I traveled to San Francisco from Dallas with 12 of my run friends to run the Rock n Roll San Francisco half on April 7. I was intrigued by the opportunity to run across the Golden Gate Bridge and the experience was everything I hoped it would be! The course was difficult with some very tough hills and inclines but the views were worth the climb. I loved the course. The views were spectacular. The Run to Remember mile up one of the more steep hills was very moving with the photos of fallen soldiers and people holding American flags to change the focus from how tough the hill was to how fortunate I was to have the freedom and ability to run.

The expo was decent and I liked the location of both the expo as well as the start/finish lines of the course. The only thing that I wasn't satisfied with was the shirt design this year. I have run several Rock n Roll races and the shirts are usually great but this particular design was very ugly and low-budget in appearance. Also, the new system of using LED lights at the start instead of traditional corrals was very confusing. I couldn't hear what the announcers were saying and I couldn't figure out where I was supposed to be and when. I ended up missing my Corral 2 wave start (although I was there over an hour early) and had to start with Corral 3 just because of the confusion in the start area and not hearing or seeing when my color was supposed to go.

However, the post-race area was great! A lot of great post-race snacks and rehydration options were offered, more than I've gotten in many marathons I've run and this was just a half.

Overall, this was a great experience. I enjoyed the race and the course and it was one of the most memorable races I've run!