Kaiser San Francisco Half Marathon and 5K Run

It was an awesome day in San Francisco for a half marathon! Runners seemed to enjoy their time alongside the beautiful, clear ocean view, beneath the warm sunshine. Over 10,000 runners came out for the race, which slowed us down for the first 3 miles. Eventually everyone fell into their proper places. As runners started to filter out, our pace increased to match the pace of the runners around us who were a little faster. Near mile 9, the crowd's energy inspired an even faster pace.

Awareness is key. As I became aware of how my body reacted to various external factors I could predict the points in the race where I would either need to find better placement, or speed up to counteract lost time. Do you prepare for and control changes in pace, or do you simply react to them?