San Francisco Giant Race presented by Alaska Airlines
San Francisco Giant Race presented by Alaska Airlines
( 25 reviews )-
San Francisco,
California,
United States - August
- 3 miles/5K, 6 miles/10K, 13.1 miles/Half Marathon, Virtual Race
- Road Race
- Event Website
Janelle McLeod
California, United StatesOverall
T-Shirts/SWAG
Aid Stations
Course Scenery
Expo Quality
Elevation Difficulty
Parking/Access
Race Management
I always love running these Giant races; not just because I am a San Francisco Giants fan, but because the atmosphere is always so happy and positive. I ran the 5k this year with my husband as he isn't much of a runner so we kept the distance short. One of the perks of these runs is that you get to finish ON the baseball field; which is always exciting if you are a huge Giant fan like we are. To be able to experience what it is like looking up at the stadium from the field, sitting on the outfield grass and even admiring how large the scoreboard and the lights feel from the ground is awesome.
There are always thousands of people running these Giant races, and we were in the "2nd" corral- but still started about 10 minutes after the first wave. Because there are so many participants, the race administrators release each corral in 3-4 waves every 2 minutes or so to prevent traffic jams. This race is held along one side of the 2-lane Embarcadero which is right by the wharf in San Francisco. Because it is on the actual road, there isn't a lot of room for passing or large crowds to walk side by side so I appreciate their efforts in minimizing bottlenecking. It's a simple out and back race, so you will end up sharing half of the road with the returning runners after about 15 minutes from the start of the race.
Other than the on-field finish, one of my other favorite parts about the Giant Race is the SWAG. Not only do you get a tech tee with the year of the race and the city on it; but you get a nice, heavy duty medal that is specific to the town/race you are running. Because there are 4 races in the Giant Race Series (Scottsdale, Sacramento, San Jose and San Francisco), you not only get a medal at each race; but you earn points to receive other medals at the end of the series. You will earn the Turn Two award for finishing the SF and SJ races, the Three Bagger award for finishing SF, SJ and Sacramento. Finally, you could earn the Series Sweep award for doing all 4. There are virtual options available if you are unable to travel to all of the cities which still qualify you for the medals. I was able to do all 4 runs this year and walked away with a total of 7 medals!
The Giant Race series are also family friendly as they allow children and strollers at most of the events. I always suggest checking their website beforehand to make sure; but I see them out there a lot.