Nike Womens Half Marathon

I wasn't expecting much after attending the race expo, but the Nike Womens Half Marathon ended up being a really gorgeous and fun race. And the Finishers necklace from Tiffanys isn't too shabby either (see photo below).

My friends agreed with me that the Nike Womens Marathon race expo is the 'lamest' race expo that we have ever attended. It was a large tent in the center of a block in downtown San Francisco that contained race packet pick-up, one smoothie booth, one 'manicure' station, one 'wall of shoes' (all Nike of course), a booth for the race's charity, and some song/power-station/iPod syncing booth. That's it. There were no other vendors. With space at a premium I understand not wanting to allow too much miscellaneous stuff. But really. What was supposed to be 'cool and hip' was actually disappointing.

So I started the race a little skeptical. Was it just a bunch of hype?

I was wrong to be skeptical. This race was outstanding. The scenery was gorgeous and challenging, and the race itself was well organized for the runners. The aid stations were well stocked and the volunteers were fabulous, there were motivational signs placed along the route, and the amount of cheering and bands along the route was just about right.

I had a great time! My one tip for runners of this race in the future is to take it easy on the uphill. We saw people powering themselves up the first hill and a lot of them were probably ridiculously spent at the end. There are LOTS of steep hills on this course since it is San Francisco. But the reward for the hills are the amazing views of Alcatraz, the Golden Gate, and the bay itself.

The one thing that should be fixed at the race is that there is a literal wall of people on the other side of the finish line. There were so many people stopping to get their pictures taken with a fireman handing out a Tiffany's necklace that it was actually a hazard for runners. I had to weave through them one step after I crossed the finish line. They should probably move the firemen several yards behind the finish line so runners don't have to come to an abrupt stop.

I ended up getting my necklace from a really young fireman who was standing way in the back. He seemed shy and stood back from the crowd. It was my pleasure to get a necklace from him, and when I opened up the box I was very happy with the shiny and pretty reward inside!