Left home shortly after 6:00am since BART was running early trains, and because we wanted to arrive in downtown SF early enough to get a decent starting position behind the seeded runners. We arrived at the BART station and ended up waiting for over 10 minutes before the train left the station. Once it departed the station, it moved at a snail's pace going into the city, and stopping at every BART station along the way, despite the fact that some BART stations were still closed. Anyway, we arrived in SF much later than planned, then rushed to Embarcadero Center to drop off our duffle bags (with dry clothes in case it rained today). Then, we beat feet over to the start line.

We eventually found the starting line, but not before dealing with what seemed to be a few folks who'd broke out the ole Budweiser already. Slowly, we inched and inched our way up Howard Street until we could see the start line up ahead - quite a ways, actually. With 10 minutes remaining before the start of the race, we proceeded to wait in line for the porta johns for one last "evacuation." After that mission was accomplished, we stood there packed like sardines on Howard Street, waiting for the start of the race.

The race started promptly at 8AM, but we did not begin to move for quite some time. Unfortunately, when we began to shuffle, then jog, there were hazzards all over the place. It seems that some race participants arrived over-dressed and shed their clothes prior to the race, leaving them lying in the middle of the street. In addition, lots of people were throwing tortillas shells all over the place - the street was smeared in tortilla shells. Why? I do now know. Whatever the case, trash and debris were everywhere for about the first 2-3 blocks, so I found myself paying close attention to where I was stepping. At about the 1/2 mile point, a spectator located up on a rooftop began launching waterballoons onto the race participants from 3-4 stories up - not exactly a great idea because no one was expecting it and they were rather large balloons being launched at pretty high speeds.

One of the things that amazes me about this race is that despite the fact you must state your finish time, and there is a starting section for walkers, people running in costumes, people with baby buggies, the non-runner types insisted on lining up at the front. So, for about the first 3.5 miles there was consistant walker traffic to dodge, a few baby buggies and wagons full of children whose parents clearly lined up in the wrong section. The other thing that made running a challenge is that despite numerous announcements before the race, the walkers did not stay to the right of the running course, but instead they walked right in the middle of the path of the runners. It made for quite a challenge to get past all of the non-running participants, particularly given the overall volume of people participating in the race. At about the half-way point, a huge human centipede began running through the runners heading in the opposite direction - again, impeding the runners' path on the course. Combine this with lots of non-spectator pedstrian traffic criss-crossing the race course, added to the people dodging challenge. As I was cresting the Hayes Street Hill (11% grade), a pedestrian stepped in front of me without looking, and as I looked-up, all I saw was this very obese Boston Terrier slung across the guy's shoulder ( as I nearly collided with the guy), and for a brief moment the dog and I were eye-to-eye - this dog had big bulbous bug eyes and I could hear him grunting as if to say, "Get me out of here!"

Continuing down Divisidero Street, I noticed that I was quickly approaching a man/woman couple who was running in the nude. Also noted were a group of 11 or 12 year old boys on the sidewalk, and as we passed the boys, they went crazy over seeing a real-life naked woman. I mean, they were really delighted - ah, I guess...yeah, they were ecstatic to have witnessed such blatant nudity. Anyway, there lots of naked runners today, most were men, though.

Entering Golden Gate Park, the runners fanned out, some died off, some started walking or whatever, I found myself gaining momentum, and generally felt really good after I established a comfortable rhythm. My pace continued to increase dramatically through the park, as the miles zipped past, I found myself making up a lot of lost time from logistical issues earlier in the race. By the time I reached the Great Highway, I glanced down at my Garmin and realized that I was running at a 6:49 pace.

Weather-wise, it was unusually humid in SF today - it was very odd, actually. As a result of the humidity, I don't believe I've sweat this much since I lived in Savannah, GA.





I didn't train specifically for this race, other than some base training. If I were to do this again - more for a PR - I would do more hill work, for sure.

1.5 mile walk through GG Park, stretched, consumed 24 oz water and a cliff bar before I spied an Italian Sausage booth at Footstock. I was craving pizza, but the sausage was fine.


Disappointed that the high entry fees did not include any post-race grub, not even an energy bar. Paid $7 for a giant hotdot - uh, an "Italian Sausage." But hey, at least they were giving away free dental floss samples.