Lynn Benson's Staging Area

Every aspect of this race is great. After signing up you can join their Facebook Virtual training page. As the race gets closer they send out a lot of informational emails, along with posting on their page and the virtual training page. The night before the race they have packet pick-up and a pasta dinner and a bar that served delicious margaritas! At the race start line (that is a few miles from the center where the packet pick up and dinners are) they have their pop up store to get additional memoriablia (hats, shirts, sweatshirts, cups, stickers, etc). After you finish there is an ice soak, massages, free beer, hot dogs to purchase. They also had a shade cover with blankets and pillows laid out so you can sit, stretch, relax and cheer on the rest of the runners coming in.

I did not bring my dog this year, but I’m coming back next year with him as every aid station had a small kiddie pool for the dogs to lay in or drink from, and dog treats to keep them fueled and ready to keep going. The road is mellow, some rolling hills, a few false flats, and some fun gentle down hill spots. The elevation is at the tipping point of just over 3k so can have some effect especially if you have not been doing any hill or elevation training. I have trouble running in high elevation but only felt mild effects on this race course. It is not a closed course so you do need to pay attention to traffic (I saw less than a dozen) and move to let them pass.

After the race is over there is a few hours before the dinner party, so try to find someplace close by to stay (their web site gives some great ideas). This year because I was not staying the night after the race, I hung out at the finish line until the last bus back to the parking area. Then I drove a mile down the road to a public campground and used their coin showers to shower and change. After the shower even though it was warm, I was parked in the shade and with a light cool breeze I was able to lay in the back of my car and take a nap so I was ready for the dinner at 5 and the drive back home after.

This race is more than a race, it raises funds for a cause I believe deeply in, and with all the excitement of the race coordinators, volunteers and participants it’s a 2 day party. I experienced the added bonus and being what they called a “Charity Runner” They helped me set up my donation page and wrote an article that I could post about why I was asking for donations. When I met my goal they had AMAZING swag that was only available to “Charity Runners”, which made me feel super special (and made me want to fund raise again)

No seriously I felt like it was uphill the entire time! I had only been training for a 10k, and not doing the hill work that I should have for this race. I decided on doing it to go with a group of friends and enjoy the scenery. The scenery was definitely fantastic, even with the fog keeping us from seeing the views of the ocean or the bridge. There are a lot of places on the course where there are stairs, or terraced sections, and I will never forget one section that actually did go downhill—it was so steep that I ran side to side like I was slaloming downhill on skies.

All of this might sound negative, but it was an amazing experience and I am actually thinking of doing this race again, but not until I can make sure I have time to do a lot of hill training.

I ran the 1st half the previous year, so only did this 2nd half to be able to brag I did the whole route (and got the awesome both halves medal). However, while running this I fell in love, running through Golden Gate Park in the early morning hours was mesmerizing and after leaving the park running through the city neighborhoods as we make our way down to the finish was a lot more fun than I thought it would be. The hardest part of the whole route was a couple of very steep downhill sections, it sucks when the downhill is so steep you have to take it slow, but the experience was well worth it! I would gladly do this race again!

I was intimidated by this race, and that increased when my training was interrupted by an injury. I almost didn’t go, but decided to just run this with the goal of just finishing and I’m so glad I did. Most of the route is easy, there is slope up and back on the bridge, but I had trained for that, and power walked the few steep hills. I was not prepared for the effect the long steep downhill part between mile 10 and 11 would have on me, I now know I need to also train on steep downhill running on tired legs. After the long downhill section there are a lot of mild up hill sections all the way to the finish line, and unfortunately these last 2 miles were my worst pace. I kept my eye on the goal of finishing under 3 hours and it was close but I made it. The finish area at this time in the race was disappointing, there were out of warming blankets and there wasn’t much in after race refreshments. However, the trucks with the bags checked in before the race were organized well and getting my belongings was easy. The line and thus the wait for the bus to get back to the start line was LONG so I was glad I had checked a bag with a change of shoes and a sweatshirt, next time I will also some post race food. I will be running the second half next, but after that I would gladly do this first half again, mostly to see if I can finish closer to my normal time for a 1/2.

Most of this run is on urban streets. Lots of support along the route and good traffic control (though you are running on roads with traffic) I LOVE the view from the top of the hill as the route turns back, and running through the park was beautiful. At the finish line there were a lot of booths with information on other races, and running products. However, not anything good to eat or drink :(. Overall this is a good race, I was able to do a decent run even though I’d been struggling with injuries interrupting my training.

A beautiful town and a fun race made this a memorable run. I LOVE getting a cowbell as my finisher medal (I want to find more races with cowbells). The description says rolling hills, compared to my normal run route more of these hills plunged than rolled. However, each and every hill was conquered and having a downhill run to the finish line was fantastic.

Bidwell Park is a beautiful park to run in and the spring time is a perfect time to do it. The course is flat and mostly on asphalt road that loops the park. The race logo is beautiful and appears on the shirts, hats and finisher’s medal. The technical shirts are of good quality and I would highly recommend getting the hat as it is the best running hat I own. There is good support on the race and lots of good after race food.

A GREAT race to run for my first time. Lots of support along the entire route. Great food at the end (the best of any race I’ve run to date). My favorite is getting my finisher’s cowbell, and of course pictures with Howdy!!