to name a few wrote:
Primo Numero Uno wrote:
I don't think you understand the difference between the Bay area and the rest of Norcal. Santa Rosa being bay area is a stretch for me with it being about 50 miles north of the bay. Ukiah is over 100 miles from the bay so definitely not bay area. Funny that those 2 cities with a combined population of about 200K produced those 3 runners and the Bay area with it's millions has a much weaker tradition.
My feel is much of the bay area sucks to run in. Have you tried running in most of San Fran or Oakland? It's pretty much streets. Of all the metropolitan in the US I've traveled to the bay area has fewer good places to run than most. Palo Alto has some good running spots but it isn't as population dense.
The Census Bureau defines the Bay Area as Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano, and Sonoma Counties. Santa Rosa does have a great tradition in distance running but athletes at schools like Maria Carrillo, Montgomery, and other Santa Rosa schools compete against schools in the rest of Bay Area. Maybe Ukiah is a stretch but it’s still part of the North Coast Section, which is mostly Bay Area schools, and we are really only talking about one runner.
I do agree that San Francisco is probably the worst place in the Bay Area to run, but even then, how many other cities have a Presidio or a Golden Gate Park? Most cities are just streets downtown, but near Oakland have you ever run in Redwood Park, San Joaquin Miller or Tilden Park in Berkeley? What about the Marin Headlands? There are many trail ultras run on Bay Area trails, including the North Face 50. How many other metros can make that claim?
The problem with the OP’s assertion that the Bay Area has bad (per capita) at high school running is that no one has provided quantitative evidence. It may be true, but let’s see some supporting data.
Santa rosa also isnt "50 miles from the bay." It is 50 miles from San Francisco, but only about 5 miles from the northern most extent of the bay, a lot of tidal salt marshes reaching up that direction, most of them still intact having survived 150 years of growth.