The Great Highway

Along Ocean Beach in San Francisco is a sometimes windy, foggy, sandy, soggy road that is called the Great Highway. Many marathons, races and training runs hit this road because it's flat, scenic and has a great paved trail along it. It's not very long, but it adds a few miles to a run through the Golden Gate Park. Sarah and I have a love hate relationship with this trail. I think we love it because it's a no brainer - you don't have to worry about traffic or hills. But we hate it because it can be cold and very boring. It's hard to avoid it though because San Francisco is notorious for a lack for flat roads to run.

You can get an idea that this area is historic by looking at the crumbling promenade even before you hike up the hill to the Cliff House and Sutro Baths. The historic Playland Amusement Park used to draw people here, but now surfers and people walking their dogs are typically who you see along the beach and in the water. But when it's really warm out it can get crowded with people who are flying kites, sun bathing and otherwise looking for a typical California beach experience.

So this takes me to yesterday's run - down Arguello Blvd through the Golden Gate Park (a mild down hill) and along the Great Highway for a bit and then back home.

The 13 mile run wasn't bad, even with the rain that was of course at its worse along the Great Highway. My toes got a cold soaking in a few puddles but the rain never really got bad until I was back home. Today, I'm going to tempt the rain again and head out for my last run of the week, an hour run down Presidio.