Alison Cohen, of Mt. Airy, has founded bike sharing programs in nine cities, including the Indego bike sharing program in Philadelphia, which has over 1,000 self-service bikes and more than 100 stations.

by Len Lear

Alison Cohen, of Mt. Airy is one of 18 candidates for the Philadelphia school board who were selected by a nominating panel in mid-March in addition to 27 others already under consideration. Mayor Kenney will select the board members from this group of 45 some time in April.

All 45 nominees are fine citizens of Philadelphia, I am sure, but I am equally sure that Alison is the only one of the nominees to be in the Guinness Book of World Records. She is immortalized there because on Oct. 23, 2016, Alison and her wife, Nurit, awoke their three very young daughters, put them and their triple stroller into their 1998 station wagon and headed to the Atlantic City Half Marathon. The goal: to set a world record by pushing all three of them in a half-marathon in under two hours.

“There were about 10,000 things that could have gone wrong with the day, and none did,” said Alison, who negotiated the 13-plus miles with lots of witnesses in the incredible time of one hour, 54 minutes and nine seconds!

The Guinness Book of World Records confirmed the record, which is approximately 8.8 minutes per mile. (Very, very few 42-year-olds — that was her age at the time — could run a half-marathon at under nine minutes per mile, not to mention pushing an additional 130 pounds!)

Alison was always a great athlete. As a student at Lower Merion High School, she set a career record with 1266 career points on the basketball team (and she's just 5-foot-5), a record that was broken later by Kobe Bryant, who was four years behind her and, of course, was one of the greatest basketball players who ever lived. Later Alison was also a professional tennis player.

In addition, Alison was no academic lightweight. In 1996 she graduated as a Physics major from the University of Virginia (she was also captain and #1 player on the tennis team), and in 2005 she earned a master's degree in Earth Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences from the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

In Philly, though, Alison is known primarily as the founder of the Philadelphia Bike Sharing Program. In fact, the former investment banker and environmental consultant has founded nine such programs since 2007 in Melbourne, Australia; Washington, D.C.; Boston, Chattanooga, the early stages of New York City, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Oklahoma City and Las Vegas.

The local program, Indego, was launched in 2015 with Independence Blue Cross and Blue Shield and the city of Philadelphia, which now has over 1,000 self-service bikes, more than 100 stations and 24/7 access. People use the bikes for transportation, recreation, fitness, fun, etc. "Inde" denotes the “Independence” sponsorship, and “go” means Go! “Also, independence and freedom are something that bike share offers very well,” said Alison.

Alison Cohen, of Mt. Airy, one of the current nominees for the Philadelphia school board, is now in the Guinness Book of World Records for pushing a stroller with her three children (total weight, 130 pounds) for a half-marathon (more than 13 miles) in one hour, 54 minutes, on the boardwalk in Atlantic City. Cohen, who was a great athlete in high school and college, has also run 10 marathons.

Is the main reason local residents use the bikes that they cannot afford to buy their own bikes?

“No,” said Alison. “It's convenience and cost. You don't have to worry about bike maintenance; we do that. You don't have to worry about bike theft or bike parking or bike storage. You check in the bike and walk away. If you use it regularly, it is far cheaper than public transportation and owning your own vehicle, and far faster than walking.”

On a typical day there are about 3,000 rides during the peak season. Over the course of a year, about 80% of the rides are local residents, and 20% of the rides are walkups/visitors.

What is the best advice Alison ever received? “My college tennis coach was a really unique guy. He would tell me that every thought that goes through your head is a bubble. 'I missed that shot; I stink!' 'That person just cut me off on the road.' 'What a beautiful rainbow.'

“Each one of these passes by our eyes, and then we must let them float away. Notice them and forget them as they float away. This philosophy leads me to wave my hand in front of my face many times a day to swipe away the bubbles. Also, I never let any one thing stick with me or nag me or bug me too long.”

What does Alison like to do in her spare time? “My basic mantra is that if I have one run, one coffee and one beer each day, anything else that happens is frosting on the cake. I run every day; I spend time with my wife and three daughters, garden and bike to work.”

What are the hardest things Alison ever had to do? “Play competitive tennis, launch the New York City bike share program under intense political and public pressure and raise three kids within 1.5 years of each other.”

For more information about the local bike sharing program, call 844-446-3346 or visit www.rideindego.com.