u/ColdDowntown

Signed up for the full marathon, but turns out that date will be problematic for me. The half on Saturday would be fine, plus far easier for me to train for, but it sold out and they told me I'm SOL as far as transferring unless I want to do the half. It's mind-boggling that they don't allow bib transfers of any kind, I can't figure out the reasoning behind that since other races do this.

Is the 8k worth it? I've never run any Philly Marathon weekend course before. This is the only event that's open, but it seems to just be a run up and down Kelly Drive which is fine but I've run that exact course several times lol. Trying to decide if I should just switch to this one, or defer to next year. I love Philly (live in the DC area and visit often) and running in the city, but the marathon organizers are frustrating. Why not allow bib transfers?

Hello,

My partner and I are planning on driving up from the US to visit Montreal for 4 nights before heading up to Quebec City. We'd like to stay in Le Plateau at a boutique hotel, and the one we're looking at seems to have alley parking behind it. Its hard to get a good gauge on how bad the car theft problem in Montreal really is, or if the issue is overblown. My car isn't particularly nice or valuable, and I have a steering wheel lock, but slightly worried the US plates will make it a prime target. Should I be paranoid and keep it in an underground garage somewhere else? I don't really plan to use it much if at all once we're there, primarily because I don't speak French and driving around and parking in the city seems to be more of a hassle than it's worth.

More generally, would it be better to stay at a downtown hotel? We hope to see the main sites but also would like to experience the less touristy parts of the city, and the Plateau/Mont Royal area seems to be the best bet, but we really don't want to stay in an AirBnB or a sketchy short-term rental considering the reputation they seem to have among MTL residents (and in my city as well).

Any advice is welcome, thank you! Hopefully I picked the correct flair.

I bought a new 1.6 cubic ft minifridge off Amazon, and it has a persistent smell coming from it after it's been running for a little while. It smells somewhat chemical or like plastic. It works fine, though, so I don't think it's a refrigerant leak or anything like that. The smell transfers to food if I keep it in there, so I've only been putting sealed drinks or tupperware in it. It seems like it could be off-gassing from the plastic inside, but I've had it for 3 weeks and let it air out while turned off more than once, including for 3 days last week, and it still persists. I've cleaned the inside and the gaskets lining the door with water and soap, and also used charcoal odor absorbers, to no avail.

Is it possibly off-gassing still, and I just need to wait awhile, or should I get it replaced? Never owned a fridge before so not sure if this is normal.