Tag Archives: Santa Cruz

Relay Recap

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This weekend I ran my first ever relay race at the Capitola Half Marathon, part of the Surfer’s Path Marathon. I ran the inaugural Capitola Half Marathon last year so I was excited to run the relay this year. While I didn’t really “race” this relay, it was still a great race for me and I met the goals I set for myself. And this ended up being even more fun because seven other members of Santa Cruz Endurance (SCE) also ran in the relay (spoiler: they all did AWESOME!)

capitola half relay sign 2

The day before the race several SCE runners also volunteered at the Girls on the Run 5k in Los Gatos. Leslie and I carpooled and after a Starbucks pit stop and a little walk to our designated volunteer location, we were ready. Ok, not really. There was some serious confusion about the course and we didn’t get it cleared up until a few minutes before the first runners came through. Leslie and I gave out  A LOT of high fives and it was so awesome to see all these girls (and their families) running their first 5ks. They were little troopers for sure! Following that, Leslie and I did some shopping, had some lunch, and headed back to Santa Cruz. I was pretty beat but luckily, my relay partner Hillary worked the expo and was able to pick up our bibs so I didn’t have to… score!

SCE Volunteers with GOTR Coach (& SCE speed demon) Jenn B.

SCE Volunteers with GOTR Coach (& SCE speed demon) Jenn B.

Sunday morning I woke up a little before 6am, battled some small stomach aches, forced myself to eat a little peanut butter, and headed to the second leg of the relay start. I wanted to still have a long run this week and ran that by the coach, so I decided to run/jog to the start line about two and a half miles away. I arrived at the start just before 7am. The race started at 7am, so this gave me plenty of time. I ran into the other SCE 2nd leggers as well as the awesome Michelle (part of the M & M duo) who was racing for Fleet Feet Racing Santa Cruz. I did a little loop with Leslie and Michelle, took some photos with team (thanks Laura!), and before we knew it the first leggers were coming into the transition. The SCE men’s team, mixed team, and other women’s team all powered through. Before I knew it, Hillary’s number was called and I prepped to start my 6.64 mile leg. The race organizers had given us slap bracelets instead of batons and I think Hillary and I had way too much fun with this! Hillary came speeding into the transition, slap bracelet ready, and I had my arm extended, yelling “slap me!” Ha!

Ready to run!

Ready to run!

capitola half relay signs 1

Slap Bracelet!

Slap Bracelet!

The race went well. I really just wanted to see where I was in my training and if I could maintain a 7:30 pace for 6+ miles. I started out a little quick, but the course immediately takes up a decent climb so that sobered my pace. I was surrounded by guys and held my place. I could see a local Santa Cruz runner, Jose, a little ahead of me and decided to keep my eyes on him because I knew his marathon pace would be a good overall pace for me. Around mile 3, I caught up to him and we ran the rest of the race together. It was fun to have him to run next to and help me hold my pace. The course is full of good rollers so having someone to focus on rather than the ups & downs was very nice indeed. My miles were as follows:
Mile 1 – 7:27
Mile 2 – 7:27
Mile 3 – 7:38
Mile 4 – 7:39
Mile 5 – 7:34
Mile 6 – 7:22
Last 0.64 – 4:40

Coming up to the finish with my running buddy, Jose

Coming up to the finish with my running buddy, Jose

Love this photo Elise caught of me coming up to the finish!


I love this course because it’s where I always run. I know it really well and have a good idea of where to be conservative and where to push. The race finishes on the sand but thankfully it’s just a few steps. As soon as my foot hit the sand I could hear and see all my team members at the finish. But the best part was that Kevin surprised me by being at the finish! Love that! The medals were really cool and we got some nice snacks and a frisbee. I saw SCE & SFM ambassador Elise, who did major work volunteering for this event. Seriously, I don’t know if the race could have happened without her. And I also got to see fellow SFM ambassadors Alisyn and Paulette who also did some amazing volunteering (Alisyn also does a ton of work for this event). While waiting for the awards, the SCE women all got some nice chiropractic work and enjoyed the beach.

capitola half relay finish line 1

capitola half relay finish line 2

I checked the results and my team (SCE Chicks) finished with a time of 1:35:58. (I wish I ran that as a real half, ha!) Some Garmin watches read the race at 12.8 miles rather than 13.1 but it’s hard to know. The course is not USATF certified so it is possible it’s a smidge short. Anyway, the official results had the SCE men’s team in first place (mens & overall), the SCE mixed team in first place (mixed team, 3rd overall), the other SCE women’s team (Team Nice) in 2nd (women’s, 5th overall) and Hillary and I finished third (women’s, 8th overall). I am very happy with the results and, more importantly, I had so much fun!! (Results were updated May 21 and I’ve updated this paragraph accordingly.)

Team SCE Chicks!

Team SCE Chicks!

Fleet Feet & SCE Finishers

Fleet Feet & SCE Finishers – Don’t those new SCE singlets look snazzy?

Hillary & I with our fave photographer & volunteer! (Laura & Elise)

Hillary & I with our fave photographer & volunteer! (Laura & Elise)

Post race festivities

Post race festivities

After the race, Leslie and I jogged back to my house for a cool down. Then Kevin, Hillary, Leslie, and I all me up at Greek Festival downtown for some delicious food and cold beers. A perfect way to reward ourselves after a good race!

medal & bib photo

*disclosure: I did volunteering for this race and received a free race entry, but this my honest appraisal of the event.*

Run Safely Runners

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We in Santa Cruz know these are dangerous times… February, in particular, has been a crime heavy month. And we are saddened by the loss of two police officers yesterday. This has been on my mind as a runner and so I provided some suggestions to run more safely in my SFM Ambassador blog post. I hope you take a moment to consider adjusting some of your runs to keep you a bit more safe.

I also wanted to share the image that the local She.Is.Beautiful race posted on their facebook page this morning. Let’s focus on this as we move forward as a community and hopefully make Santa Cruz a safer community.

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Wharf to Wharf 2012

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I ran my 2nd Wharf to Wharf last weekend. Wharf to Wharf is a huge deal in Santa Cruz. It’s a 6 mile race (.2 mile short of a 10k) dating back to 1973. There are 15,000 registered runners and thousands of others who run, walk, and join in the fun. It’s immensely popular, selling out in a week this year. Last year I ran it just to run it, to be a part of something so Santa Cruz. This year I trained and hoped to make it into the top 100 (I didn’t, but that’s ok).

Me at Wharf to Wharf last year

One of the coolest parts about this year’s race was that Kevin ran as well. He had a crazy work schedule and wasn’t able to really train until just a few weeks before the race but he really worked hard and added up the miles quickly. I love getting to run with him so I really enjoyed joining him on his training runs. We didn’t run the race together as I had aimed for a faster finishing time, but his good friend ran the race with him and we met up at the end.

I ran the race with a Santa Cruz Endurance member Laura. Laura had been training with me at all of the track workouts and we have a pretty similar pace. She is an excellent training partner as she consistently pushes me when I’m losing steam on the track. I look forward to training together more.

Me, Laura, and Elise after the race

Race morning our buddy Pat picked up Kevin and me. We swung by Capitola to pick up another SCE runner and a new good friend, Shoshanah. We headed to the start line and found Santa Cruz to be a giant traffic jam. Pat navigated some side streets and dropped us off right by the start. Kevin did some stretches while Sho and I did a 2 mile warm up run. I left Sho behind, found Kevin and headed to the start. We soon parted ways as I needed to be at the start of the general runners since I didn’t have an elite bib. I quickly found Laura and as soon as they opened the gate, I joined her about 30 seconds behind the start line.

just a few runners!

It was a crazy start. No countdown, just a sudden gun shot signaling the start. Laura and I ran together the whole race, keeping a pretty steady 7:29 pace with the exception of our first mile that was a bit too speedy. We took the hills conservatively, slowing down on the uphills and letting gravity push us on the downhills. She kept up the motivation on the pace and because I knew the course well (its my normal running course), I kept her informed of hills, straight aways, and when we neared the finish. We crossed the finish line at 44:57 by my watch and 45 something by the gun clock. (The results say 45:10 but I don’t remember that being what I saw, more on that in a moment). I improved my time by 8 minutes from the previous year. I felt great and know that I will be able to run faster next year. We met up with all the speedy SCE runners (and a couple from SCTC too!), many who did make it into the top 100 (speedsters!).

Crossing the finish line with Laura

Kevin crossing the finish line

SCE & SCTC runners after the race

There was a some issues with the results. Despite the fact that I ran with Laura start to finish, for several days we had different finishing times (and at one point my chip time was slower than my gun time!). It took race organizers and the timing company three days to get the results corrected, including giving a finishing time to a friend who unfortunately could not finish and disqualifying another runner who did (this was finally corrected). Part of the problem has to do with the technology used, however, much of it is also due to the fact that many walkers start the race early and end up finishing with fast runners, even though it actually took them much longer. There was also several instances of men wearing women’s bibs, skewing the women’s results. I don’t need to go into but there are several solutions/actions that could be taken to prevent this in future. But just to demonstrate the massive changes, when results were first posted I was listed as the 228th female finisher but after the corrections, I jumped to 169th place.

Santa Cruz Endurance members

Despite this, I still enjoy Wharf to Wharf. Pat met us at the finish line and Elise rode her bike along the course and got several great photos of the runners. A group of us enjoyed brunch and mimosas after the race (a favorite post race splurge!). I am hoping to make it into the top 100 next year so I guess I’ll be back!

Post Race refreshments