Tilden Trail 10K & Half Marathon
Berkeley, CA
- Half Marathon, 10K
- Trail (Unpaved)
- Official race website
The Tilden Trail 10K & Half Marathon takes place in a long time Bay Area favorite park with so much diversity you will want to come back for more! Plenty of single track and fire roads (along with some serious elevation) presents an exciting challenge for all levels of runners. … MORE
Local Historical Weather (Oct 22):
| 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | |
| H (°F) | 64 | 61 | 70 | 83 | 63 |
| L (°F) | 54 | 52 | 56 | 63 | 50 |
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DFL!
I achieved another life goal. I was DFL, technically. But I was not last, actually. The cutoff was 3:45. They packed up the timing equipment after I crossed the finish … MORE
I achieved another life goal. I was DFL, technically. But I was not last, actually. The cutoff was 3:45. They packed up the timing equipment after I crossed the finish line, but there were at least two others behind me, walking. The race organizer, a nice guy, decided they would be coming through only a long time later, and they had announced the 3:45. So it was fair.
I am not sure why I was so slow. The route was changed overnight. There was some sort of utility work. I passed a tree that was down, with a note that PG&E was coming out, and there was a tree you had to crawl under at one point. The route went from 2700 feet vertical gain to in excess of 3000 feet as measured by my Garmin watch.
I had never run this specific route. I ran a race in the park, a 10k, not long ago, and I might have run nearby one other time. But I had not expected such hills. There were three big ones. I’ve run bigger in the Bay Area, but never as slowly. Angel Island, Mt. Montana, San Bruno, for example, are all more challenging. And the Dipsea is in a bunch of different races, and just one loop on it is pretty tough.
I was well rested (7 hours 19 minutes sleep). I had had only a glass of wine the night before. The weather was perfect: not too hot; not too cold.
Well, it’s fine. I would run with these organizers again, and I’d run out at Tilden Park too. The race was small; the course was marked decently, but a lady and I went off course at maybe mile 10, and we did an extra half mile. We figured it out when we came to a fork without flags. It was our fault. There were flags; we had missed them, however, coming down a hill too fast. The two older fellows ahead of us reported at the end they got lost twice.
Oh, one explanation. The trail was not only hilly but also technical. There were lots of loose rocks all over, including big ones. So footing was a challenge lots of places. I did not fall. It was dry. I am sure it would have been terrible wet.
So if you’re headed out there, pick shoes with lugs. I need to get some more suited for this type of course. Suggestions welcomed.
An addendum. The preliminary results came via email. I am indeed 48 of 48. What is interesting is the winner was more than half my time. So I am okay with the relative standing. On trail races with big hills, I usually figure I will be 2x the winner. I actually beat that every so slightly.