Some blogs are easy to write, and others are difficult. This one was a challenge for me to write
because I enjoyed the whole race weekend so much that I could write an entire
book about it! But I’ll try to keep it
at a manageable size.
I’m writing about the 2012 San Francisco Marathon
(SFM). This year I was fortunate to be
selected as a San Francisco Marathon Ambassador, so for many months prior to
the event I was busy promoting the race at various other events.
Rather than fly in, I decided to take a road trip with my
friends Terri and Bruce. We hit the road
on Thursday and drove for about 8 hours.
That may sound long but road trips with racing buddies are always a
blast and we had a lot of fun. We found
an all-you-can-eat buffet on Thursday night and did some serious carb-loading!
On Friday we drove the remaining few hours, and by the time
we could see the bridge the excitement level was pretty high. We went straight to the expo to get our
packets and have some fun. I met up with
a few other Arizona friends, including Aric and Jen, and Monica. Here’s a shot of me and Monica, note the headline
from a 2010 article in the Wall Street Journal calling SFM “The Race Even
Marathoners Fear”!
The expo was a very good one, with plenty of vendors and
seminars. I picked up a new fuel belt
called a “FlipBelt” from Level Terrain Apparel, and so far I really like
it. I also got to meet the Ultramarathon
Man, Dean Karnazes and he gave me an interview for my SunRunner Podcast
project. I hung around the Tech Center
for a while with other Ambassadors, and then we went to check in to the hotel. On Friday night, we had a special Ambassador
dinner. It was a very nice gathering and
I really enjoyed getting to meet the rest of the Ambassadors. Runners World Chief Running Officer, Bart Yasso,
joined us for the meal.
Saturday morning started off with a Shakeout Run sponsored
by Lululemon. Bruce and I both ran it,
as did a bunch of the other Ambassadors.
We had a lot of fun running alongside Bart Yasso! It was a nice jog along the final stretch of
the marathon route, and I really enjoyed the beautiful scenery as we ran along
the bay. Here’s a photo I took during
the run, which includes Bruce, Ambassador Alisyn, and Bart:
On Saturday afternoon, I returned to the expo for some fun
and also to work at the Tech Center.
During the techno meet-up, I met some great runners including my friend
from New Zealand, Kim.
I also attended a seminar, and later Bart and I recorded an
interview for SunRunner Podcast. I had a
great day on Saturday, perhaps a bit more active than one normally should be
the day before a marathon, but it was well worth it.
Sunday morning started bright and early, as the race has a
very early start. Terri drove Bruce and
I right up the starting area (she was running the 5k, which had a later
start). The race starts before sunrise,
and the excitement level was very high (as it always is before a marathon
start). Here’s a picture of me with
some of my friends just moments before I headed to the starting line – many of
them wore tutu’s but I could not bring myself to do that!
I was very happy to find my friend Joe Taricani, host of The
Marathon Show podcast, right in my starting corral. Joe and I chatted for a while and he even
interviewed me briefly before the gun went off.
The start went smoothly, and the first few miles are very flat as they
run along the Embarcadero. Eventually we
reached the Golden Gate Bridge and ran across – just one example of the unique
aspects of this race that make it so special.
Some of the other highlights of the course include looking
out on the bay, running through Golden Gate Park, through the Haight-Ashbury
District, and back down to the Embarcadero.
It’s a hilly course, but the scenery makes it hardly noticeable.
My only negative has nothing to do with the race
itself. This year, I was running the
marathon only about 6 weeks after having double hernia surgery. My hernias were abdominal, and the only
reason I knew about them was the pain that I was experiencing during runs. The recovery was progressing, but the pain
was actually worse than before the surgery – which had a very real negative
effect on my ability to hold a fast pace.
Looking at my split times, it’s quite clear that I gradually slowed
throughout the entire race.
Despite the pain, which manifested as a nasty burning
sensation in my abs, I did manage to complete the race in 3:25:36. SFM has an incredible finishing area, with
plenty of drinks and food for the runners, so it didn’t take long for me to
feel much better. I received two medals
– one for finishing SFM, the other for completing both SFM and the LA Marathon
in 2012.
I enjoyed hanging around to cheer people in, and saw many
that I knew – Ambassadors, Marathon Maniacs, Endorphin Dude, Marathon Goddess,
and others. The friendship culture that
grows in marathon racing can’t be matched and it’s so much fun to watch and
encourage others as we all achieve our personal victories. SFM definitely provides an environment that
fosters and grows those relationships. I
watched as my friends Bruce and Joe crossed the line:
San Francisco is such a perfect race. The weather is always just right for marathon
racing (even more so if you are coming from the hot Arizona summer), the city
has a very special vibe, the race organizers do everything right, and the
runners are all amazing. I know I’ll be
heading back, maybe next year you can join me!
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