This was the first time running the San Francisco Rock’n’Roll Half Marathon and it did not disappoint. It was so much fun running with my sister and friend, Lenora. It was a scenic point to point course that started at Golden Gate Park and finished at the Civic Center Plaza.

It was a very early morning. I woke up around 3 am and had a bagel and then got ready. My sister, Lenora and I were all staying in the same room at the Marriot. From the hotel, we walked/jogged a little to the Civic Center where we were bussed to the start line. It took about 15 min or so to get there and we arrived around 4:30 am. It was nice we didn’t have to wait long to get on the bus. The bus ride was about 20 min. When we got to Golden Gate Park, it was 5ish. It was great to get there early since there were no lines for the Porta Potties and there was a lot of them. Thanks to @thespeedysurgeon, we were wearing surgical scrubs to keep us warm before the race. The race was scheduled to start at 6:15 am. This was my earliest race start. I didn’t mind too much since I usually run early. But I guess getting up at 3 am is different. Good thing we went to bed early. Anyways, we met up with the We Run Social crew and got a pic with the Gibbler socks, such fun compression socks.According to my Garmin, the temp was great, 50 deg F. The race started a little late and we were off running just before 6:30 am. This was a training run for my marathon so I was not racing for time. The goal was to stay around 8:45-50 pace except for the hills so I was about having fun on this run.

Here are pics from along the course: The blue mile was on a hill which is where they honor and remember those who have served and sacrificed as part of our military. It was great to see all those flags and getting cheers to motivate us up the hill.It was so cool running on the Golden Gate Bridge! I did not realize how long it is, 1.7 miles long.
That was at the turn around point to head back to the Golden Gate Bridge. You can see one of the bands in the background. It’s always fun seeing the bands along the course but it didn’t seem like there was a lot of them at this race. Here’s one of the Elvis runners we saw. We saw a barefoot Elvis too.Love the downhill parts.My sis and I with our trusty Simple Hydration Bottles.Loved the view of the Golden Gate Bridge here.My sis and Lenora, all smiles. 🙂I was having fun and fist bumped this Elvis. It was cool seeing the guys on stilts too. I’m sure they got a lot of fives.This was the last big climb.I liked how after that, it was pretty much downhill to the end.

So fun coming in together at the finish. Hills and all this was a great race. Almost four miles of running on the Golden Gate bridge was awesome. It was even better since I was running it with my sister. Such a great way to end my birthday weekend! I would do this race again. My official time was 1:56:44, pace 8:55. I was happy and I felt great running. My Garmin had me at 13.2 miles, avg. pace 8:51. We had to get a jumping pic in. 🙂Pic by the #GarminRocks inflatable.Here’s the cool medal.Lastly, I thought it was awesome that we made the slideshow on competitor.com!Also, I got to thank my family, especially my hubby, for all their support! 🙂

Happy running! Do you have any races coming up?