San Francisco Marathon 2007

At the starting line
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Spoiler alert! I only ran the first 1/2.

Since I've already done this marathon before, and had nothing to prove (aka I'm lazy) I ran the first half this time, from the Embarcadero, over the Golden Gate bridge and into the middle of Golden Gate Park. It was foggy, misty and very fun.

Sarah and I left Oakland (where she lives) at 4:30 am and headed over the Bay Bridge into San Francisco. We parked right next to an after hours club that still had techno beats (untz untz) going strong. We walked over to the starting line and lined up with the other halfers. All of the halfers start at the same time (around 5:45) so we almost got run over by the 9 min mile and under crowd. Then we took off, down past Fisherman's Warf with the smell of Boudin Bakery, down past Aquatic park where I pretend that I may swim someday if I overcome my fear of sharks, up the hill to the Bridge. It's pretty crowded as you run over and the road is pretty slippery from the fog.

Right after the finish in Golden Gate Park. I think the head in the back is heading to Burning Man
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Here are a few things I learned about the bridge: 1. there is a gap between the road and the walkway and only when you are running in the street can you see it. It's very dizzying to stare down and see water and ground way below as you are running! 2. the bridge has a huge hill. On the way back from Marin you notice it! 3. there are grate type things in the road that are very slippery if you run on them. 4. This is one of the coolest ways to get over the bridge.

This marathon is known for its hills - you're in San Francisco after all! The hills are killer but not too bad. It slows your time down for sure. We finished in Golden Gate park, headed to the free shuttles back to the start, hopped in the car and left. It was 9:30am!