Rock n Roll San Francisco Half April 8, 2018
*I was provided with a TourPass for race entry as a 2018 member of RocknBlog. This gives me a good excuse to travel to interesting places. All thoughts and opinions always my own.
Expo
This was the smallest RnR expo I've ever seen, we were able to zip through quickly then get out to see the city. Good for me, disappointing if you were expecting more. I suspect there was a supply issue with souvenirs (I collect the pins/magnets) as they were selling last year's items then a week later the 2018 versions were available online. Brooks had a nice variety of stuff as usual. Why yes, I got the free samples of laxatives and sleeping tablets in my race bag. No, I haven't tried either one yet.
Biggest change? Timing tags are now pre-attached to bibs instead of having to be manually torn off and attached to your shoe.
Location: amazing. Pier 35 in the Fisherman's Wharf area.
Race Day
Alarm call 4:45 am for a 6:15 start (actual start 6:30). Walking time to start from hotel 10 minutes (winning). Still dark outside. Lots of seagulls.
I am on PR pace until I cross the start line. Then it goes downhill rapidly.
For the first km I follow a pacer with a musical arse, then I get completely distracted by the fabulous Haight Ashbury fun and flowers.
Soon we can see the coast and it's a nice flat run (briefly). We come upon a group of Elvi. As I'm taking a picture my Racedots overreact and perform a mutiny leaving me with 3 for the rest of the race, superb.
It's time to start climbing onto the Golden Gate, it is spectacularly sunny and beautiful out here. There's a mile of US flags held by veterans and photos in remembrance of fallen soldiers (Blue Mile) as we climb.
Oh hello, this is not something you see every day.
All of the views are belong to me. Show me a course that beats this one. Go on, I'll wait.
At the turnaround we go under the bridge on gravel pathways then back up, it's really fun. This part is usually not open to the public. Trails! Everything is very wet from Friday's Pineapple Express.
We are running on raised paths on each side of the bridge instead of on the road, changing sides for the return leg allows for maximum scenery viewing.
We head back down to the shore and there is a section where the spray from the waves is literally coming across the course. Aaaaahhhhhhh.
This is an awesome added detail, so cute.
The rest of the course is mostly level with a cheeky lonnnng hill before the finish. Although it's very sunny the temperature is perfect with a cool breeze off the ocean. This is probably why I spent so long out there.
I catch up with my friend Dre and we do the last couple of miles together, she's lucky enough to live in this beautiful area. It's a perfect end to the race.
That's the story of my 13.1 mile glorious sightseeing expedition. There's plenty of chocolate milk and food at the finish though I can't find the Ghirardelli chocs. The band is going and it's a perfect day to sit in the sun and enjoy it. There's a guy in Speedos really enjoying the band, you go guy (sorry, no picture).
Final thoughts
The activity stations (Elvi, Haight, SF sign) were really fun adds.
Plenty water/sports drinks/gels on course - new larger signs made water stops easier to access and plan for. Mile markers are also larger, some were playing music. I could take or leave that.
The pacers having music packs was nice - not that I kept up with mine for long.
Extra timing mats, including one on the out and back section. Excellent way to discourage course cutting.
Superb medal, solid and fabulous.
I do prefer uniquely designed T shirts not the 'almost same design, different colour' RnR has been doing this year.
It was an excellent experience running this race and I give major credit to the city of SF for sitting there effortlessly looking so damn sexy as we ran through.
Expo
This was the smallest RnR expo I've ever seen, we were able to zip through quickly then get out to see the city. Good for me, disappointing if you were expecting more. I suspect there was a supply issue with souvenirs (I collect the pins/magnets) as they were selling last year's items then a week later the 2018 versions were available online. Brooks had a nice variety of stuff as usual. Why yes, I got the free samples of laxatives and sleeping tablets in my race bag. No, I haven't tried either one yet.
Biggest change? Timing tags are now pre-attached to bibs instead of having to be manually torn off and attached to your shoe.
Location: amazing. Pier 35 in the Fisherman's Wharf area.
Race Day
 |
| SF hippie vibe |
Alarm call 4:45 am for a 6:15 start (actual start 6:30). Walking time to start from hotel 10 minutes (winning). Still dark outside. Lots of seagulls.
For the first km I follow a pacer with a musical arse, then I get completely distracted by the fabulous Haight Ashbury fun and flowers.
Soon we can see the coast and it's a nice flat run (briefly). We come upon a group of Elvi. As I'm taking a picture my Racedots overreact and perform a mutiny leaving me with 3 for the rest of the race, superb.
It's time to start climbing onto the Golden Gate, it is spectacularly sunny and beautiful out here. There's a mile of US flags held by veterans and photos in remembrance of fallen soldiers (Blue Mile) as we climb.
Oh hello, this is not something you see every day.
All of the views are belong to me. Show me a course that beats this one. Go on, I'll wait.
At the turnaround we go under the bridge on gravel pathways then back up, it's really fun. This part is usually not open to the public. Trails! Everything is very wet from Friday's Pineapple Express.
We are running on raised paths on each side of the bridge instead of on the road, changing sides for the return leg allows for maximum scenery viewing.
We head back down to the shore and there is a section where the spray from the waves is literally coming across the course. Aaaaahhhhhhh.
This is an awesome added detail, so cute.
The rest of the course is mostly level with a cheeky lonnnng hill before the finish. Although it's very sunny the temperature is perfect with a cool breeze off the ocean. This is probably why I spent so long out there.
I catch up with my friend Dre and we do the last couple of miles together, she's lucky enough to live in this beautiful area. It's a perfect end to the race.
That's the story of my 13.1 mile glorious sightseeing expedition. There's plenty of chocolate milk and food at the finish though I can't find the Ghirardelli chocs. The band is going and it's a perfect day to sit in the sun and enjoy it. There's a guy in Speedos really enjoying the band, you go guy (sorry, no picture).
The activity stations (Elvi, Haight, SF sign) were really fun adds.
Plenty water/sports drinks/gels on course - new larger signs made water stops easier to access and plan for. Mile markers are also larger, some were playing music. I could take or leave that.
The pacers having music packs was nice - not that I kept up with mine for long.
Extra timing mats, including one on the out and back section. Excellent way to discourage course cutting.
Superb medal, solid and fabulous.
I do prefer uniquely designed T shirts not the 'almost same design, different colour' RnR has been doing this year.
It was an excellent experience running this race and I give major credit to the city of SF for sitting there effortlessly looking so damn sexy as we ran through.
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| Little Italy FTW |
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