This is my second-favorite (after Woodminster) race of the year in the San Francisco Bay Area. It's always on the same day in May as Bay to Breakers in SF, a race that I've never run but do know is much larger and more of a party. Tilden Tough Ten (TTT) is a different scene, more hardcore runners gathered high above the bay to run a scenic 10 miles, out and back on a mostly paved course. It goes to double track horse trail about mile 4, and then there is a very large downhill at about four-and-a-half miles in, and after that a turnaround point in a valley. The downhill quickly becomes an uphill.

The scenery is amazing (bridges! reservoirs!), cows are usually on-course, the race is always well-run, and the competition is pretty intense, locally speaking. This race is the kickoff event in the East Bay Triple Crown Trail Championships (https://eastbaytriplecrown.wordpress.com/), which features two other unique and hilly races in the Lake Chabot Trail Challenge Half-Marathon and then the Dick Houston Memorial Woodminster Cross-Country Race (handicapped start times based on age and gender, and also features the "Woodmonster," which is just a crazy and beautiful hill). I'll write reviews for those as well.

One of my favorite things about TTT are the T-shirts: there are special sub 60, 70 and 80-minute ones and earning any of them is an achievement. Every so often I'll be lining up for another Bay Area race, notice someone sporting a sub-70 Tilden shirt, and move a little bit further back behind the starting line. The shirts usually (maybe always?) have fun cows on them and are by far my favorite race tees to wear around.

It's a small race, capped at 300 runners with nice post-race snacks, great fun, and local feel. Parking can be a bit tight; the lot fills fast and cars then line the side of a twisty Wild Cat Canyon Road. Late arrivals can get a nice half-mile warmup in. I guess I should add a disclaimer that I'm a member of the sponsoring club, Lake Merritt Joggers & Striders (LMJS), but I'd always run this race even if I wasn't. The club has great volunteers that make it all possible and some proceeds are donated to the hosting East Bay Regional Parks District.