San Francisco Marathon: The Course

I haven't studied the course too much until the last couple of weeks. I was mostly concerned with the hills, but I've been intrigued now with the course. It's exciting to look at the course and know that I will be there soon, that I will traverse this path soon. And whether I'm in pain or cruising along, I know I will enjoy the scenery.

So here's the course, presented to you in bite-sized morsels.

Miles 1-5: This will be the fun part of the race. Just running along the water and past things like Pier 39 will be exciting. I'm unfamiliar with San Francisco but I believe this might be Fisherman's Wharf also. All five miles in this portion are within a stone's throw of the ocean, which should make for some pleasant conditions.

Miles 5-9.5: Easily the part I'm looking forward to the most. Not only will I run over the Pacific Ocean but I'll get to do so by running on the Golden Gate Bridge! It'll be an honor to run over a national landmark like that. I did hear, though, that last year the fog was so thick that you couldn't see the water from the bridge. That's fine, though. I'd love to see the scenery but I also know that fog means cool weather, and that's okay by me.

Miles 9.5-12: This is the descent into Golden Gate Park. It looks like some mileage through either residential areas.

Miles 13-20: Golden Gate Park. This part should be fun for a couple of reasons. First, the park itself should be a nice change of pace from the potentially dull miles before. And once I'm done with this park, I'll be close to being close to the finish :)

Also, there are a couple of sections that look like I'll be able to see other runners, those who are far ahead of me. But the coolest part of this section is this: the start line to the 2nd Half Marathon is right here, somewhere near Spreckels Lake. I'm hoping to be able to feed off the energy from some of the half-marathoners. If everything goes as planned, I should be right around the start line when one of their waves starts, possibly Wave 3 (which starts at 8:29). So I hope to definitely benefit from all of that excitement.

Miles 20-24.5: Somewhere in this section is LB's Wall. Not sure where it will pop up, but I'm guessing somewhere around Jackson Playground. Damn you, LB's Wall.

Miles 24.5-26.2: Glory within sights right here. We're back to the cool scenery (hopefully) or at least near the water. We do get to run past AT&T Park, home of the hated Giants, so I might give it a one-finger salute. This portion is what I've been training for, what I've fought and battled and sacrificed for. You can bet, even if LB's Wall is massive, that I will have reached deep down inside myself here and I will be giving everything I have to get the finish line. I might not have much left at this point, but dammit I'll be giving it all.

All in all, it looks like a great course with some fantastic scenery. And to think I'll have the honor of taking all of this in!