SF Half Marathon Recap

Last Sunday, I completed the first half of the SF marathon (13.1 miles). I finished the race in 1:46. My goal for the race was 1:40, so I'll have to wait for my next race to set a new personal record. I'm not disappointed in myself for my slow time. There were some steep hills and the course was pretty crowded.

The first half and full marathon started at the Ferry building and followed the coast to the Golden Gate Bridge. We crossed the bridged turnaround at the first off ramp in Marin and then headed back to the city. The course went through the Presido and some nice neighborhoods in the city before ending in Golden Gate Park. The full marathon continued on through the city. I can only imagine what they were thinking when they saw the half marathoners finishing and enjoying the complementary food and beverages. I'm sure it was along the lines of what was I thinking. If I registered for the half, then I would be done by now. Oh well, the get bigger medals for their efforts. The second half of the half marathon started up somewhere in the park and finished at the Embarcadero with the marathoners. 

They held the race expo at Fort Mason on Friday and Saturday. It was like any other race expo. There were vendors hocking their merchandise and some giving out free samples. The latter had the longer lines with more aggressive behavior from the people waiting in line. It's not like the cornucopia scenes from the Hunger Games movie, but it's getting closer. Maybe it'll happen if they gave out full size Cliff bars as samples, instead of the bite size slices with toothpicks. Sounds like an interesting social experiment for next year.

Overall the race wasn't a pleasant experience for me. They are a victim of their own success. The course was overcrowded from start to finish and it really detracts from the enjoyment of the race. It's hard to enjoy the scenery when you are constantly trying to squeeze past slower runners or looking for a way around a wall of people running at the same speed. I was really looking forward to running over the Golden Gate Bridge and through the tourist traps along the Embarcadero before the race started because it was closed off to traffic.  The bridge had two lanes closed for the race, but it was still crowded. This made it difficult to pass the slower runners and made it an extremely frustrating 4 miles. I'll do the second half of the marathon next year, but that will be it. I'm only doing that for the special challenge medal they give out for runners that do the other half of the marathon the following year. I must admit, the did a good job on the medal. It is one of the better looking medals I have from running. Here are some photos:

This is the front of the finisher medal for the half marathon

The back of the medal

This is a challenge medal I received for completing the Surf City and SF half marathons

The backside of the California Dreamin' challenge medal

Speaking of race challenges.... I challenged my friend to eat the Carl's Jr All American Burger on the drive home after the race, my treat of course. For those of you who don't know, this is the burger with hot dogs and potato chips on it because it was dangerously lacking in fat, calories, and sodium without them. For the record he did make it home without becoming sick. The next morning however was a different story...