Skip to main content

Destination Run: The Golden Gate Bridge

Waking up in San Francisco this morning proved to be the best way to tackle my 12 mile scheduled training run. The weather was clear, sunny, warm, zero wind, and zero fog. A perfect San Francisco day. I took off in the general direction of the bridge from near Fisherman's Wharf. After a few hills, and working my way to higher ground, this was my first glimpse of the bridge...the teeny tiny red thing out there.

It was at this point, lots of other runners started appearing, seemingly headed somewhere, so I followed. The land opened up, I was closer to the water, and apparently on the right path.

A paved path ran right along a narrow beach where TONS of people were out with their dogs, running, romping, frolicking in the sand and the water.
Staying on this path, the bridge was getting larger and larger in front of me. I ended up directly underneath the bridge, in a parking lot at Fort Point, at a dead end. I stopped in the middle of the parking lot to survey the scene, wondering how to get UP to the bridge, but others kept running right on by me. I watched a woman run to the fence, touch something with both hands, and then turn right around and keep running.
Others came up and repeated the same routine. So....I did it too, hoping I wasn't breaking some sort of runner's code by touching these hands without knowing what it means. Later, THIS is what I discovered about the meaning behind the sign, and was proud to have partaken in the tradition.

I backtracked a while, trying to find another route, when I discovered a super secret staircase (that was clearly marked with a sign) that led up.
I loved these stairs and was very careful to dodge the many banana slugs hanging out on them.
At the top, after missing one more turn and ending up underneath the bridge one more time (the sound of the cars driving above me was a little frightening, I finally reached the starting point to crossing the bridge. I took a deep breath and started out across.
Luckily, still, no wind whatsoever. Luckily, because that railing wasn't all that high. I had a few moments of panic, mostly when I looked down at the water or when I stopped to take a picture and could feel the vibrations and rumbles from the passing cars. Looking out, however, was breathtaking.

After crossing county lines and touching solid ground, my journey was complete, so I turned around and ran back to San Francisco.
After two hours, I made it back to the hotel exhausted. My reward was clam chowder and grilled salmon. I might have to do this every weekend.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

New Year's One Day 12 Hour (Uh, 7 Hour) Race Report

Here's the idea: You pay actual money to run around in a circle for either 6, 12, or 24 hours. This is how you choose to spend your New Year's Eve.  That's it. That's the course. Just keep turning right until midnight.  Each time you complete a lap, you pass under the finish arch, that is never actually the finish line, and over a timing mat that tracks the number of laps you've done and displays it on a screen. This should actually say, "KEEP GOING FOR MORE HOURS" You're looking at the same people lap after lap. It's the Golden Gate Bridge over and over again. You're not actually getting anywhere.  What is the point of what we are doing. That question is exactly why I love this race.  Here are hundreds of people, lap after lap, living entirely inside their own heads for hours and hours, each with a different answer to that question.  Last year I ran because I just wanted to find out if I could do it. I wan...
10 comments
Read more

Skyline to the Sea 50k, I lived.

To say the week preceding the race was an emotional roller coaster would be an understatement. What I didn't know, was that it would be nothing compared to my experience out on the trail. I had said going in my goal was a sub 6 hour finish, and, unknowingly foreshadowing my race, I added, "but you never know what can happen out there." My decision to run ultras came long before my actual ability to run them, so after collecting a couple years of trail running under my belt I finally felt ready to take the plunge. Skyline to the Sea came at just the right time providing a net downhill course with just over 3,000 ft of elevation gain. If you're not aware of the on again off again drama that ensued surrounding this race, refer to my previous post  here . Race morning, standing at the trail head with over 200 other runners, a collective feeling of gratitude hung in the warm air as Wendell counted us down to start. Spectators lined the street above us, and the runners e...
10 comments
Read more

Skyline to the Sea 50k. Here's what happened.

Five days before the fifth annual Skyline to the Sea 50k, entrants received an email from race director Sarah Spelt that knocked the wind out of us all: I am beyond sorry to announce that I am forced to close the doors at PCTR, effective immediately... It's been no secret to the Northern California trail running community that Pacific Coast Trail Runs has experienced quite a bit of turbulence, especially in the last year, resulting in some cancelled races and even a no show. 2012 boasted a handful of successful races, the most recent being the Diablo Marathon and 60k just three days prior. Things seemed to be on the upswing, especially with the upcoming Skyline to the Sea Marathon and 50k being completely sold out. I'd been through the disappointment over previously cancelled races, but this time was different. I'd carefully chosen this race to be my first ultra. I was brokenhearted and angry, but it didn't take long for a runner coming from Illinois specifically for t...
8 comments
Read more