Khalas! Stick a fork in the NWM 2011

...so I ran the half-marathon instead of the full since I busted my ankle over the weekend. Y'all will be proud to know I ran it in 2 hours and 20 minutes so approx. 10.3 minute-mile, which ain't bad for someone who hasn't been training much lately AND who seriously sprained her ankle the week before...to give you a sense of what I got out this...TIFFANY NECKLACE!Quick review of the race per my fave running blogger's style (i.e. Skinnyrunner) and, oh yes, newbie runners can be obnoxious, too:

1) DISORGANIZED: Quite simply, it was a clusterfuck. Nike was extremely disorganized and herded people around like cattle--this was especially insensitive considering many of the runners were cancer patients or cancer survivors. I was honestly worried that people would die in stampede-like conditions/smothering the morning of the race considering how many people had been packed into a small area and that Nike didn't coordinate the bag drop-off well and EVERYONE was crowding around the buses responsible for stowing all of our packs and jackets. It took three tries to wade through the tight crowd with people stepping over kids and older runners...not a cool sight to behold...looked like a football game in your Latin American country of choice about to go bad in terms of crowd control.

I heard that many of the timing chips failed to work so people did not get their race results and the water/refreshment stands could have been better manned. I won't even get into the transportation back to the starting site, though it seems they were better organized than last year. There was a bit of wait, but it went relatively smoothly.

Let me also say that timing the race to start at 7AM and coincide with a day (Sunday) when BART runs from 8AM until midnight is not the best planning...That said, their med station was well-stocked and the doctors were very nice (I limped in post-finish to test their quality...I'm generous and empirical like that).

2) COMMERCIAL TO A FAULT: The expotique was a nightmare and I'm surprised anyone had the stamina to actually purchase Nike attire. In fact, that entire area around Union Square was just profoundly uncomfortable to be around with all of the noise and mindless product placement. The commercial aspect of this race is way too pronounced and you really don't get much for all of the hype. Unbeknownst to me, I was a Nike+ member (still not sure what that is...) and was supposed to have all of these perks...Yeah, saw none of that and the staff weren't very helpful in giving me information on how to take advantage of it. I honestly just ran the race, iced my ankle, packed up and went home.

3) PEOPLE ARE MEAN: There are some nasty runners out there...let me just say that. Seriously, MISS NASTY RUNNER you are not Kara Goucher and this ain't the Olympics or Boston, bitch. We are both finishing a half marathon in 2 hours and considerable change--no need to elbow your way to the finish line because you aren't breaking any records, sister. Just sayin'.

4) COURSE IS AWESOME: The views are truly spectacular and, honestly, this is not that hard of a run. I might have had some additional energy because I was coming from altitude, but I did not find the hills much more challenging than what I've run so far. If anything, the incline was not as steep. This is a great way to see some lovely parts of the city if you're a first timer to San Francisco, though I think I'm going to make my next San Fran experience the actual San Francisco Marathon.

5) SWAG SO SO: Ok, yes, yes...I got a 925 SilverTiffany necklace so I shouldn't complain and a semi-cute technical shirt in chartreuse (could they have picked a less-flattering color? maybe "mustard" or "snot" next time?)...the food could have been better, but yeah...that necklace is pretty awesome, I will admit. :)

6) FIREMAN PIMPLY TEENAGERS: So...they weren't as hunky as I hoped, but maybe I'm just too old for this...;)

7) TRUE HIGHLIGHT OF RACE OUTSIDE OF NECKLACE: My coffee-flavored GUs! They were seriously great-tasting! I hadn't sampled them beforehand and was very happy that they were actually super-delicious and not horrendous. They taste like freshly made chocolate buttercream frosting with a hint of coffee...yum.