RunningAHEAD - Topic: 2008 San Francisco Marathon, report.

Fenderfan

posted: 8/5/2008 at 2:28 PM
modified: 8/5/2008 at 2:29 PM

Ran the San Francisco marathon this weekend. Very pretty course, which includes running across the Golden Gate Bridge, and some great scenery along the Pacific coast. I train in Houston, so I had to do a lot of 5 A.M. running to get prepared. We also do not have any hills in Houston. I also wore myself out with two days of sight seeing, since I had never been to San Francisco. My ankles were hurting even before I started the Marathon. The up hill parts of the course were very manageable, but I was not prepared for the steep downhill portions. I started too fast, and was on pace for about a 4:15 marathon, for the first 16 miles. I had to walk a little and ended up with a 4:43 time. I was pretty pleased with that, my first Marathon was in February and I ran a 5:45, so I knocked an hour off my time in six months. It was great marathon, in a beautiful location, may not be a fast course, but the views were amazing. Next one is the Houston marathon in January, I am thinking, I can get that 4:15 this time.

modal

posted: 8/5/2008 at 2:42 PM
modified: 8/5/2008 at 2:42 PM

Thanks for sharing and congrats at shaving an hour off. I mentioned before that if it went over the Bay bridge as well that would be awesome. Those bridges are beautiful.

Vim

perfesserr

Imminent Catastrophe

posted: 8/5/2008 at 5:56 PM

San Fran was my first marathon and still one of my favorites. The smell of sourdough on the Embarcadero, running across the Bridge in the fog, Bison in the Park, Haight-Ashbury, and the finish by the bay. Great race!

"Able to function despite imminent catastrophe"

"To obtain the air that angels breathe you must come to Tahoe"--Mark Twain

"The most common question from potential entrants is 'I do not know if I can do this' to which I usually answer, 'that's the whole point'.--Paul Charteris, Tarawera Ultramarathon RD.

√ Javelina Jundred Jalloween 2015

Cruel Jewel 50 mile May 2016

Western States 100 June 2016

xor

posted: 8/5/2008 at 6:18 PM

I'm kicking myself for not going to SFO this year. The last time I did this race was '05, the first year that they brought back the bridge. As far as see-the-sights goes, this is a very interesting course. Maybe next year for me. Sounds to me like you 1) had fun and 2) did really well - that's an hour off in a little over 5 months. Good job. Yes, you went out too fast, but that's always tricky to judge when you haven't run many AND you choose a hilly course. Good luck with Houston. Just note that Houston is crazy crowded for the 3:45-4:15 folks. Combat running for the first 8-10 miles. My PR was Houston for awhile.

ndippon

Non ducor, duco.

posted: 8/5/2008 at 6:29 PM

Quote from Fenderfan on 8/5/2008 at 2:28 PM:

I train in Houston, so I had to do a lot of 5 A.M. running to get prepared. Next one is the Houston marathon in January, I am thinking, I can get that 4:15 this time.

Hey neighbor!

perfesserr

Imminent Catastrophe

posted: 8/5/2008 at 7:06 PM

Stevie Ray, I didn't know you ran it in '05. That's when I ran it. In my finish line photo there was this guy in a Maniac singlet so I went online to find out what it was all about. And look where it led me! BTW it turns out that guy was the Prez, Maniac #1.

"Able to function despite imminent catastrophe"

"To obtain the air that angels breathe you must come to Tahoe"--Mark Twain

"The most common question from potential entrants is 'I do not know if I can do this' to which I usually answer, 'that's the whole point'.--Paul Charteris, Tarawera Ultramarathon RD.

√ Javelina Jundred Jalloween 2015

Cruel Jewel 50 mile May 2016

Western States 100 June 2016

xor

posted: 8/5/2008 at 7:46 PM

"ran" intermixed with "occasional barfing and walking" was more like it. Long day for me... 20-25 minutes slower then the rest of my races from that timeframe. I want to run it again. This was probably my best year to try. Oh well. Some day.

kcam

posted: 8/5/2008 at 10:34 PM

Quote from xor on 8/5/2008 at 6:18 PM:

I'm kicking myself for not going to SFO this year. The last time I did this race was '05, the first year that they brought back the bridge. As far as see-the-sights goes, this is a very interesting course. Maybe next year for me. Sounds to me like you 1) had fun and 2) did really well - that's an hour off in a little over 5 months. Good job. Yes, you went out too fast, but that's always tricky to judge when you haven't run many AND you choose a hilly course. Good luck with Houston. Just note that Houston is crazy crowded for the 3:45-4:15 folks. Combat running for the first 8-10 miles. My PR was Houston for awhile.

Huh, interesting. I ran it in '05 and of all the marathons I've done it was my least favorite one. Diff'rent strokes, I guess. I especially didn't like the 5K walkers finishing at the same place and time as the marathon. At the last mile of a marathon the urge to walk is very powerful for me and it was hard to resist when I was running mile 26 navigating through a maze of walkers, walkers with strollers, kids with balloons etc. Other than that one negative aspect is was OK. Oh yeah, wasn't the bridge crossing completely fogged in that year? I remember it being as thick as pea soup so no views. Sounds like Fenderfan had a great run, though - Congratulations on such a big improvement! Good luck in Houston.

xor

posted: 8/5/2008 at 11:15 PM

The bridge is fogged in most years, part of the charm: foghorns. Yes, there were tons of walkers, plus they let the early marathon starters go too close to the regular start. And the food situation at the end was pathetic. All these problems have been resolved (well, except the fog). Time to go back!

perfesserr

Imminent Catastrophe

posted: 8/5/2008 at 11:28 PM

That was a drawback that I had forgotten...the walkers started before the runners. So once we caught them around mile 3 there was the inevitable collision: Thunk... Walker: "hey, you ran right into me. Didn't you see me?" Runner: "Well, no, you're wearing black. And it's still dark so no, I didn't see you. Sorry." Walker: "Asshole!" This actually happened. I was there.

"Able to function despite imminent catastrophe"

"To obtain the air that angels breathe you must come to Tahoe"--Mark Twain

"The most common question from potential entrants is 'I do not know if I can do this' to which I usually answer, 'that's the whole point'.--Paul Charteris, Tarawera Ultramarathon RD.

√ Javelina Jundred Jalloween 2015

Cruel Jewel 50 mile May 2016

Western States 100 June 2016

AnneCA

posted: 8/5/2008 at 11:29 PM

Quote from kcam on 8/5/2008 at 10:34 PM:

Oh yeah, wasn't the bridge crossing completely fogged in that year? I remember it being as thick as pea soup so no views.

Fog is the view on the GG Bridge. Wink

Although, judging from the pics in the paper, the fog wasn't right on the bridge this year -- and, speaking of Marathon Maniacs . . . .

protoplasm72

posted: 8/5/2008 at 11:49 PM

I'd love to run this marathon someday. I was in SF a few months ago and had one of my best runs ever. Did 14 miles along Embarcadero and over the Golden Gate and back. It's really a great city to run in.

Son, when you participate in sporting events, it's not whether you win or lose; it's how drunk you get. -- Homer Simpson

Fenderfan

posted: 8/6/2008 at 7:02 AM

Thanks for the feedback, everyone. The staging was strange, at the halfway mark they started a half and a 5k, so all these fresh legged runners were shooting past me during the second leg of the full marathon. The weather was overcast, but clear enough to see. The day before was breath taking. And howdy to my fellow texan.

2008 San Francisco Marathon, report. (Read 571 times)