north face endurance challenge – San Francisco (marin headlands, really) half marathon photos

I ran the North Face Endurance Challenge san francisco half marathon a few weeks ago, and brought my iPhone with me to take some photos.  The race was staged in the gorgeous Marin Headlands.

This was around mile 1 or less.  The sun was still low in the sky, it was still chilly, and I felt fresh.

 

Around mile 1.5?

 

 

Tennesee Valley trail

 

The turn up the coastal trail for the 2nd major climb

 

First glimpse of the Pacific Ocean

 

Pretty steep pitch.  Pretty even mix of runners and walkers up the hill.

 

 

A few people had stopped here to enjoy the view.  This wasn’t quite the summit.

 

It was somewhere up there..

 

Another view of the ocean

 

The descent down Fox trail was just as steep.  Definitely hard to run down in a controlled manner.  I didn’t.

 

The Marincello climb was the start of the 3rd and final major climb.

 I was predictably exhausted at the end of the race but I’m happy with how I paced myself.  I went out a little less conservatively than I had planned but I was probably being a little overconservative.  And the race-day excitement gives you a little boost of energy.