Marathon #16: The San Francisco Marathon, 2005

Favorite bridge in the world

Until I ran the Big Sur marathon two years later the San Francisco marathon was my favorite marathon and is still one of my fondest marathon memories. The funny thing is I signed up for the San Francisco marathon on a whim when I saw the medal at the Vancouver expo. I was already signed up for the Chicago marathon in the fall, so I was really taking a chance, but the medal! Combine that with the opportunity to run across the Golden Gate bridge, my favorite bridge in the world (yes world), whoa. Kristen Smith signed up, and Selma signed up for a half. Back then you could sign up to either run the first half or the second half of the full marathon.She signed up for the first half, which included the bridge. We were going to have a great girl's trip!

Selma, me and Kristin, pre-iPhone camera days!

I have some childhood memories associated with San Francisco. In the early 70's we lived in Oakland and Alameda, but my parents never brought us into  the city. I always assumed it was really far away. One time my uncle visited us and took my sister and I into town and to Fisherman's wharf, where we ate Dungeness crabs and sourdough bread from a sidewalk stand. To me this was "exotic" and wonderful. The city itself was so vastly different from the military housing neighborhood we lived in, or the suburbia of Oakland. So much adventurous potential: Chinatown, Alcatraz, and of course that majestic orange bridge...As an adult I was a bit miffed at my parents when I realized how close to San Francisco we really were, but back then people with kids didn't go places, or at least that's my mother's story...

The course would start and finish along the Embarcadero, where the famous fisherman's wharf is, along with those outdoor sidewalk stands that still exist today. We would run along the waterfront, through Fort Mason, up and over the Golden Gate Bridge, turn around, cross the bridge again, then head out to Golden Gate Park. The Half marathoners would start or finish in the park, as the full marathoners would continue through the park, exiting onto Haight street. We would run through the famous Haight-Ashbury district, popular from the 60's hippie culture, then head towards the south beach marina and the ballpark for the San Francisco Giants. We would finish along the wharf, just past the ball park. I was very excited about this tour of San Francisco!

Kristen and I were very cool about this race. Mentally, we were 100% determined to enjoy the run no matter our pace, since we were both coming off other marathons (me, Vancouver, her, Boston), and this course would be extremely hilly. We would both be running Chicago in a few months, so this was entirely for fun. It's one thing to say you're going to be cool, but we were there. Even in the morning's chaos, which was a ridiculous 5 minute wave start mess, we were calm. Maybe because we actually started at something like 5:20 AM in the dark! We quickly lost each other and were off on our own, along the Embarcadero, lit up with neon signs. Once we hit Fort Mason and entered the bay area it was noticeably darker, combined with a very thick fog. It was a bit eerie, especially when the occasional fog horn would blow. It grew lighter as we got closer to the bridge, and in the distance I could see the "ants" climbing up the hill to the bridge, our most significant climb of the race. The reality that I was about to climb up to and run on my favorite bridge in the world hit me and I got very emotional. It was one of those moments that I continue to have in other marathons that's hard to describe. It's mostly gratitude, being in the present, being at peace, thanking God that I am there and able to be a part of it. They are fleeting moments, so I take them in as much as I can, then get on to business. And as for reality, well the reality of running along the bridge truly ended up being the thing I liked least about the marathon! They only sectioned off one lane of the road to accommodate both directions of runners, which made for a lot of elbowing and jockeying around slower runners. Every quarter mile or so there were large metal grids that were wet and slick. They were too wide to jump over, and as I cautiously ran over them I could feel my feet slide. The biggest disappointment of all though, was the fact that the bridge was entirely ensconced in fog. All I saw were giant orange cables rising up into the fog! Sadly enough I was very happy to get off that bridge of madness and onward to serene moments once again.

There were glimpses of the Pacific Ocean as we ran along Lincoln Boulevard towards Golden Gate Park, which were stunning. We ran through the Golden Gate Park in its entirety, seeing all of the sights in there, such as the Rose Garden and the Japanese Tea Garden. As we exited the park Ghirardelli chocolate sponsors were handing out chocolate covered raisins. We hit Haight street, which was really cool, but quieter then expected until I realized it was only about 8:00 AM!

As we headed back towards the bay side I found myself picking up the pace, as the last 10K was downhill to flat. It was surreal how good I was feeling, as it was something I had not really experienced before. Later I looked at my splits and noticed it had been my fastest last 10K in a marathon! When I crossed the line Kristin was standing there with a big smile on her face. She had just ran her fastest marathon! My finishing time was 3:51 AGAIN, just like Vancouver!

a happy finish, but aren't they all?

It's actually a coaster, but I wouldn't dare

I compared today's map to the course I ran and it looks almost exactly the same, along with the options to run either the first or second half of the course for a half marathon. Also, there's a picture of runners going across the bridge with a full lane utilized now. I'd love to go back and run a half marathon, but will have a really hard time deciding which half! At any rate, I am always up for going to San Francisco, as it is truly one of my favorite cities.