San Francisco Marathon...hills..hills and more hills...for Mark

I got into San Francisco on Saturday around lunch time, checked into my hotel, then headed to the race expo. It was a deliciously beautiful day in San Francisco, completely unlike back home in Virginia. With temps expected to be over 100 degrees in VA, I was so thankful to be in the Bay Area with its mid 60 degree sunshine. The expo had plenty of vendors, but by far not enough room. The walkways were crazy congested! It was almost impossible to get through, especially without jamming your elbow into someone.

One thing I had not seen at an expo before was a picture booth. Being that it was free, there was quite a line, but I had time to kill. It turned out to be the perfect souvenir for my trip! Crazy as it might sound, but stupid little things like that mean more to me than getting another t-shirt.

 My nifty souvenir

In the sea of runners, I managed to find several friends, including Bart Yasso of Runner's World.  It was great to catch up with him for a bit and of course snap a picture! He told me to come up to the announcers booth in the morning and he'd give me a chance to say a few words about 52Beginnings to a few waves of runners as they wait at the start line. I was thrilled at the chance!

 With Bart at the expo

I spent the rest of the afternoon visiting with friends and was invited by my friend Brian to join a pre-race dinner gathering. Many of you are probably familiar with his blog, Pavement Runner. If not, check it out! We had a feast of food and desserts, plus even more running stories and tips. Most everyone there was running in the morning and with this being my first time taking on San Francisco, I was quite curious to see what they had to say about the hills.

 With Brian at the expo

Anyone who's ever been to San Francisco knows it has some crazy hills. The Wall Street Journal names it as "The race that even marathoners fear." After my hilly experience with the Golden Gate Headlands Marathon in Sausalito, CA (20 minutes from San Fran) this past April, I was not at all excited about hills. Everyone concured that the most difficult hills were in the first half of the race, but I guess I'd just have to find out how hard they'd be Sunday morning.

I got back to my hotel, and started getting stuff ready for the morning. Several people had told me it was going to be pretty cold in the morning and I started doubting my planned apparel (that being my normal tank top). It's been so crazy hot where I live, I guess I really didn't think about how drastic the temperature difference would be in CA. And in true last minute packing fashion, I didn't bring anything else to run in, no jacket, sweatshirt, nothing. I must note (despite my desire not to) that my husband (who is from Northern CA) had told me when I was packing that I was going to need something warmer than my tank tops. Yes, I'm hard headed and didn't listen. Of course I come to this realization at 9pm, when I'm already exhausted from all the activities of the day and the time difference.

This brought me to a somewhat uncomfortable decision... I decided to wear my race shirt for race morning over my tank. I know a lot of people like to wear their race shirts to the race, but personally I feel like I have to finish the race to earn the right to wear it. I have never ever run a race in the race shirt for that very reason. I know its petty, but it's just how I see it. Nonetheless, faced with the idea of being chilled to the bone, I broke my own rule and got the race shirt ready with the picture of Mark on my back.

Mark is the little boy I was running San Francisco for. In case you have just recently started reading my blog, I run each of these marathons for a different child from the Ngqueleni District of the Eastern Cape of South Africa. The money donated will help not only Mark, but a group of over 1,500 orphaned children. These kids live in dire circumstances, many have lost their parents to AIDS, many are also HIV positive. All deserve a new beginning, which is why I'm doing this. This journey has changed my life, and I hope it will also drastically change theirs. Mark, is one such child. He lives in an area called Lover's Twist. The Eastern Cape population as a whole is the poorest and sickest of all of South Africa’s provinces. It carries the highest percentage of South Africans living in poverty and an HIV prevalence rate of 29 percent. This is why I run, and having that child on my back while I run gives me very specific motivation for the day.

People hear about the issues in Africa and often turn a deaf ear. It's easy to look at the numbers and be overwhelmed. But when you make it personal, when you can see the individual, and know that you have the opportunity to change their life, its much harder to dismiss. For me, it is the backbone of this entire year. I've never been to South Africa, and yet hearing the individual stories of these children has made this the focus of my heart. Being a mom to my own 3 children has opened my heart to those who have none.

Morning comes fast, as it always almost always does for races. I got up at 4 and started getting ready. Coffee does wonders at that hour (as well as the other 23 of the day, take it from a true coffee addict). I hailed a taxi and got down to the start line with plenty of time to walk around and take pictures.

After the elite runners started, I joined Bart at the announcer's booth. Based on predicted finishing time each wave was set about 8 minutes apart to eliminate congestion. Standing up there, seeing the masses of runners coming up to the start line and having a chance to send several groups off was fantastic! The view was spectacular! With the Oakland Bay Bridge right behind the start line it made for a beautiful backdrop. As I stood there I started thinking to myself, "do I really have to run? Can I just stay here and shout out encouragement to everyone as they take off on their own journey?" It was a really special moment, almost surreal. I got to see several friends cross the start mat which was terrific!

Finally it was time for me to join my wave of runners. Standing there, now waiting for my start, I was excited to be heading through the streets of San Francisco. The temps were cool, but I knew it would make for a better run.

The water was cast with a fog and the sky was grey, but it was so cool to be running right along the water, past Fisherman's Wharf as we made our way toward the Golden Gate Bridge.

Leaving Fisherman's Wharf

I think I was looking forward to that part of the race more than anything. Coming up the bridge we had a couple good sized hills. I had already decided to walk any significant hills to preserve energy and I stuck with that decision when I came face to face with them. It's amazing how much energy you can expend trying to run up hills. Knowing that I still had a long distance to cover, I was going to take the smart route. It turned out to be a very good decision. We came up to Golden Gate, the top of the bridge totally lost in the fog, massive and beautiful. It was one of those moments where there just aren't words to describe it. It's something you have to experience. We ran across, looped around and came back over it. As I started out on the bridge, a song came on my ipod that is very spiritually moving to me. I have my songs in somewhat of a random order, so for that song to hit right then and there made that part of the run even more meaningful. Running across, you realize just how small you are in comparison to everything. It puts life in perspective real fast.

I took a lot of pictures at this race as you can see!

From the bridge we continued on to Golden Gate Park. It was a nice change of scenery and the hills became more rolling and not so steep. I was feeling good and ran them without issue. By this point I was now halfway through the marathon and not having any real leg issues to speak of. So if you're wondering how the hills were here's my 2 cents. The race had a lot of hills, but most were very manageable. Like I had been told, there were only a couple serious ones and they were early on in the course. Although I do have to admit toward the end of the marathon I was ready to be done with the hills. Overall I found it to be decently challenging, but fun.

 The stop I'd been looking for!

After the park we headed through residential areas until we got back to the downtown portion of San Francisco. I felt like I got my second wind and had the energy to keep running without needing much in the way of walking breaks. A lot of people had slowed down considerably and I was passing many runners which helped me stay focused. I avoided my watch the entire second half of the race. I wanted to run how I felt and not be concerned about the time. As the temps continued to stay cool the entire race, I continued to enjoy the run.

 Downtown Art that rocked!

One thing that was unique to San Francisco was the fact that they had 2 half marathons running during the marathon. They started in different places and times, so when we started on mile 13, the second group of 1/2 marathoners were taking on mile 1. I really didn't like that design very well as it made the course somewhat congested at points.  Plus having people fly by you when its late into the race is demotivating, even if they are just doing the half! Shortly after mile 25, we came to AT&T Stadium, home to the San Francisco Giants. We ran right along side the ballpark with a harbor of little boats to the right of us.

 AT&T Park, almost done!

It was a pretty sight, but nothing is as sweet as the sight of the finish line! I kept a steady pace and after crossing the finish I looked down at my watch. I quite honestly had no idea what it would say. It read 4:34, the fastest time I've run since March! Given the hills I walked, I was more than happy! It was a good day and a personal milestone, as it marked my 50th lifetime marathon.

Why I run

With Steve

and Dave :)

After connecting with several running friends after the race, I went back to my hotel to shower before I checked out. My flight leaving SFO wasn't until late in the evening so I spent most of the day down at Fisherman's Wharf. I shopped at all the little stores dotting the waterfront and found a couple souvenirs for my family. I bought sourdough bread at the famous Boudin Bakery.

I sat enjoying a beer, watching tourists coming and going. I ate calamari and chips from a little vendor by the water. I took pictures. I watched street performers. And I walked and walked and walked.

 My locally brewed beer

The wind whipped through something crazy, but the sun had finally come out. The sky was bright blue and I enjoyed the fact that I didn't have to rush through anything.

 Perfect day for a kite!

By the time I finally headed back to the airport, I was totally wasted. Sometimes all the caffeine in the world can't fix lacking energy, only sleep will do. After long sleepless flights I touched down in Virginia almost exactly 12 hours after leaving CA.

But even with all my travel insanity it's worth the discomfort and craziness if it's going to make a positive impact in Mark's life and the other children I'm running for. This weekend was filled with so many good things, I refuse to let anything take away from that. Twenty thousand people ran on Sunday. Finishing a half marathon, or marathon is a life changing experience and it's an experience that will continue to change lives even well after the race has ended. I hope you will be a part of that change! Please donate and spread the word to your friends! 

The medal!

"It does not matter how slowly you go so long as you do not stop" -  Confucius

(perfect quote for the day - posted on a sign on the race course as well)

 27 done and rocking on!

Final Race Stats:
Finishing time  - 4:34:46
3334 out of 5955 overall
911 out of 2054 women
207 out of 438 in my age group (25-29)