Alameda Running Festival

Hi, folks. I am approaching 100 half marathons despite a one year break due to a health challenge. I had a 2:17 PR in the 13.1 distance before; this is my best finish since coming back (with about, I think 8 or 9 outings). So I am happy about that.

Let me start with the best aspect. The pacer for 2:40 was just great. She learned names and shouted them for encouragement. I am a run-walker. It was thanks to her help I did as well as I did. So I am grateful. Not easy to do that job. What a nice gal.

For those who aren’t from the Bay Area, Alameda is an island on the Oakland side. They say time forgot it, because it has a quaint 1950s vibe and half the buildings match (the other half are more modern). It’s an idealized suburb. You see a bit of that. I would say for a race through a town, it’s pretty good. You also see old shipyards. That’s interesting too — some haven’t been repurposed yet. There is the USS Hornet, a war ship that is a museum, at one of the turnarounds. I’ve run through cities and forests, but you don’t usually run through a town. Unless you are a grouch, the varied scenery should be worthwhile. (There is a weird parking lot of abandoned cars. I think it is an actual site for demolition derby type action.)

The other thing that was just great: parking. I arrived early. I did that two years ago. I parked one block from the start line, legally. That is about as close as was possible, and it made it so convenient.

They also changed the route. I don’t think it was because of me or anything. I had a minor complaint. That’s not even the right word. It was an observation about my own human failing. Maybe 2% of races have this feature, presumably to ensure the distance is correct, where you are coming toward the finish line, then it turns out you turn and you have to do another half mile, within sight of the celebration, and when you can hear it. It’s just a moment when I feel, oh, geez, I’m not done, and I’m crushed for that moment. Anyway, they didn’t have that doubling back. So I liked it better.

For some reason, they had a real nice gift: a glass carafe. I gave it to my wife.

I recommend this race. It has only been staged twice, including this morning’s edition. They do a bunch of distances over two days, and I met a friend of mine from Dallas, who had a friend of his who had grown up in the area. For a race in the Bay Area, it’s about as flat as it could be. For a race in the East Bay, to a San Francisco based participant, the drive was very easy — with a 7am start time, even after the finish the traffic had not become too bad.

This is the island that time forgot, according to locals. I had been there exactly once before, despite my time in the Bay Area. People who live there love it. I can see why. It’s an actual island, accessible only via tunnel and drawbridge, and there is a boozy commuter ferry into San Francisco. There a a bunch of Victorian houses that rival, if not surpass, anything in the city, and there is a decommissioned naval base that is home to an endangered tern and a bunch of manufacturers of beer and spirits, including absinthe! In terms of views, there was a little bit of the town, a moment with the San Francisco skyline, lots of the repurposed military hangers, and a weird parking lot with a half dozen cars that looked like they had been in a demolition derby and then set on fire. Probably at least three places where someone such as me, into photographing abandoned buildings, would want to take a snapshot — though I did not; in comparison, on SF runs, there are lots of people posing for selfies showing the Golden Gate Bridge in the background.

They served free food and drink at the end. I had a burrito. And a beer. There also were vendors and booths. The fair was actually decent given the crowd (they said 1500, which I think was total for all events).

A criticism that isn’t actually fair, a criticism of me, and praise.

The criticism that isn’t fair is that I went to the wrong place. The instructions said the start was at Bladium health club. That turned out to be true. But the check in was two blocks away. In the dark of 6am, you couldn’t actually see where you were going. It was a moment of confusion. Also Bladium is so big the address is only approximate. I checked what they sent. It was “my bad” as kids say, because the final pre-race note indicated the proper location for check-in as distinguished from the start line. A bonus is I parked one block away, for free, because I was super early (I anticipated, erroneously, that there would be more volume on the Bay Bridge.)

A criticism of me. I wish organizers didn’t do this, but I understand they are trying to be true to the advertised distance. I always am crushed when I am approaching the finish, only to realize you have to make another little loop around it. Let me try to describe it, so you can picture it and then see the psychological effect. This isn’t the only time it has happened. Maybe 5 percent of races have this “problem.” It shows my weakness, because I lose heart. So to be clear: it’s me, not the race organizers. What it is, is: you are heading toward the finish, which can tell by the familiar sights, and if it were straight it would be, say, a quarter mile away. In this instance, you approached three times from different directions, and once you were less than a block away, so you could glimpse the balloon pergola thingie, and you could hear announcements as people ahead of you came through — except you then saw you were coming at it from behind, not in front, so you had a turn and then do 3/4 miles more! Man, that last bit is tough when you were feeling you were done. No doubt there is a term for this emotion.

Finally, praise. The 2:30 pacer was great. I was with the 2:20 pacer for about three miles. That would have been a PR. I did my usual intervals (“fartleks” to those in the know). But I eventually slowed a bit. I told the 2:30 guy he was “my pacer,” and he said he’d shout out when he was catching up. He then did it, and thanks to the desire to beat him, which I expressed, and his encouragement, I finished ahead of him and the whole pack accompanying him. It was 2:27, which is my third-best finish in about 73 or 74 races. I have lost count, and I am have not updated my spreadsheet.

PS Race organizer a super friendly guy.