it's make the most of it and be safe out there."

If you know a senior we should spotlight, tell me about them on my Facebook Page. Class of 2020, Action News salutes you!