Oh Yes...We are Runnin'!

Well, that would be the "royal we" as I am hitting the pavement on my own latetly! I ran a really hilly (but great...and beautiful) 6 miles on Sunday in CT and then actually ran 11 yesterday! My marathon team (the Flamingos) asked if I would write a little something about the course, by running it in increments between now and October, as I am the only one that lives here (the rest of my team is flying in from mostly the east coast). I gladly accepted! Here is my first installment:


Nike Course Map...all 26.2! Small green dot on northern part of map is our apartment

Link to full SF Nike Women's Marathon Course

Hello Fellow Flamingos,
I am pleased to bring you the first report from your local San Francisco Correspondent. Today, I ran miles 1-6 and let me tell you - the best word to describe those first 6 miles are FLAT-FLAT-FLAT! I know you hear about San Francisco's hills (and we've heard rumors that our SF Marathon will bring us 6 tough ones), but the good news is that only ONE of them will hit us in those first 6 miles! Here is a recap of the first quarter of our journey:
Starting Line: We will find ourselves in Union Square...the heart of San Francisco's shopping mecca! It is full of the hustle and bustle of locals and tourists alike, and is a perfect location - full of energy - to start our journey!
Miles 1-2: We will run through downtown, east toward the water where we'll run (flat!) along the Embarcadero...one of my favorite areas of San Francisco. We pass the Ferry Building (where our farmer's market is located and is a MUST on your visit to SF) and run along wide sidewalks, accompanied by plenty of pedestrians, bikers, cars and trolley cars.
Mile 3: As we enter into Mile 3, we'll run along the famous Fisherman's Wharf area, certainly one of SF's most popular attractions. Locals do not go here, so this is a good opportunity to see what it's like and keep on truckin'! As we end mile three, we'll pass Ghirardelli Square and then bend around Aquatic Park, where locals swim along shore daily (in the cold water!) and kayaks depart. Enjoy the scenery now, because Mile 4 is a doozy!
Mile 4: Here comes that hill I mentioned! The hill is rather short (takes about 2 minutes) but quite steep. Biciclysts often walk up it, but runners can take it slow and keep their posture up and glide by. At the top, you will be rewarded with a beautiful view of Fort Mason Park (large grass area) and - as we all know - what comes up, must come down! The rest of mile four is flat and your view will become a postcard once you depart Fort Mason Park (about 3 more minutes).
Mile 5-6: For the remainder of this leg of the race, you will have water views of the San Francisco Bay including Alcatraz to your right, the Palace of Fine Arts to your left and the Golden Gate Bridge straight ahead! If you recall Geri's birthday video, this is the exact area I was standing when wishing her well. This area (end of mile 4, beginning of mile 5) is exactly where Dave and I live, so we can be sure to expect a cheering crowd here as we depart the Marina and enter the Presidio!

This photo from Flickr has a great perspective of where we run; especially visible are miles 3-6. Look on the left side of the photo and we follow the water from the top of the photo to the bottom. The photo has captions when you roll over it so you can see the various areas. The only place I didn't mention in the recap is the "famous" Marina Safeway. The Marina is the neighborhood where we live and is best known for it's yuppy class of residents. The Safeway grocery store is nicknamed the "Marina Dateway" because of all of the pick-ups that happen there. Ladies, look your best and SMILE!

Stay tuned as I will continue to run portions of the course and let you know what we have ahead of us. As I found today, the first obstacle is getting TO the running location. I had to run 2 miles (through Little Italy and Chinatown) just to get TO the starting line in Union Square! Then, at the end of the 6 mile race course portion, I had another 3 miles to get me home for a total of 11 miles! It was a great excuse for me to get in the mileage I needed this week and to experience what we'll see in October. Miles 7+ to follow soon!