Ernie Takahashi

It was an ideal morning for a 50K, cool, a little overcast and no wind at 8:00 AM March 9th, 2013.  I wish the race started earlier but there was a large field (about 900 registered runners) and a two wave start for an ultra!

The first loop is 8 miles and relatively flat but the single track portion gets slow at times in long Congo Lines.  But I probably spent too much energy trying to pass runners in this section.

After the Fire Station, the course is mostly down hill and again I probably ran too fast.  It was down hill but many runners passed me.

From Lower Quarry to Maine Bar is mostly up and down and my energy was fading and it wasn’t half way!  I walked the up hills and ran slowly on the down hills.

From Maine Bar the ALT is mostly flat and runable but I was getting very tired.  I took a long break at ALT and tried to eat as much as I could stomach to boost may energy level.

Again the course from ALT to beginning of Goat Hill is mostly flat and should be and easy run.  But not today.  Many runners passed me on this section.  The “walk” up Goat Hill was very slow but I knew if was basically down hill from there to Highway 49.
The soup at Goat Hill was tasty but did nothing for my tired body.

Goat Hill to Highway 49 was again very slow but I knew the “end” was in sight or so I thought.  I had to walk the slightest uphill and barely run the downhills.  As I got closer to Highway 49, I could hear the cars on the road which awakened my tired legs.

I stopped at Highway 49 to get more water to pour on my head as I made the last climb to the finish.  I walked some but I tried to run as much as possible.  Got to look good at the finish.  Fortunately the last quarter mile is flat and I was able to run to the finish line with a smile on my face.

My time was 45 minutes slower than last year!  I must be getting older but I will be back next year if I get picked in the lottery.

By Amy Cernicky

The day started out promising.  Although it had rained pretty steadily for the week leading up to the marathon, and the most intense of three storms was predicted to hit at about the same time the race was to start, it wasn’t raining at 5:00 AM as we waited for the bus.  After the hour long ride to the start area, however, any hope that the storm had blown through early evaporated when the door opened to a sheet of rain.

Knowing that I was going to be out on the course for close to five hours, I had little choice but to get in line for the port-o-let.  I pulled my garbage bag over my head and left the warm dry bus.  Even though the line moved quickly, my feet and legs were drenched by the time I returned to the bus to wait for the start of the marathon.

At 6:45, it was time to go.  I once again pulled my garbage bag over my head and ventured out into the elements.  Even though I was careful, I stepped in a puddle that came to the top of my shoe before even reaching the staging area.  The rain was hard and the wind was strong, but I wasn’t going to let the weather dampen my spirits.  I was still fairly dry from the waist up.  Starting at the back of the pack, I could see thousands of hearty souls in front of me, facing the exact same elements.  If they could do it, I certainly could.  I trained for this.   I was ready.  Despite the fact that I’d pulled my hamstring the day before on my last training run leading up to the event, I was going to run this, come hell or high water.

The gun went off and we started slowly moving forward.  It took about 4 minutes for me to cross the start line.  I found the 4:55 pace group and settled in.  The mood was festive.  A gust of wind came up and the rain fell even harder.  Everybody just laughed.  There was no point in complaining.  Somewhere between the third and fourth mile, I growled and ripped my garbage bag off in hulk-ess fashion.  An unavoidable river of water flowed across the street as we ran though Old Fair Oaks.  More rivers followed as we made our way through Carmichael.  At least my feet couldn’t get any wetter.  Where the rain had been invigorating at first, it was getting pretty old after about ten miles.  Every time I thought that I’d passed the last big puddle, I splashed though another one.  The conditions were absolutely brutal.  Somebody said, “Well at least it can’t rain any harder!”  They were wrong.

At the 15.5 mile aid station, I couldn’t take one more step without stopping to use the “facilities.” A co-worker, Tony happened to be there with his big umbrella, which really helped lift my spirits. Unfortunately, the stop took about ten minutes and I lost my pace group.  I ran harder than I should have for about five miles in a futile attempt to catch them, so by the time I hit 20 miles, I was pretty tired.  Luckily, about that time, the sky started to clear and it made me happy.  The rain had stopped for good.

I never hit “the wall,” but decided to run the last 6 miles at an easy pace.  Carol and Wayne were near Howe and gave me a GU energy replacement packet.  I really needed it because after using the port o let, I didn’t want to eat the power gels I carried as I would have had to touch them.

The worst part for me was right at the end.  I crossed the 26 mile mark.  There was only .2 miles to go!  I thought we turned on 10^th street, but we kept going.  When we passed 9^th, I said, out loud, “My god, how the hell far do we have to run?”  We turned on the next street and then just went a bit farther to cross the finish line.  And then, it was over.

I really wanted to finish in under 4:55, but ended up with a 5:02:06 finish.  I’m proud of that.  This was supposed to be my one and only marathon.  But I KNOW I could have done it a lot faster.  If I work on my diet so I don’t have to stop next year, I bet I could stay with the 4:40 pace group.  Maybe I can go even faster than that!

By Dan Weintraub
My fifth marathon actually went pretty well, all things considered.

As the weather forecast in the days before the race began calling for heavy rains and high winds, I seriously considered bailing on this year’s California International Marathon. It was not a big goal race for me, I was not in shape to set a personal best, and I had already benefited from the training I did to prepare for the race. Why risk injury and frustration by trying to slog through flooded streets for 26 miles?

But in the end I decided to do the race, and I am glad I did.

It was raining most of the way, sometimes pretty hard, and there was a lot of water on the course. But I got used to that pretty quickly. I wore very light shoes and super thin wool socks (icebreakers) and my feet never felt heavy. Other than when they were actually under water, I never even thought about my feet.

I also wore my triathlon shorts, a tight bathing suit, really, and the water rolled right off those. I did wear a clingy singlet, and it picked up the water right away. I probably should have worn a tight tri top and that would not have been as much of an issue. I wore arm warmers and cheap, thin gloves, which I probably didn’t need. I thought about taking them off from time to time but since things were going well I decided not to mess with them.

The winds were horrible at the start, almost a joke. Trash and discarded ponchos were flying through the air and the rain was falling sideways as we gathered for the start. But the gusts were coming out of the south, so once we turned right at the 1-mile mark things were much calmer. In a big change for me, I had decided not to wear a garmin, or any watch at all.  I wanted to just relax and run with the 3:00 group and not stress about every quarter-mile. Of course, the pace leaders were not carrying signs this year, due to the wind, and I couldn’t find Kevin Sawchuck at the start. That’s when I started to stress about running without a watch or a pace leader. Fortunately he announced himself just past the 1-mile mark and a couple dozen runners soon gathered around him.

I guess our pace ebbed and flowed quite a bit because of the conditions but I just kept plugging along to Kevin’s beat, sometimes a few steps behind him, sometimes a few in front, but never very far away. We tried to trade off taking the lead into the wind but every time someone other than the pace leader was in front, our pace slowed, and then he would get in front and surge to catch us up again. So that didn’t work out so well. The surges hurt.
Kevin told us we were 20 seconds behind our goal pace after about 10 miles and again at the half, but I just kept running and not stressing about it. I figured he knew what he was doing. My time at the half was 1:30:28, so I was going to have to negative split if I was going to break three hours. But I felt better after 18-20 miles than I have during any marathon, even after we picked up the pace. By mile 20 we were right on pace for three hours, and we were headed west while the wind was coming from the south. I thought I was in perfect position.

As we approached the H Street bridge I went out a little ahead of Kevin because I did not want him to gap me on the bridge and leave me behind. I didn’t do anything crazy, probably just 30 or 40 feet ahead. He caught back up as we crossed the bridge and I followed him down the other side. No harm done.

But over the next couple of miles, my hips and quads started to tighten up. I still felt strong, and I felt like I had plenty of energy, but my mechanics started to go with the tightness and I started to slow. Kevin slipped away around mile 23. He was wearing a flashing red tail light on his back, and I could see it blinking up ahead of me as we ran down J Street toward midtown. I kept trying to reel him back in but I couldn’t. I lost about 20-25 sec per mile over the final three miles and finished in 3:01.

I came very close to negative splitting, something I have never done in a marathon. My first half time was 1:30:28. My second half time was 1:30:46, for a 3:01:14. That was not my fastest marathon but it was one of the most satisfying. I really battled the elements and did ok. I was in 335th pace at the half and I finished in 234th place, so I passed a net of 100 people in the second half, nearly a third of those who were ahead of me. So even though I didn’t PR or negative split, I do feel as if I conserved my energy and gritted it out. Interestingly, of the 40 or so people who went through the half within about 5 seconds of the pace leader, only five broke three hours. And nobody who was behind us at the half broke that barrier. So it was not a great day for making up time.
I was never cold during the race, but after the finish my quads locked up on me. I walked home after the race and my legs were so tight it took me about an hour to go from 9th and L to 18th and L. Then I stepped into my apartment and suddenly got super cold. I started shaking and nearly hyperventilating. I wanted to take a hot bath but the power had been off and the water was tepid. So I wrapped up in a comforter, turned on a space heater and drank a cup of hot chai. After about a half hour I was warm and breathing normal again.

My quads, hammies and calves, however, were sore for days. It’s going to take me a while to recover from this one. But it was a real confidence builder in terms of my ability to battle through tough conditions. And best of all, it was fun!

By Arnold Utterback

Today was a beautiful San Francisco day.  Perfect for the running of the PA-USATF Western Division XC Championship at Lindley Field in Golden Gate Park.  The western skies had been dropping rain for the past two days, but some how some way the weather cleared and the San Francisco temperature was perfect for running in the park.  And the course was in good shape, not the muddy mess it had been for last year’s XC finale.
The women’s race started promptly at 9:00am.  It looked like a good field, maybe 150 or more runners.  Gina Adams was the solo Chip in a field of many with teams of 5,6,10 plus women.  The Imapals, SRA Elite, LMJS, GVH, The Rebels, Pamakids, Empire, Excelsior, many teams and many colored singlets, what a beautiful sight.  Gina ran well.  Rebel Karen Jeffers went down in a slippery muddy slide near the second turn by the lake.  The men worked on their warm up. I missed the women’s finish, It must have been awesome.
Masters men were on the line.  For some reason I was on the front line along side the much faster than I group of athletes.  Behind me was Jeff Adams, having run only once in the last three weeks and that was yesterday.  Behind Jeff was Joel, Joe and Dennis our super senior team our Chips.  The gun went off and so did we, it was fast.
The women ran 2 laps or 4 miles, the men ran 3 laps about 6 miles.  It was a tough 3 loops, but I felt I gained momentum and pushed hard through to the finish.  Jeff was already celebrating when I crossed the line, next was Joel, followed by Joe and Dennis.  I saw our past president Ed who was 10 minutes ahead of me, but everyone was in good spirits as the last of the Chips crossed the finish line.
Gina, her wonderful daughter Nicole, Jeff, Dennis, Joe and I headed to the Buffalo Paddock to get a glimpse of the Bison.  Well behind a 10 foot high fence were the majestic creatures.  Nicole took some pictures.  We then headed to brunch on the coast hwy.  Joel’s wife Susan parked their Volvo station wagon with Scram bicycle components painted on the side, while Joel got us a table at the Beach Park Chalet.  Ed arrived after running from Lindley field.  We had an excellent meal in the outdoor sun.  It was a very good time.
Someone suggested, I think it was Nicole, we check out the beach, so we crossed the Great Hwy and walked on the beach as Kobe, the Adams’ border collier lead the way.  Para sailing trainees and 8 foot surf kept us entertained.  After a coffee at the Cliff House, we headed for home.  A fine day of friends, racing and the glory of San Francisco at our heels.

By Arnold Utterback

Saturday morning in October began with a low hanging mist over the fresh cut grass at Ancil Hoffman Park.   By 9:00 the mist was gone and a whistle blew to start the women’s race.  SRA Elite dominated the open women’s field, lead by former Sac State star Lea Wallace covering the 6k course in 20:37.  First master’s woman was Jennifer Jackson of GVH in 22:24.  Co-race directors Carla Kehoe and Allison Orofino ran as River City Rebels, both women are also members of Golden West Athletics Club which hosted the event.  Leading the Chip women was Gina Adams 50 in 25:52 followed by Chip Mary Cunningham 27 in 26:06. The women’s race had 88 runners in all.

Men’s master race was won by Jamie Harris in 19:20.  Former Dunger Ed Randolph    43 now representing West Valley TC was 5th master in 20:20.  Senior Chip John Feeney  53 finished in 25:23 followed by Bob Fredenberg 60 in 26:26, Arnold Utterback 66 in 26:32, Joel Contreras 68 in 29:52, Joe Domagalski 61 in 30:52, and Dennis Scott 64 in 36:18 to take the 100th spot in the men’s masters race.

In the Men’s Open race  SRA Elite’s Kevin Pool was first in 17:44 to lead the group of 46 racers, the last race of the morning and the smallest of the 3 races.

Ancil Hoffman was race #10 in the 12 race PA-USATF X-Country GranPrix Series.  The next event is the John Lawson Tamalpa Challenge on November 4th at the Marin Headlands.  And the Championship will be held in Golden Gate Park on November 18th in San Francisco.

By Kynan Matz

“It’s a 12 hour night race on the track. C’mon, it’ll be fun!”

If you’re a normal human being, you greet this type of statement with the proper sense of skepticism.

If your last name is Matz, you think, “That sounds brutal. It must be beneficial! Sure, I’ll be there!”

Long time Chip and XC coach Grant Carboni decided to put together an event to raise funds for the XC team at C.K. McClatchy High, the same school I attended all those years ago. It was a 24hr event, with the day being filled with kids running and hanging out. The younger kids ran in teams of ten, each running ten miles to earn a shirt signifying that they’d run 100 miles as a team. I hear those kids were stoked!

Instead of sleeping in we decided to volunteer at a trail race in the Berkeley area, so we rousted ourselves at 5:30 to drive out to the bay in time. The plan was to take it easy and sit as much as possible, but fate had other plans! Due to either a mismarked course or some course vandals, everyone was diverted from our aid station. This meant that the half marathoners didn’t get aid until mile 9! Everyone else ended up running wacky distances, since part of the course was cut off and the course designer tried to make up for it. Long story short, I got some trail running in while trying to correct the course markings and figure out where to divert runners to get them back to the start.

Laura was quite busy herself with running the aid station shorthanded while I was away.

When we finally got back to Sacramento we had a couple hours to get ourselves together and pack provisions for the night’s run. We headed over and got our personal aid station situated a bit before 7pm, the start time.

Trying to calm some pre-race nerves

We wanted to run this race mainly for exploratory reasons, and because of that fact the anticipation made us more nervous than usual. We wanted to discover three things during the hours between sunset and sunrise:

1)      How our bodies would handle being forced to run when they’re used to sleeping.

2)      How our minds would handle being forced to focus when they’re used to dreaming.

3)      How our minds would handle running repetitive laps instead of a sprawling course.

In addition to these, we’d have to adjust mentally for running a variable distance for a specific time, not running a specific distance in a variable time.

Honestly, this seemed just as crazy as we crossed the starting line as it probably sounds to you all right now. Nearly everything was unknown except two things; that the wife and I were going to run together, and that as long as we were functioning we would be still be moving come 7am the next morning.

We agreed that we’d need some type of methodical strategy to break up the monotony into smaller segments while allowing us a structure to maintain so our minds could wander a bit and escape for a few minutes here and there. We decided to set a timer for 15 minutes and run, then when the timer beeped we’d finish that lap and walk one lap.

The first 20 miles or so pretty much went by in that rhythm. It took about 8-10 miles for me to really start to feel warmed up and smooth, but once I did the running felt really good. As far as tracks go you can’t beat a dirt track for this kind of thing, in my opinion. (For high school running, though, I really hope they get a new track)

We also had quite a few surprise visits! Our friend Patty (who’d run the Berkeley race earlier that day) dropped by with a gift of fruit smoothies. Helen came by and tracked down some pretzels and a toothbrush for us. Galen walked his dogs over and ran a bit with them until nature called (for the dogs!). Perhaps best of all, my brother showed up around mile 18 with a pizza he’d made special for us. “I tried to make something that won’t make you barf.” Bahaha! Boy that pizza was good.

Side note: Sometimes I think back to the days when all I’d eat while running was gu’s and water, and thank the stars I found trail running. Now I eat cookies, Cheezits, jelly beans, turkey rolls, pizza, and pretzels along with my S-caps and gu’s! Trail life is a buffet!

After we’d walked a couple laps with the bro and eaten, we switched to a different mode to work different muscles and break it up even more for the wee hours of the morning. We ran the straights at a pretty good clip, then walked the curves. Simple, varied, perfect.

We hit the 6 hour mark at 25 miles.

1:00-3:00 was actually pretty nice. Laura and I were starting to get a little punchy and during this period everything seemed hilarious. I was rambling about the ways in which different types of dinosaurs were terrible houseguests, generally trying to be as ridiculous as possible. DW was following suit, so we pretty much spent the whole time laughing while adding more laps onto the pile which had already passed underfoot. Fortunately, we’d gained back most of our cardio since our accident a while back, so we could maintain the silliness through our sprints. Even while walking the curves, we were averaging about 2:30/lap!

What goes up… must come down.

3:00 came, and our moods crashed like a freight train over a cliff. I’ve heard this is the hardest time for a lot of runners, and I guess we’re no exception. It was bad. Suddenly everything was sore, every step was immensely tiring, every breath was labored, and every ounce of will had to be focused on moving forward. We hardly talked, we just decided to walk an hour and try to run then. For much of this hour, I didn’t want to think about what I’d have to do when 4:00 rolled around. I didn’t want it to roll around. But it did.

4am arrived, and I decided I had to change my mental context. I wasn’t tired from the miles behind, I was warmed up for the miles ahead. I wasn’t stuck in a dark wasteland of nighttime bewilderment, I was running in anticipation of the sunrise! I imagined a lightening glow off to the East (even though we wouldn’t see the sun for 3 more hours).

We began running the straights again.

It felt… GOOD!

By now there was only one other guy who’d been out there the whole time, churning out miles in the moonlight. The other runners had been sitting out for a while, taking naps, coming out for a few more miles, and so forth. I loved how low-key the whole event was.

Anyway, we resumed our steady rhythm and POOF! We hit our minimum goal of 40 miles with 2 ½ hours to spare. So we kept going. As we continued, two things happened. One was that we realized 50 miles was totally doable if we could keep pace. The other was that we started to see things that weren’t there.

You heard right, hallucinations!

I saw people running in the shadows, lizards skittering across the track in front of me, and at one point even blinked and suddenly saw nothing but a thick layer of banana slugs wriggling underfoot! I shook my head, told myself it wasn’t real, and they were gone just as quickly as they had appeared. Apparently, even if you’re awake sometimes your brain still dreams.

I found it incredible that not only were we still moving, but we were able to move fast(ish). My legs felt better the longer we were out there, settling into that nice warm rhythm of what I can only describe as “efficient exhaustion”. The wheels just kept turning, and I was grateful.

Having lost an hour of running, we made it up and then some, hitting 50 miles with about 20 minutes left to spare. We walked a cool down to the 51 mile mark before calling it a wrap just a couple minutes shy of 12 hours.

Everyone left at the end, a supremely cool group of people

The purpose of this race was to prepare us physically, mentally, and strategically for Rocky Raccoon 100 in February, and I believe it helped to do just that. I learned that as long as Laura and I stick together, we give each other strength to keep on truckin’.

It’s important to have someone who helps you to endure.

And also believes that clump of grass is a misplaced hedgehog.

By Luis Alvarez

Let me start by saying that training is not overrated and should be done prior to any event

The weather was really good throughout the day with some breezes all day long which made things bearable during the heat of the day, once the sun went down the temperatures dropped enough to change into a long sleeve shirt or sleeves. The course is a 2 mile loop and while I was not crazy about the idea, it seemed that it was kind of nice being able to see the aid station at all times and the loops just kept adding the mileage, there’s lots of wildlife (wild pigs, bulls, cows, coyotes, owls and snakes) that you can see and hear while out there.

This is a very low key race and a great starter for anyone attempting their first run over 50K, Rajeev Patel, the RD (for those of you who don’t know him), is a great host, very passionate about the runners, running as a whole and made sure that people were hydrating and eating every time you passed the aid station, the start line is Rajeev calling all to a line on the path and after the national anthem he says go, the finish is the same line but when finishing they hold a “finish banner” help up by 2 people standing on chairs at either side of the path.

His support group made up mostly of his friends and family manned the aid station and were extremely helpful, they just took your bottle and filled it up with whatever you wanted, the food was a smorgasbord (homemade cakes, 2 different soups, noodles, pizza (at 6pm), grapes, watermelon and of course the usual fare for ultra runs), lots of ice and sponges to cool down.

We setup our own aid station along the path like many of the other runners had done (like Jed Smith) but we were much well prepared   Our setup had our particular foods, clothing and specialty drinks, it was a very classy joint; our own pop-up tent with sun screens, outdoor carpeting, tables, coolers, chairs, lanterns and the BEST support crew ever headlined by Marcy, Nancy and Caroll.

So now to the run, we started the race at a prompt 6am and as I mentioned the weather was very nice, the loops seemed to come often enough (my thoughts were to stick to 2 loops per hour, to have enough energy for the entire race) so after my 3rd loop I noticed that I was at 1:03 which was faster than my plans so I slowed down a bit and hung to this pace for the first 20 miles, Jose lapped me after 15 miles which I had expected, I lapped Diane/Cheri and Diane lapped Cheri but we all hung in there somewhat together during the entire run.  After these 20 miles and passing our aid station every loop I reverted to walking the first ¼  mile, running 1.25 miles, walking another ¼ mile and running the last ½  mile back to the aid station, don’t really know how long that lasted but somewhere the change was made to walk ½ mile and run a ½ mile for every loop. I was still feeling pretty good and there were no major malfunctions in the legs or feet.

Of course, all good things come to an end and eventually the slogging (walk/running) came to a fast walking effort for the rest of the race, the legs were beginning to feel tired and an area on the ball of my right foot started to bother and stayed with me for the remaining time, it was during this walking time that Diane and I hung together until my 100k finish. Yes, I had signed up for the full 100 miles but I decided to be realistic (actually it was the thought of going another 38 miles) and decided to drop to the 100k just so that I would be able to walk the next day (remember training?).

Cheri had foot issues (blisters) and took a 1.5 hour break to get the medics to take care of things but right after that she put her shoes back on and headed out there to finish her 50 miles and her 2nd 50 this year, Diane of course hung there as well and after medical blister control spent the next 12 hours being paced by the “crew” throughout the night and into the next day to finish her 3rd 100 this year and her 11th.

I’m not leaving out Jose just not mentioning much about him because he trained, ran well and finished his 100k, the race that he had signed for. So while any finish certainly deserves full accolades points must be taking away for doing the right thing . Seriously, great job Jose!!!

I’m sure that I’m not speaking for myself but Caroll, Nancy and Marcy are the BEST for hanging in there for 30+ hours taking care of us and making sure that we ate, drank and of course pacing all of us at one time or another,  THANK YOU LADIES!!

By Rich Berson and Rachelle Barbour

For the past 7 years we’ve been going to SF every July to split the two halves of the SF
marathon. It’s the perfect race for two running parents who both want to run. At other events we
have to flip over who gets to race, but in SF the two half marathons are independent: One starts
very early in the morning with the full marathon; the other starts at around 8:00 near the halfway
point of the marathon, about a mile from the first marathon finish. Rich has always done the first
half before this year – he’s faster, gets an earlier wave start, and thus gives us more time to high
five and trade kids. However, this year Rachelle started first. This also means that this year we
both got really cool spinner medals. The SF marathon has a special deal – if you do one half one
year, and the other the next year you get a Half It All medal. If you do the marathon the
following year, you get a special hoodie. So guess what we’re doing next year . . .

Overall, the race is really great. You can’t beat 50 degree temps in July! Everything is very well
organized. It’s a pretty crowded race, in part because it goes through some narrow areas.
There’s not much of a spectator presence though. All the swag is great.

Rachelle: My wave started at around 5:40. They start you early so that they can get everyone on
and off the Golden Gate Bridge and reopen the lanes to cars. The marathon and first half start at
the Embarcadero just south of the ferry building. Each wave is in a different corral encircled by a
chain link fence. I knew from Rich that once I got in, I’d be stuck – and there are no portapotties
in there.

The first couple miles are flat and relatively fast, only slowed down by the runners getting
themselves sorted out. The hills in this half are more extreme. OK, the hills killed me: like most
Sacramento runners, I don’t train on hills, so I pass people on the flats and get passed by them on
the hills. Nonetheless, this half is much more beautiful than the second half. It was great
running along Chrissy Field in the breeze and fog. Running across the bridge was amazing, even
though the lanes were pretty narrow and crowded. I started looking for fellow Chips on the out
and back part on the bridge, and got to cheer on Chris Malenab who was running the marathon.
The bridge had that fog that just lays right across the road bed. It was magical. The water stop
on the Marin side was mile 8 – they had lots of Gu and good support. Once across the bridge, I
hit the huge Presidio hill. I was ready for it mentally, if not physically. At least I’d gone quickly
enough on the flats that my overall pace was consistent with other half-marathons I’ve run. After
a bunch of rollers, I was thrilled to turn away from the marathon course and head into the finish
line in Golden Gate Park. Rich was there waiting and cheering for me.

I picked up my special spinner medal, got lots of food to go, had two gulps of Irish coffee (yes,
there is an Irish coffee bar at the finish), and wished Rich luck as I headed back to the car. I had
plans: go back to our friends’ house, get showered, and take the kids out to the course in time to
see Rich in the Lower Haight and then at the finish. I was thrilled not only to see Rich, but to get
to cheer on Kendra and John Bridges in the full, and my training partner (who qualified for
Boston!) We then grabbed Muni and saw Rich finish. It’s a great race for spectators since it’s a
big loop, and it was a thrill to get to run, get cleaned up, and get to cheer as well. This fantastic,
fun race is on our calendar year after year. Mark your calendars: next year they’re having it 6
weeks early – in June, to avoid America’s Cup.

Rich: My day in San Francisco was not just a half marathon, it was a duathlon – driving was the
first event, then running was the second. I started the day at about 4:30 by driving Rachelle to
her start – cruising down Market Street in the taxi only lane and hoping not to get a ticket for my
efforts to be a fast chauffeur. After I dropped her off, I drove back to our friends’ house (where
we were staying while they were out of town!) Then I lay down for a bit, followed tradition by
going to the bathroom many times, ate some toast, and proudly donned my Chips gear. Then I
drove over to the park to watch Rachelle finish.

In the park, I hit the porta-pottie, bundled up in a Mylar blanket, and waited for Rachelle in fog
so thick it was more like rain. I saw her Chips singlet sprinting to the line and cheered
frantically. After she finished, we did a few fist bumps, kissed a couple times, and I escorted her
to the Irish coffee station. Then I jogged to my start by the buffalo pen about a mile away.

Once I got to the start, I huddled under a heat lamp for a while. After the speedy first wave took
off, we were herded like buffalo up to the start, and then we were off. The beginning of the race
was downhill toward the ocean, then we turned around and headed uphill to Stow Lake. I
avoided the angry, aggressive, annoying geese on Stow Lake, along with the angry, aggressive,
annoying 1:40 pace group. Then it was downhill from Stow Lake, where I put some distance on
the pace group out of sheer frustration.

We wound through the park and ended up on Haight Street. I reluctantly passed up the beer aid
station and cruised through the Haight. I’m pretty sure I passed (again reluctantly) a weed aid
station at about mile six. After going through the upper Haight, I got a nice downhill into the
lower Haight. Waiting for me there were the three most awesome Chips I know – Rachelle,
Soleil, and Luka. They cheered, I grunted. They waved, I threw them a sweaty long sleeve shirt I
had tied around my waist.

After the adrenaline rush of seeing the family, I picked up the pace a bit. There’s a huge
downhill after the lower Haight, so I barreled down it as fast as my legs would carry me. The
next neighborhood we got to tour was the Mission. I was tempted by the sweet smell of carnitas
(even though I’m usually vegetarian), but my willpower was strong enough that I didn’t stop for a
taco. Usually the BART Station at Mission and 16 th features drug dealers of all shapes and sizes,
but since this was race day, there were instead just cheering fans.
After passing through the Mission, there are some rolling hills in Potrero Hill, so I limped up the
uphills and kamikazied down the downhills. The race then hits Dogpatch, a neighborhood that
didn’t exist when we lived in the city 15 years ago. There were ultra hip artist types cheering,
and a restaurant that promised free beignets all day to racers. (I still regret that we didn’t go take
them up on the offer.)

After Dogpatch is the home stretch. I picked up the pace along the flat last two miles. The
Giants’ stadium is in the background during that stretch, and the Bay Bridge continually looks
just a few feet away. I busted along the back side of the ballpark, jumping a curb along the way.
Then I saw the finish, heard and then saw the family again, and sprinted with an ugly grimace to
the line.

After I finished (in a time I was happy with), I met up with Rachelle and the kids, and we walked
the treat alley. I grabbed a banana and a scone. Then I got some Jamba Juice, which the kids
mooched after I had just a drop. I scored the kids some chocolate milk, and they somehow ended
up with a giant bag of Pirate Booty. We all got bags of mixed nuts and washed them down with
coconut water. In other words, come for the race, but stay for the buffet!

We wiped the crumbs off our faces and then went to get my cool Half It All medal. It spins!
Golden Gate Bridge on one side, the painted Victorians of the Haight on the other. Then we took
Muni to our home base, had a quick shower, and then went to Chinatown to gorge on dim sum.
We both love this race. It’s so nice to get the cold and fog during a sweltering Sacramento
summer. It’s fun and exciting to get a tour of San Francisco. This was the first time I did the
second half, after a bunch of years doing the first half. The first half is more beautiful, but the
second half is more flat. So you can decide which you care more about when you join us next
year. Or don’t choose, and just do it the full!

Next year, for the special hoodie, we’ll both be doing the full. (And, yes, Chris Malenab, we
know it isn’t fair that we get a cool spinning medal and a hoodie for two halves plus a full when
all you get for doing three fulls is feet covered with blisters.) We could use a babysitter, so get in
touch if you want to volunteer. Otherwise, we hope to see you on the race course.