As I was tempted to walk during mile 10, I thought of the woman with short hair I had seen earlier in the race who had a sign on her back that read, “This sucks less than chemo.” Seeing her and other cancer survivors running was the ultimate motivation, and pushed me to finish strong during the last few miles.
Brooke Sperbeck
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It’s 6:30 a.m. on a Sunday, and I’m standing in 45-degree weather across from Union Square with 30,000 other people. As a full moon descends behind us on Post Street, spotlights flash and Beyoncé’s voice floods the speakers. The emcee finishes his countdown and fireworks go off as a mob of runners makes its way past the start line.
More than a quarter of a million women (and a few brave men) from around the world have flocked to this scene in San Francisco during the past 10 years. Nike has rewarded finishers of the Nike Women’s Marathon and Half Marathon with Tiffany & Co. necklaces in lieu of medals and, more importantly, raised more than $134 million for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.
I ran my first half marathon in San Luis Obispo in April, and was inspired to try another race to improve my time of two hours and four minutes. After hearing people rave about the Nike run — the biggest women’s race in the world — I decided to see what all the hype was about.
Upon signing up for the half marathon, I discovered college students are guaranteed acceptance into the race (normally you have to go through the lottery process) and pay a discounted registration fee.
This student perk likely accounted for the high number of college-aged women I saw running; 5,070 women aged 20-24 made up approximately 17 percent of the runners. Although Nike wouldn’t release the number of Cal Poly participants, at least 127 runners were from San Luis Obispo, according to the race results.
My training began in mid-August, and I (loosely) followed a 12-week plan that I found on Hal Higdon’s website. One week before the race, I did my longest run of 10.5 miles and was sure I’d be able to complete the course without a problem. But I felt less confident that I could run a personal best on a course notorious for its brutal hills.
I drove to San Francisco on Saturday and met some friends at our hotel before going to Union Square to check out the race “expotique,” a.k.a. every female runner’s dream.
As we walked inside the red tent that covered Union Square, we were handed freebies from sponsors such as Neutrogena, Luna Bar and Whole Foods. Special edition Nike gear — in Tiffany & Co. blue, of course — was displayed in glass cases and a disc jockey played upbeat pop music from the stage. I picked up my race packet and bib number and then went to load up on carbs at a nearby California Pizza Kitchen.
At 5 the next morning, my alarm went off. After a banana and Balance Bar, we walked a few blocks to Union Square where our nine-minute-per-mile pace group was lining up.
Any nerves I had vanished when I got to the starting area. Women of all sizes, skills and backgrounds were united in the dark streets of San Francisco to run together and support one another. It was inspirational to see so many strangers bonding over a common goal. One random runner even offered my friend Alex Kinnee, a Cal Poly history senior, a bagel as they stood together waiting for the race to start.
I started the run with friends, but I got separated from them and ran miles five through 13 alone. It wasn’t until mile six, in the face of a hill with an elevation gain of 175 feet over one mile, that I wished I had someone next to me to keep me motivated.
Kinnee, who ran the race with her roommate Pippa Whitehand, a Cal Poly nutrition senior, said having a running partner made all the difference.
“Last year I ran it by myself, and it was really overwhelming and scary because there are so many people that are running it,” Kinnee said. “I feel like I didn’t hit a breaking point this year because we were running it together, and it’s really nice to have moral support.”
The beauty of the course itself would have been a good source of distraction, if only I could have seen it. A thick fog blanketed the course, covering the scenic marina and making it impossible to see the ocean. This left me with no choice but to look straight ahead and pray the hills would end soon.
Luckily, inspiration from fellow runners took my mind off my aching legs. As I was tempted to walk during mile 10, I thought of the woman with short hair I had seen earlier in the race who had a sign on her back that read, “This sucks less than chemo.” Seeing her and other cancer survivors running was the ultimate motivation, and pushed me to finish strong during the last few miles.
At mile 13, I could see the finish line only a tenth of a mile away. I knew from the timer on my phone that I was just under the two-hour mark — reaching my goal. With my last bit of energy, I sprinted to the finish and was greeted by a firefighter with a little blue box, containing the silver Tiffany necklace I haven’t taken off since.
There’s nothing like the feeling of crossing a finish line, celebrating your accomplishment and knowing you deserve to eat as many calories as you want that day. It’s safe to say I’ll be back at the Nike race next year and will be encouraging everyone I know to join me. Whether you’re an experienced runner or just want to do it for fun, the Nike Women’s Marathon is an unforgettable weekend filled with empowering women, some bad blisters and a whole lot of jewelry.