This was a low-key race with 997 participants between three running events (a 5K, a 10K, and the Half Marathon) at Coyote Point Park.  The course was almost completely flat, and on asphault-covered pathways the whole way.  The course ran South along the Western shore of the Bay, starting at Coyote Point Park and with a turnaround point that was well-monitored at the 6.5 mile mark.    I felt terrific on the way out.  Just after I passed the 6 mile marker, the biker with the lead male flag was coming in the opposite direction, so I was excited to see that the lead male had less than a 1 mile lead on me.  On the way back, with the water on my right side, the southward winds were strong enough to feel like it got harder (typically only noticeable on a bike, but a strong enough headwind makes me feel that way on a run too).  I finished in 1:29:49, which got me 2nd place in my M 40-44 group, which had 38 participants.  I won a bottle of wine -- the first running race in which I've podiumed.  It's also my first sub-1:30 half marathon, a target I've been trying to hit (and missed by 21 seconds in my last half marathon).  I drank the wine over dinner the following evening.  It tasted extra-good because of what it symbolized.

-Alex Arrow, Nov 17, 2011