Another fantastic race! This was my first ever "racecation" trip. I specifically chose the San Francisco Half Marathon so that I had an excuse to visit SF. And I was not disappointed in my race choice!

THE COURSE:
I honestly couldn't think of a more site-seeing friendly race if I tried. I had a choice between running the "First Half" (by the Golden Gate Bridge) or the "Second Half". I of course chose the First Half so I could run the iconic Golden Gate Bridge. It was incredible! You ran along the Embarcadero and Fisherman's Wharf, up the MASSIVE hill to the Golden Gate Bridge, along the Coastal Trail by the San Francisco Bay, and then down into Golden Gate Park for the finish. I mean, you couldn't dream up a more touristy, eventful race if you tried! Getting to run across the Golden Gate Bridge was hands down the most incredible thing I've done running-wise. But be warned, San Francisco is super hilly, so it definitely was a challenging and taxing course. And the hill up to the Golden Gate Bridge was a steep, long, and very slow climb for every runner out there (but the reward of crossing the bridge is SO worth it!).

RACE SWAG:
The race shirt was a long sleeve tech tee. It fit perfectly and had a great design. It was a tech tee (not my favorite) but I didn't mind since it fit so well. And the medal is really cool and featured the Golden Gate Bridge. Another positive was FREE RACE PHOTOS! Which was huge, because most races charge you through the nose for a not-so-flattering race photo...

FUEL STATION:
There were a decent amount of fuel stations (I think 6 total, spaced out every other mile), but I sort of thought there should be a few more. Each aid station had water, electrolyte drinks, toilets, and 1 station had Gu tablets (which I made use of after surviving the GGB hill climb).

POST RACE:
There was a large finisher's festival following the race. I didn't end up going to it (I prefer Brunch to post-race food), as I had to find a shuttle to get to it first. So I'm not sure what all they had there. Immediately following the 1st Half finish, there were the standard bananas, water, and electrolyte drink. The one extra that I partook in was the boozy Irish coffee ;).

TRANSPORTATION/PARKING:
I rented a hotel room within walking distance of the race, so I'm not sure about the parking situation. I do know that they offered FREE shuttle services for finishers of the 1st half to return to the finisher festival

RACE EXPO:
The race expo was fantastic. It was located on the Fisherman's wharf the year I went and it was massive! The vendors gave out tons of free stuff, including entire Power Crunch Bars and other full-size granola bars (I took like 10, and no one tried to stop me). Absolutely my favorite race expo!

OVERALL THOUGHTS:
I really enjoyed the San Francisco Half Marathon (1st Half)! It was everything SF packed into 13.1 miles and it was a blast! I hope to return to SF to run it again! And of course, I'd still do the First Half (even though I've already done it) because I loved getting to run the Golden Gate Bridge!