For anyone who has done the race before competitively, what can I expect? I have a seeded number and it says I have to enter the start area before 7AM even though the race doesn't start until 8. What do I do with my sweats? Also, how long is the hill, and what is the course like in general? I know it goes East to West, does that mean there is wind?
[quote]bay runner wrote:
What do I do with my sweats? quote]
Plan on taking a pair of your least expensive sweats (grey cotton?) and plan on making a charitable donation to SF's homeless population.
I was in the sub-seed corral last year and got there right around 7AM. I showed up in my jersey and shorts ready to go and warmed up by running 10 minutes down the road to a hotel I found and stretched in the lobby inside. Other runners were staying there so no one really seemed to notice (care?) that I was chilling there, then about 7:20 I ran back to the start to get in my corral. If it is warm enough out you could try that.
If by competivly you mean in the front rank with assigned spaces/numbers, no. (Although one year a bud of mine and I drew a couple of squares on the back of the front grid, in red and green and printed Panama and Tijuana on them:) and actually got to line up with the elite guys....lol on them)
So you have somebody with you to take care of your gear and give you a ride back--although we real runners always ran back afterwards!
You got a flat mile and some to the hill section, which is really only several--maybe four-- blocks of pretty steep stuff and after that of course same for downhill, then you turn and jig a stretch down to the "panhandle" of GG Park, where it flattens out and heads into the park proper. Once in the main park it generally meanders down to the beach, and no more hills. It can be very intense because of all the downhill. Used to be when you got down to the bottom of GGP drive you'd turn left at the highway 101 and have about 600 yds (rough) to the finish. Years later they turned right at the bottom and finished sort of uphill just before the Cliffhouse and by an old amusement park.
Anyway when you see the bottom of the park comning up and the great highway with the turn, better hotfoot it because you're only a good sprint from the finish--at least that's what it used to be. Never have known wind to be a problem, except maybe some years at the highway finish along the beach.
Beware of "centipedes"-- some of those suckers are pretty fast and can sting you in the end.
whoever said just ditch your sweats is right, if you're not in the elite group you don't really have another option.
The course is pretty good. The Hayes Street Hill is steep but it's only about 800 meters long. Once you get to the park it's all downhill and you can really roll.
He can ditch all of his clothes if he wants in this race, but I recommend a jock to keep the boys from swinging.