Waking up early in the morning for a 6:30 a.m. start for a race is never something anyone really enjoys… not even the runners. I think we have just become accustomed to being a little crazy. We hardly go to bed early and if we do, we might just lay there with race day excitement or nerves. This time, I would be on the cheering side of the equation. My sister was in town for the Nike Women’s Marathon in San Francisco and she was running the Half. Being familiar with the city, I was tasked with helping out with expo and race day logistics and helping to cheer.
We rolled out at 5 a.m. for a drive into the city, my family and hers, all piled into the car and made our way in. We dropped her off at the start, she was in the 7 am corral, but we had her at the start at 6. We then decided to make our way to mile 5 and stopped off for breakfast and warmth at a Starbucks near the Palace of Fine Arts. On an overcast and cold morning and having a 2-year-old with us, we took advantage of keeping her out of the cold as long as possible. This meant we missed most of the sub-2 runners for the half (and comparable marathoners).
But when we got there, we cheered and spotted many familiar faces. We shouted things like “this way” and made gestures with the foam fingers (not the Miley kind… ok, maybe once or twice). We gave runners “free high fives” and said funny things like “high fives make the hills easier.” I also asked people if they had seen my sister: “runner, long hair, wearing running shoes, carry water, anyone? anyone?” Ya, we had a good time.
Cheering, giving out FREE high fives and pointing runners in the right direction.
With my sis… looking strong.
Sorry for not being at mile 3-4 as I thought we would be… mile 5 made a little more sense at the last-minute for ease.
Our goal was then to make it to mile 9-10. Parking was ridiculous down by Golden Gate Park and it took us longer than expected to get situated. Once we did, we realized we may have missed my sister (ahem, Nike tracking not really user-friendly). Her phone had died as we would discover later and our VM and texts were going unanswered. What to do?!?
We decided to cut our losses and make our way closer to the finish line as we knew we could make it there. Sure enough, she came through and we have her final cheers as the finish line was just around the corner.
The finisher’s necklace. X to commemorate the 10th year of the race.
I was proud of her for running the half and taking on the San Francisco hills. Most of her training being done on a treadmill and really only going as high as a 10k, she ran a strong race. With a Tiffany Necklace in hand and family around her, I think the weekend was a success. Her goal was to finish and she did. Of course, we always want to go a little faster once things are all said and done, but that course is no joke and “from what I hear” it is pretty crowded for a good portion of the course.
Oh ya, I also helped pitch in for some of her fresh kicks and designed a custom shirt that of course her brother is going to hook her up with.
Check out the LIMITED EDITION RUN ALL DAY shirt
Limited Edition RUN ALL DAY shirt – only 100 will be made with the signature blue. Order here.
Nice job sis. You did it and you’ve got the necklace and swag to prove it.
After all the #werunsf tags, tweets and IG shares, do you want to run Nike next year?
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Way to go sister! :) I’d love to run Nike some year. Looks like a blast!
you are too cute! :) sad i missed this race this year and missed seeing you! such a fun weekend last year! :)
Great job to your sister! How awesome! I would love to run this one some day! I mean a finishers necklace from Tiffanys??? That’s awesome!
Your family is so cute! Congrats to your sister :)
It sounds like you were awesome spectators! I love runners who are spectating, they know what you need when you run by.
Congrats to your sis. Running in SF is always challenging. I would love someday to run the Nike Women’s Marathon. I love the idea of a huge women’s race like that.
LOVE that you cheered your sister on! I am sure having you as a motivator was a big help :)
Congrats to your sister!
I don’t know about Nike, but I do want to run an SF race one day.
always great when you can cheer on family in THEIR races – congrats to big sis!
Congrats to her! Love the shirt. That is one tough half to conquer with all the hills, she did awesome!
YES I DO! Want to run SF! Holy, that would be a super awesome race and vacay! Oh, and I love the updates you made to your blog interFUce.
p.s. Those Nike’s totally rock.
I wanted that tank so bad but the Nike store was sold out
Impressive to run a half with only a 10K as the longest run under her belt before. Congrats to your sister accordingly.
YAY SISTER!! Way to go girlie!!!
And way to support like a pro pavey!!
You’re an awesome brother!! Congrats to your sister! Those hills were no joke. I would love to do the NWM again. :)
NICE Job to your sister!! And way to be an awesome brother and cheer her on! Glad I was able spot you on course despite sunscreen complications! ;)
TIFFANY’s is ROCKING IT OUT!!! Didn’t know they made such things! May look into them again! :)
I love this. I can’t believe I did the half over a year ago. My sister will agree, the tracking system was terrible. Congrats to your sister, that race is no joke and she earned her necklace.
Love the love & following on IG too!!!!
I would love to run it some year. Mostly for the visit to SF though.
I didn’t know your sister was a runner too. Love that you two share that and that you were able to go out and support her.
My brother is not into it at all, I am working on my SIL with little luck, but the 2 year old nephew I am going to get. He loves to tell everyone about “Gomo (aunt in Korean) runnin” and talk about how he runs, yelling “I’m runnin” the whole way. It makes me happy.
Awesome all around. Congrats to your sister!! Spectating a race is no joke! It’s a lot of work to be a sherpa.
What a good brother you are! Also, love the new look of the website (it is new, right? Rough couple of weeks at work … )
Such a great brother you are! Congrats to your sister! I hope to run Nike one day, but probably in DC since it’s a bit closer (and not quite as hilly) as SF :P
Thank you all for the congrats, I appreciate it! I had a ton of fun with this run and absolutely love my necklace and all the other fun souvenirs I got including my limited edition nike shoes, finishers tee, and my nwm shirts & sweatshirt!! I cannot thank my brother, his wife, my niece the first lady, my husband and 2 children enough for all of their love and support. I could not have done any of it without them. Their cheers and high fives on the sidelines not only helped me but thousands of other runners that day including family and friends of ours from near and far. My son still hasn’t stopped talking about all the “high fives” he received that day and all the people who knew his uncle “Pavement Runner”!! My brother is a true inspiration to me and when I grow up want to be just like him :P. Seriously though he’s awesome but you all already know that!! He always says the best way to keep running is to continue racing so this was the first of many half marathons for me to come. I have already made plans to run the surf city half in Huntington Beach in February 2014 and the SF Rock n Roll half marathon in April 2014. Thanks again bro! I love you!
I love this post! I think it’s so special when you get to cheer for family members doing something you love too. Congrats to your sister!