Race Report - 2015 Rock 'n' Roll San Francisco 1/2 Marathon

Travel

A quick weekend getaway, or it was suppose to be. My original flight on Southwest Airline was to leave at 7 am, but I got a notification just as a left my house that the flight was canceled. I was trying to find options on-line on the way to the airport, but was not successful. I knew there was another flight going on a few hours later, so I figured I get to the airport to see if I could get on that flight. When I arrived, the main line was extremely long, so I when through security to talk to the agent at the gate. I found out that the earliest flight they had available would not get me to SFO until 9 pm. The standby list was already long, so I opted to fly on another airline. With 140 passengers stuck in the same situation, I worked fast to book a flight. I was able to get a flight on United that would get me to SFO by 1 pm. That didn't leave much free time as my original plan, but at least I would be able to get to SFO before the expo closed.

Expo

I took BART from the airport to the Powell Station, which was close to my hotel and the Expo at Moscone Center. As I was walking towards my hotel, I realized I was already passing the Expo, and it was 2 pm (the expo closes at 5 pm). I decided to get get my bib first, then go back to the hotel drop off my stuff, and change to Elvis. I had also planned to meet a group of runners for dinner at 5 pm. Not much time to be going back and forth. I met a friend at the expo, then changed to Elvis for some quick pictures, then back to the hotel to unpack and get ready for dinner. The group was mostly runners from the Capital Challenge (DC2MX), but all were here today for the RNRSF. Nice to meet some new friends, and talk about all the RnR races around the country. We planned a group dance at mile 4 during the race tomorrow, and one of the guys was taught us the Hustle on the sidewalk outside the restaurant.

Race Day

The race was point to point, started at Beach on the Great Highway and ended at the Civic Center. There were shuttles from the finish to the start, and my hotel was only a mile from the Civic Center. Originally, I had planned on running with a selfie stick, and to video me on the bridge. I realized with the guitar and other stuff that it would not be comfortable with the stick, so I opted to not use it. I left just after 4 am, since shuttle service started at 4:30 am. The shuttles turned out to be yellow school buses, with not much leg room. When we got off at the beach, the first thing we all noticed was that it was cooler with a light breeze. I didn't bring anything to keep warm, so I mingled with the crowds and kept moving to generate heat. The sun would not rise until 7 am, and the race started at 6:30, so the darkness did not make great pictures. I think MarathonFoto knew this as well, and there were few photographs pre-race.

The course time limit was 3:30, most RnR Half Marathons are 4 hours. As a courtesy to the slower walkers/runners, the last corral started 15 minutes before everyone else at 6:15 am. I tried to get into this corral when talking with someone at the Expo, but they said that it was already filled up, but they would allow me to start in Corral 2 (my original corral was 11).

Race Begins

I visited San Francisco many times in the past, so I was somewhat familiar with the area, and the hills. We headed north along the flat Great Highway for a few blocks, then we turn right on Balboa Street. There was just enough twilight to see the line of runners heading uphill for almost a mile. At the top, we get our first glimpse of the Golden Gate. Back down the hill into Presidio where we go up again. We finally got to a nice vista point where there was a selfie station (large cardboard frame you take a picture with), but the line was long. I stopped for a few pictures, then when I started again, I heard some music and saw my running group in a dance. I joined in for a few minutes, then we started running again. About a half mile later, I saw the group dancing again, but I could not afford to lose much more time.

When we got to the Golden Gate at mile 4.5, two lanes on the east side was reserved for runners. North on the west lane, and runners returning on the east lane. Not much room to run, and San Francisco traffic lanes are narrow to begin with. Only about 3 or 4 runners would fill the width of the lane. With the early corral, there were many walkers that were 2 abreast that made passing difficult. The road surface was a bit rough, and there were occasional metal expansion strips that I had to be careful stepping on. I stayed on the right edge, so the returning runners would be able to see me better. The support structures are huge, I've been across the bridge several times in a car, and once on a bicycle, but never on foot. Running in the car lane gave a great view of the entire structure, I was in such awe, and didn't think of taking any pictures since that would distract my enjoyment. I noticed a photographer taking pictures as people were returning south, so I hoped to get some great shots with the Golden Gate in the background after the turnaround. At the mile 6 Vista Point turnaround, we did not make it by 7:45 am and were diverted to the east pedestrian path of the Bridge. Only problem was that I would miss the photographer, but the sidewalk surface was very smooth.

A steep and rough surface dropped into Crissy Field and slowed me down. I carried a pair of running sandals in case things got too rough or my muscles too tired. I thought of using them at that point, but I just toughed it out until the course flatted, then the surface was smoother. It was getting later in the morning, and other non-race runners were on their weekend workout. The elevation would not change until Ghirardelli Square where we headed back up into the city. My quads were already pretty sore, but I kept running, passing racers walking up the hills. At mile 12, I looked at my watch, and my time was 2:45. I realized that my goal of finishing under 3 hours was obtainable, but we were still going uphill. At 12.5 miles, slightly downhill and you could see the finish line. I pushed harder know that I would be close to 3 hours, but did not look at my watch, or the finish clock. What I was looking for was photographers, to setup a good shot with my guitar.

Finish

Official time 2:58:50. Because I started near the front, my gun time was under 3 as well, 2:59:54. After I got my medal, I was interviewed by a SF Examiner reporter, who ran this blub in his race article.

Henry Chan, 54, of San Diego ran the half marathon barefoot and dressed in full Elvis regalia, including a while jumpsuit, red scarf, black pompadour wig and naturally — gold teardrop-shaped frames made famous by the king of rock ’n’ roll. “We don’t have enough Elvis, and I’m a big fan of the attention,” Chan said while standing barefoot with a bandaged small toe at the finish line. “The crowds love it. The runners love it. And I love taking pictures with all the people.”

It got warm around 10 am in the finish area. I posed with whomever asked, as I waled around looking for anyone I knew. I changed out of my Elvis outfit for the walk back to the hotel. I hopped on BART for one stop from Civic Center to Powell to rest a bit. I got back to my hotel around 11 am, time enough to take a shower and a quick nap before I checked out. I had a steak lunch with a friend (I did the same in DC, different friend, though), and walked around the area before taking BART to sightsee before heading to the airport. The nice thing with BART is that they only charge from the point you entered to the point you exit, so you can ride all day long without charge as long as you don't exit. The east yellow line is above ground enough to see parts of the other cities.

Flight Back

I arrived at the airport, and received a text message that informed me my flight was delayed by 1.5 hours. That meant getting home late as well. I looked around the airport waiting area, but did not see any SF RnR shirts, or medals. The race only had about 7000 runners, so compared to the population, it's a small percentage. The plane landed in San Diego around 10 pm, but we had to wait 15 minutes for an open gate. I finally got home, and slept after midnight and had to work in the morning.

In summary, my race went smooth, but the air travel did not. No more Rock 'n' Roll flying until Seattle in June, though I will be going back to San Francisco in May for the Bay to Breakers.