Race Report: San Francisco Women's Nike Half (October)

The light at the end of the tunnel:  Women's Nike Half Marathon! 

By the time I hit this race, I was tired!  Back-to-back-to-back races... I do not understand how my Marathon Maniac Friend does it! 

The Ladies love this race.  They have done it for a few years now, and I enviously listened to their stories.  I mean, Nike couldn't have nailed the cliche's any better for a women's race!  Chocolate, Firemen in tuxedos, shopping and Tiffany's necklaces as Medals!

The gang headed up Saturday.  After checking into the host hotel, we headed over the Expo Line.  Like I said, The Ladies have done this race before, so they knew we had to get in line before it literally circled the Union Square block. 

Registration was a cinch.  Quick picture in front of the Nike Wall.  And off to the Nike Store for our Race Apparel.  I was REALLY looking forward to shopping!  Last year, The Ladies had cute pink, flowery "Run Like A Girl" merchandise... I was amped and ready to look girly! 

Well, then.  I guess the 80s are back.  Bummer.  I have to say, I was disappointed in the merchandise.  First, the Half Marathon gear is extremely limited.  Second, the clothes were primarily BOLD colors.  (Bold = a term we use at work to make a statement and/or standout. Not necessarily = Girly).  The tag line this year, "I run to..." be sexy, be strong, be... you get the point.  I liked the sentiment.  Short, simple and encouraging.  At the end of the day, I really wanted to buy something at this race because St George and Long Beach both disappointed when it came to Race Apparel.  So trust me when I say I circled that store eight times for at least one thing to catch my eye (in a good way, not a bold way).  Net, net, I bought an orange, "marathon", long sleeved shirt that was cute... but not pink.

After grabbing some food, I headed back over to the expo/Nike store to meet up with my Cousin.  She was running with a few friends, one of which is a recent survivor from cancer.  They are part of Team In Training (TNT).  And Nike is a TNT supported race.  In fact, $118 million was raised to support the Leukemia Society... let's just say, looking at the crowds on race day... purple was the new black, there were so many TNT athletes.

Nicoll and me:  Quinn Girls Represent!

By 3pm, my feet were starting to ache.  I was beginning to worry about my Plantar Fasciitis, so I headed back to the hotel to rest a bit before our "Carbo Load" dinner. 

Next morning, we woke up and quickly prepped for the race.  Being in the host hotel, all we had to do was walk out the front door, and BOOM, we were at the start.  The Ladies were all going to meet in the lobby at 6:30 for some pictures and then walk out to our Coral.  Since I freeze after most races, I wanted to do a bag drop.  After studying the race start map, I determined bag drop was a block for the hotel... perfect, I'll head down at 6:15, drop the bag and have plenty of time to meet The Ladies.

Out the door, those of us wanting to bag drop, went... into what I can only describe as Mass Chaos.  Tons of people trying to find their Coral, drop their bags or just standing in the middle of things waiting for their friends.  It took about 10 minutes to get to bag drop and understand how it was organized.  It took about 10 minutes (pushing through) to get back to the hotel lobby.  It was extremely frustrating! 

By the time I made it the lobby, I was in a foul mood.  The Ladies perky and ready to go, quickly saw Pissed Off Shannon... and rightfully backed away so they wouldn't get sucked in with the negativity.  I don't blame them.

 After some pictures, we walked out into the Chaos to get into our Coral.  Staged in a pretty good location we waited for the start of the race... and like any other races with 20,000+ participants it took us 8 minutes to cross the start line. 

Sorry Ladies!  Bitter Betty on the left!

Overall the course was beautiful!  You run by the piers, past the Golden Gate Bridge, past Golden Gate Park and through gorgeous neighborhoods.  But, you run through it all, by way of hills.  Nike's race is certainly a challenging race...



I think, despite my frustration during bag drop, the worst thing at Nike is the lack of race etiquette.  I'm big on coaching my runners that if you plan to walk, you must 1) look behind you 2) move over to the side 3) try as best you can to be in a single file... all this because you will clog the course.  Unfortunately, a lot of the folks at this race walked 4, sometimes 5 aboard.  Creating a wall and thus sparking some negativity from others that wanted to pass.  I heard one lady cursing a pack of walkers on a narrow hill climb... and although it was rude, I completely agreed with her complaint.  So... coaches please teach your runners this unwritten etiquette:  Walkers to the side!

Through out the course, the group hung together.  It was great to actually enjoy a race and not feel the need to beat a time.  To support each other, and encourage each other - cause God knows we needed it on the hills!



OC Runner Girls



Once you cross the finish line at Nike, you lift your head... and behold! A wonderful site!  Firemen... in tuxedos... holding silver trays... filled with little blue boxes!  You could hear our squeals of delight over the crowd!  Off we went to size up each of the Firemen.  Picking one that fit our "type".  Me: I chose the tall, dark and handsome one!

Charmed by our Firemen and now blinged out with our Tiffany's necklaces, we headed over to the entertainment stage to look for the rest of the group.  Not more than, 5 minutes later the band's awesome performance got us out on the dance floor tearing it up!  Suddenly, the energy rushed back in and you wouldn't think we'd just finished 13.1 miles.

At the end of the day, Nike was able to make things up to me with their awesome post race perks.  If you get the chance, and you are a woman, I do recommend doing this race at least once.  I don't think I'll do the race again, but I'm happy I was able to finish up my Race Series with The Ladies! 

Perks of the race...

• Tiffany's necklace as a Finishing Medal
• Firemen in tuxedos
• Mile 12 hands out chocolate
• Nike does throw a pretty good race
• Beautiful course in SF, passing Golden Gate bridge and park
• Entertainment was awesome (Awesome band called, Notorious was at the finish line)
• Thank you for being prepared with 20,000+ women in mind - bathrooms were plentiful!

Things that suck about this race...

• Race is a lottery and it costs $130
• Organization at the race location needs to improve - 20,000+ runners and their spectators... we can't all fit around Union Square without raising tempers
• Crowded course - so unless your in the front, be patient
• Even though I got jewelry and hot firemen, I still will complain there wasn't a beer garden
• Shuttle line back to the start line was long - but the women selling hot dogs and pretzels in line, is a genius!
• We could have used more aid stations
• Lots of walkers that do not understand moving to the side

Net, net, I give this race a 7 out of 10.  My medal is still around my neck, a week later (not tossed into the bowl of medals I have at home) and I got to spend some time with The Ladies and my Cousin!  Overall, I think that gained Nike a few more notches up in my book.

I've completed my Race Series... And this weekend is the first time I'm not rushing off to an event.  I even slept in til 9am this morning!  But, that won't last long...  just this past week, Georgia has started to join me on my runs.  In fact this week, we logged 8 miles.  I'm a very proud Momma! 

Tomorrow it's off to run 8 Miles easy.  Plus, I signed up for the Crystal Cove 17k Xterra Race 12/11 with some Triathlete Friends.  I guess you could say, I'm addicted! ;)