* I received a free entry to for the SoFi Golden Gate Half Marathon as part
of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about
becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review, find, and write race reviews!
So you may have seen that I am a brand ambassador for
the 2016 SoFi Golden Gate Half
Marathon in San Francisco that was on November 6, 2016. It was one of my bucket list races and I got
to check it off the list. The race used
to be called the US Half Marathon. The
idea of running across the Golden Gate Bridge and the awesome scenery were the
main reasons why I was so drawn to this race.
The temperature in San Francisco this time of year is fairly dependable
and is perfect for racing.
Sponsors
SoFi, Muscle Milk, Sierra Nevada, and Vitalyte
Pre-Race
Information
There were tons of emails that said where to park,
what to bring with you, packet pickup/expo information and more. There were 4 emails the week of the event
along. There was a lot of great information.
I opted to pay $25 for race day packet pickup.
Starting
Area and Parking
I got up at 2:30 to drive from Sacramento to San
Francisco and get there by 5:30. I
parked near Fort Mason in the Yacht Club parking area. None of the people who parked there knew if
we were allowed to park there or where to go from there to get to the start. There could have been better signage and a
better list of where to park and how much it would cost. There should have been some signs in Fort
Mason that pointed people in the right direction since you needed to walk up
some stairs and through a park to the starting line from the parking area that
I was in.
The start was rather packed and it took several miles
before it was easy to pass people. They
could have organized the start a little better by either pace or in waves to
reduce the congestion at the start.
There were quite a few of walkers up front that you had to make your way
around.
Course
You start the race at the Muni Pier in Aquatic
Park. You could get some great pre-race
pictures with the Alcatraz and Ghirardelli in the background. Here is a
breakdown of the course.
Miles
0-3
The race starts out by taking you immediately up a
short hill and around to the marina and Presidio on your way to the Golden Gate
Bridge. The course is fairly flat for
the first 3 miles until you start your hill climbs.
Miles
3-6
The first hill is about 0.3 miles long with about a 60
foot elevation gain. Followed by an equivalent
downhill section. Then you start your
biggest climb, about 250 feet of elevation gain over 1.5 miles. The next mile (from roughly mile 5-6) is
primarily downhill and takes you to the Golden Gate Visitor Center where you
get on the bridge.
Miles
6-10
You run along the Eastern sidewalk of the Golden Gate
Bridge for the next mile. Where you head up to the vista point, which is a
great location to take a quick selfie or bridge pic. The course then takes you on a gravel
downhill section that winds under the freeway and up a small hill to the
Western side of the freeway. Runners will run along the Western sidewalk of the
Golden Gate Bridge until they get off the bridge.
The sidewalk on the Golden Gate Bridge was wide enough
for 3-4 people to run side by side, but most of the time they were running 3
across and it was difficult to pass. You
just had to plan your passing when there were opportunities.
Miles
10-13.1
After you cross the Golden Gate Bridge, you come to
your final hill. A 100 foot elevation
gain over 0.15 miles. You are rewarded
by a 0.75 mile downhill stretch where you lose 150 feet of elevation. This is where you can make up some time. You follow the bay to Fort Point where which
is the end of a short out and back. The
last two miles consist of rough paved roads and running on hard packed sand as
you pass Chrissy Field and finish at Yacht Harbor.
There is a total of 1,215 feet of elevation gain
according to my Garmin. I felt that the
most difficult part were the hills were between miles 3 and 5. Let me also say that my Garmin showed the
race as being 13.2 miles, which can be explained by me not running tangents
(cutting the turns closely). This is the
most accurate race in terms of being close to 13.1 miles. Usually I find that races measure a little
short or long. Great job in that aspect.
Race
Experience
There were plenty of aid stations and they were well
placed throughout the course. Each aid
station had water in one area and Vitalyte on the other side. The Golden Gate Half Marathon had more
photographers than at any race I have ever been to (which I thought was
awesome). For most of the course, they
had one street lane blocked off for runners and a wide pedestrian
sidewalk.
There were pacers, but I am not sure how many. The one I saw only had a little white sign
and it would have been hard to spot on the course. I feel that they could have done a better job
in this respect. My recommendation would
be to have more pacers and signs that are easier to see (neon colors).
The weather was in the mid 50’s to low 60’s and it was
foggy. One of the key draws for me were
the views, which you couldn’t see because of the fog. Not the races fault by any means. The temperature was great though and other
than a fine mist, there was no precipitation, which is what was forecasted.
Pre-Race
Expo
The expo was held the day before the race (Saturday,
November 5th) from 10:00 AM-6:00 PM.
You had to attend the expo to
pick up your race bib and event tee unless you wanted to pay for one of the
options that allowed you to either get the bib and timing chip mailed to you or
wanted to pick up the bib on race day (both options have an additional fee
associated with them).
Swag
You get a long sleeve tech tee when you picked up your
race bib. The quality seems decent, but
not exceptional. The design is nice and
clean. I love the idea of giving away a
long sleeved shirt since I have plenty of short sleeve shirts but only a few
long sleeve race shirts.
As you cross the finish line, you get your medal and a
water bottle. The medal is larger and
heavier than any medal that I have received to date. It is at least 4” in diameter, maybe more,
and looks great.
There was a virtual Swag bag that included discounts
from various races like the Surf City Marathon & Half, 30% off the HipZipp,
and 20% off goodies from the Divas Half and 5K.
They also had discounts off Injinji, Brandinc, Pro Compression, and Uber
plus a few others. Really, there wasn’t
anything that I would use.
Post-Race
Party
They did have food and goodies after the race. They had bananas, Kind Bars, Kettle Chips,
and a few other samples.
Sierra Nevada was on hand for those people 21 and
older. There were a few food trucks, one
of which had some huge doughnuts for sale that looked amazing.
Muscle Milk had an area with Yoga mats and Trigger
Point Rollers for people to stretch and roll after the race. You could also pick up a free bottle of
Muscle Mile, which was awesome.
They also had a Sofi relaxation zone with round
couches that had plenty of pillows.
There were a few people taking naps.
There were some picnic tables and nice padded benches to sit on.
Bark Thins was also on hand and was giving away
samples as well as an area to play Corn hole and Backyard Jenga.
There was a large white tent that had tons of race
booths, specialty health drinks and snacks to sample, clothing you could
purchase, and the gear check.
Gear
Check
They did have a gear check at the beginning of the
race and you could get your stuff after the race in the big tent where they had
the vendors. There weren’t any signs
stating where you could pick up your gear and it was extremely
unorganized. There were no lines and
really no order of where they placed the bags from what I could tell. Just big piles of backpacks.
Why
I would recommend the SoFi Golden Gate Half Marathon
1) Amazing
view of the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz, Baker Beach and more (weather
permitting)
2) An
awesome finishers medal and reusable water bottle
3) The
experience of running across the Golden Gate Bridge
4) Challenging
course
5) Usually
great temperature (Average low: 52 degrees, Average high 66 degrees)
6) Several
places to park within about ½ mile of the start/finish line (some locations are
pay by the hour parking structures)
7) Tons
of spectators
8) Plenty
of aid stations
9) Great
picture opportunities
10) Great
post-race party
Conclusion
This
was my first race that I traveled outside of the Sacramento area for so keep
that in mind. I thought the information
provided by the event via email and directions were well put together for the
most part.
I was
impressed by the course, aid stations, and amount of photographers on
hand. There were a few things that could
be improved upon including better pacing, parking directions, and where to pick
up your gear. I really liked this race
and would recommend it in the future.
Any large event will have areas where they can improve and even thought
I mentioned some negative things, you should know that the event was well put
together and I hope to race it again in the future. Please let me know if you have any specific questions
and I will be more than happy to answer them.
No comments:
Post a Comment
I love to read feedback so feel free to add your comments or questions.