SF Giant Race

Have you ever had one of those races where you genuinely love everything about it — from the location, the weather, the course and all the race weekend vibes in general?  ME TOO!

Last August my sister and I decided to join thousands of runners in a sea of orange and black to run 13.1 in SF for The San Francisco Giant Race.  For two sisters who spent years of their childhood growing up watching Giants games at Candlestick Park – this race was on our radar as soon as we heard about it.

The morning before the race, we flew out of Orange County (not before slugging back my mandatory pre-flight bloody mary)..I hate to fly!

These are our “we got up at 3:00am for this” faces.

Once we arrived, we got our rental car (nothing quick about that process), and sped off to AT&T Park, where the race expo was being held.  I snapped a picture of this as my sister drove by what used to be Candlestick Park, although the stadium is gone, the exit sign is still up.  We have so many great memories at that park, I’m sad it no longer stands.

The line for the expo was long, but they had it set up all around the hallways of the stadium which was really nice because it allowed you to move around in a big circle to collect your race gear, and you could cruise through all the vendors that were set up. Loved the lay out of it all, and of course there were photo ops along the way.

After we came out of the expo, we posed for a few pics around the backside of the stadium; if you’ve never been to AT&T Park, it is an absolute must see for any baseball fans.

Right on the water, and it was a beautiful day!

After the expo, we headed to the Giants Dugout Store (aka money pit)!  That’s where I found this MUST-have accessory and my sister found a Craw Claw!

We did some solid damage in there and worked up an appetite.  That predicament landed us here at this fine establishment…

Most Bay area residents or Giants fans heading to and from games have likely stumbled upon this fun food and beverage hot spot – MoMo’s!   The plan was lunch and “one drink,” but after a beer with our pizza (you know, carb-loading) my  sister instigator thought a fireball toast was in order – I mean how often do we get to come to SF, after all?!

Finally got back to our hotel and started setting up for our race morning.  The free shirts we got were a cool jersey style shirt.  Loved it!

The next morning we were super excited to see so much orange and black, all the Giants fans.  It was amazing!   I was all set to run 13.1 miles in a foam world series ring hat and carry a selfie stick while my sister would be waving her Craw-Claw right beside me.

But first – one normal start line picture.

Ready.To.Rock.

I had a few people ask to take a picture with me and my ring hat and I got more high fives than I could have counted that day.

It was PERFECT weather that morning.  Overcast, and probably in the 60’s the whole race.  The sun did not come out until the finish line.  With that and the relatively flat course, this actually had some good potential for anyone looking to PR.  As you can see, that was not our goal.  Haha!  We just ran this one for fun.

I mean, how could you not stop for pictures?

One more quick stop for Alcatraz…don’t mind our photobomber – we don’t know her either!

Oh, and how cool is it that you actually get to finish the race inside AT&T Park?!

If you’re wondering if I made the entire 13 miles wearing that ring hat and carrying a selfie stick, you can check that status here on my homestretch.  Nailed it!

Annnnnnd yes, there is a hole in the medal so you can wear it like a WS ring!

Pretty sweet after party location, I must say – Cheers!

After the race, we headed back to the hotel to shower so we could check out and go see a few sights.  We were flying home later that evening, which was probably the worst decision we made that weekend.  Take an extra day to see San Francisco and shop.

It’s refreshing to visit somewhere in the dead of Summer that is so green, and cool enough to wear jeans!

We spent most of our weekend twinning!

I can not wait to run this race again this year.  Looking forward to meeting up with fellow runners and bay area friends — and ditching the selfie stick and ring hat to run the course for pace this year!

See you soon, San Francisco!

Who else is planning to run this in September, or has run it in years past?

Don’t forget, if you’re looking to run the 5k, 10k or half marathon this year on 9/11/16 you can use my promo code FITWITHLISS to get $10 off!