2022 Philadelphia Marathon: Runners from all 50 states, dozens of countries arrive ahead of marathon

CENTER CITY - It’s a busy weekend in Philadelphia, as runners from all over come out to participate in the Philadelphia Marathon. Road closures have already started.

"I’m going the whole hog! Full 26.2 miles!" Adaptive Athlete Chris Koch.

It’s back and it’s packed. Nearly 30,000 runners are set to hit the streets for the 2022 Philadelphia Marathon, Half-Marathon and 8K races this weekend.

Runners from all 50 states and dozens of countries are participating in the event that raises money to fight cancer.

RELATED: 2022 Philadelphia Marathon: City announces street closures for weekend events

"Very proud to be a charity partner. This year, we’re really excited we had over 600 runners raise almost $500,000. We’ll hit that," Chief Philanthropic Officer for the American Association for Cancer Research, Mitch Stoller, said.

Chilly temperatures will make for a cold start to the race, but U.S. Olympic runner Jared Ward is welcoming the cold. "It makes it easier to cool the engine. So part of energy is moving you forward and keeping the system cool and when it’s cool outside, your radiator stays cool."

The race can be tough and not just physically. Dr. Mitchell Green is a clinical and sports psychologist and came up with an idea to help runners mentally push through. "That’s when they get late in the race and when they’re struggling a little bit with their mentality and says, ‘I don’t know if I can do it.’ The Psych in the Bikes come along and say you can do it."

Anyone looking for inspiration should look no further than Adaptive Athlete Chris Koch. "I do these marathons in the hope that people, whether they have disabilities or whatever their physical ability is, that anybody can complete a marathon. Literally, anybody can complete a marathon.