Yesterday’s Nike Women’s Marathon in San Francisco comes around about this time every year, and it’s only grown in size since the inaugural race nine years ago. It is the largest half and full women’s marathon in the world, and it raises money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.
This year, nearly 25,000 women helped raise money and awareness for the cause; however, it isn’t just like any other marathon. There’s something different about it that’s different than any marathon or half marathon I’ve ever seen.
Before the race, which starts bright and early at 7 a.m. when the wind is blowing through the streets and giving your bare running legs goose bumps, thousands and thousands of women gather around Union Square and absorb their surroundings. As they stand shoulder to shoulder in a crowd of strangers, the women listen to a cancer survivor talk about her fight and victory against the disease. The speech connects to these strangers in a way you would never imagine, because together they are helping fight for those who can’t.
This year was my ninth time running the race, and it has always been the one event of the year I look forward to. I travel to San Francisco with my mom, her friends and their daughters, and we spend the weekend enjoying each other’s company and running for the cure.
It seems that even though the race is to raise funds for something so serious, every woman comes to San Fran to have a good time. While on the course, I always see women wearing tutus, girls laughing and dancing, and their supporters on the sidelines with signs and words of encouragement and love. My favorites this year were, “Keep it up, girls! Call me at the finish line! (415) XXX-XXXX” and “The pain is temporary. Bragging rights last forever”. The other encouragement I get while running is seeing the names of those who have passed on the backs of people shirts. “I run for ______”. Being surrounded by women who have lost loved ones to cancer and joining them in making a difference really makes me want to keep coming back year after year.
When most people are asked why they love doing this race, they give a few or all of these reasons: Pampering (there are tons of different massage flavored oxygen and sports bra exchange stations along the course that make the race a little more do-able), the course (which leads you through the beautiful city of San Francisco, passing the Golden Gate Bridge, Coit Tower and Ghirardelli Square), the bragging rights (because the system uses a lottery for entry into the race, it is one of the most difficult races to get into), the firemen (who are dressed in tuxedos and hand out the “medals” to the finishers—all of whom are very attractive), the bling (instead of a typical race medal, the women who finish are rewarded with a Tiffany & Co. necklace—yes, just to clarify, every women gets a little blue box handed to them directly by a cute fireman. Why wouldn’t you sign up for the race?), and fighting Leukemia, of course.
As the only marathon I know of that gives out Tiffany’s necklaces, I can easily say it is my favorite race I’ve ever done. Even though there’s a necklace and a cute fireman waiting for me at the finish, the real reward is bonding with my mom and friends while helping make a difference for those who cannot fight for themselves. Because this race has gotten so popular over the last few years, I’ve heard word of the same race being held in Washington D.C. in April. Fellow runners, check it out! If you can’t travel too far, there are even all-women races you can do right here in Philly, like the Philadelphia Women’s Triathlon and SheROX Philadelphia.