San Francisco Marathon: Random Cool Moments

In my Surf City aftermath post, I threw in some random cool moments that turned out to be the best part of that post. I learned.

For my latest marathon, I will dedicate a separate post to Random Cool Moments to kind of give you a bit of the color of the race along the course.

Decadent Scent: Running down The Embarcadero was a treat. There were no cars, not a whole lot of noise either, just us runners and a few scattered souls on the streets. One place that was going strong early in the morning was Boudin, bread makers extraordinaire.

While I couldn't see anybody from the street, I smelled the most intoxicating smell - freshly baked sourdough bread. I could feel the warm, airy insides and the crispy outer shell of a Boudin bread bowl. I'm not sure anything could have deviated me from the marathon once I was on the course, but if someone would have offered me a bread bowl right then and there, I might have been persuaded to step aside and have a few moments to myself.

Gongs Of Support: As the course got off The Embarcadero and towards the Golden Gate Bridge, a pair of Chinese guys stood on either side of the road. Each had a gong in one hand and a stick in the other and banged it over and over again. Our support was of the multicultural kind.

I saw the same two guys having the same two

One Runner To Another: Since I retired my pink Loper shirt and didn't have another Loper shirt to wear, I opted to wear my Ragnar Relay shirt since it says RUNNER on the back, and it's a shirt that fits me well. Out on the bridge, I saw the same shirt on another runner. I got up close behind her, patted her on her shoulder and said "Nice shirt." She said "Thanks.... Hey, nice shirt yourself!" I smiled and sped off.

Out in the Lead: Somewhere around Mile 10, I was in a residential neighborhood. I was just about to cross a street when volunteers closed off the path and steered us onto another street. Instead of going straight, I was forced to hang a left, and then a right. Since I was just about to cross and was forced to make a left, I was essentially in the lead.

I swung a right up ahead and was back on track with nobody in front of me. For a few seconds, I was in the lead. It felt like I was in the lead anyway.

Now I know how the big boys feel...

¡Animo!: I was running up a hill (of course) and near the crest were people holding a Mexican flag, chanting "¡Si se puede! ¡Si se puede!" which translates essentially to "Yes you can!" It's a popular Mexican chant. I clapped. One of the women holding one of the flags said very loudly (after reading my name on my bib) "¡Animo Luis!" as I ran past.