My hotel was about a block from the finish line and my hotel which was incredible. The hotel had great support for runners (Holiday Inn Express) and did early check-in's and out's by request. I got all checked in with a roomy set up. In true runner fashion, I unpacked, took some photos and checked the bus schedule to head down to the Embarcadero for the Expo. The bus ride was about 30 minutes but took us through some amazing scenes.

The Expo was relatively some for a Rock'n'Roll race but got all the essentials. Grabbed my bib, some souvenirs and then headed off to the pier. With a 6 am start time, dinner was early and then a bus ride back to the hotel.

The race offered shuttles from the finish line to the start line beginning at 3:30 am. Great! Since the finish line was a block away, I had a 3:30 am wake up call and headed to the shuttles at 4 am. The one thing I love about San Francisco is the cool weather in the wee hours of the morning. There were plenty of runners and great organization to get folks on the shuttles in an orderly fashion. Kudos to Rock'n'Roll for having Porta-Potties at the shuttle pick up along with the start line.

We arrived at the start line area around 15 minutes later with plenty of time to stretch, hit a bathroom and get in the chute before 5:45 am. As always, lots of patience needed to get through the bathroom lines. There was not music or a normal celebratory start since we were in the middle of a public park and neighborhood. Everyone did their own countdowns as the groups departed. We left the park and up our first expected gnarly hill before mile 1. It was great to have a selfie stop right at mile 1 which reinvigorated the runners after battling hill number 1. One of the great parts of this course is "what goes up must come down". Great downhills help manage the steep inclines and average a decent pace.

By far the best part of this course was crossing the Golden Gate Bridge. What a view! There are only 2 races that shut down the bridge and it was a treat! It also helped that the turnaround at the bridge marked almost the halfway point of the race. I absolutely loved the photo opportunities! The end of the race (miles 10-13) were some challenging/not-impossible rolling "hills" which was great for run/walk intervals. The finish line is at the bottom of a hill which made for a great sprint to the finish.

The finish line was gorgeous and full of amenities. Massages, treats, a complimentary beer and some insane music. I hurried myself along, as I had a 12 pm flight back to Seattle. I would recommend this race to anyone. Great support from the community, great aid stations and selfie stations were amazing!

Don't miss an opportunity to run the Golden Gate in this beautiful California city!

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