Run50 #4 | California: San Francisco Marathon Under the Rolling Fog

Preface

San Francisco has a huge reputation. In movies, the Golden Gate Bridge has been destroyed countless times. It seems to be an alien spacecraft's favorite piece of infrastructure. I had always wanted to take a look before the end of the world and see what the bridge looked like while it was still intact.

San Francisco also has a lot of fog, and the fog even has its own name: Karl. Karl is known as the city's most mysterious resident, and on social media she has 360,000 followers, sharing her moods with everyone day by day.

I had actually heard plenty about San Francisco's beauty before. When I chatted with Xiaofei from Taiwan, she told me she loved San Francisco and even showed me photos her photographer husband had taken there. Even through the screen, I could feel all that happiness.

So my expectations for San Francisco were completely maxed out. Finally, in July 2022, the chance came. 47 and I set out from Louisville and headed west toward California. After flying over Colorado's high mountains and canyons and Nevada's endless desert, we finally arrived at the destination of this trip: San Francisco.

Union Square

After leaving the airport, we took BART straight to Union Square, because our hotel was booked nearby.

Union Square is almost every visitor's first stop in San Francisco. It has the densest cluster of hotels, restaurants, shops and supermarkets, and it quickly sketches out the outline of the city.

It is also the most convenient transportation hub. Whether by foot, train, subway or bus, you can get almost anywhere in San Francisco from here. 47 was smart enough to book our hotel in this area, and she deserves a huge thumbs-up for that.

The moment we came out of the subway station, we were stunned. San Francisco's slopes are ridiculously steep. As locals say, it is very hilly. 47 and I, two such skinny little people, had to climb several hills just to reach the hotel entrance. It nearly took our lives.

Still, tired or not, my first impression of San Francisco felt fresh and fun, especially the cable cars. Every so often one passed by us, and the crisp bell sound was so pleasant it felt like a breeze brushing past.

San Francisco's cable cars began operating in 1873. They have been around for more than 150 years and are the world's only manually operated cable car system still in service.

I imagined myself sitting on a cable car, listening to the bright bells along the way, looking at the unique buildings along the street, and feeling the charm that belongs only to this city. Somehow, even pushing our luggage did not feel quite as exhausting.

California Academy of Sciences

For two people like 47 and me, who love learning new things, the first stop had to be the California Academy of Sciences.

The famous California Academy of Sciences was founded in 1853. Today it is one of the largest natural history museums in the world. This place is impressive, covering everything from the sky to the earth.

The California Academy of Sciences sits inside Golden Gate Park and has three main areas: an aquarium, a planetarium, and a natural history museum.

The planetarium impressed me the most. Inside there is a 75-foot dome that plays roughly 30-minute films about the universe at set times, with a different theme each time.

We watched two shows. The one that stayed with me most was about the scale of the universe. The film started from the tiny point of Earth and expanded outward into the vast cosmos. It was stunning.

It made me think of the worldview in The Three-Body Problem and Marvel's parallel universes. I think anyone who likes adventure probably carries some urge to look far away. For souls used to being boxed in, the sky overhead feels like a doorway to parallel universes, while the crowded city and noisy people below suddenly seem less important.

Golden Gate Bridge

After the California Academy of Sciences, we went with 47's good friend Anastasia for Korean hot pot buffet. The house-made drinks were unlimited and delicious. The place was small, but very popular.

We ate until we were full, then decided to go for a walk. Since Anastasia's apartment was right near the Golden Gate Bridge and she often posted Instagram photos that were clearly taken there, we figured we might as well go. As a semi-local, Anastasia became our guide and drove us to a small hillside by the bridge.

The wind beside the bridge was really strong. Anastasia clearly knew what she was doing: her car had all kinds of warm gear, and she very kindly lent me a red blanket. With proper equipment, the photos immediately looked better.

The Golden Gate Bridge is unbelievably famous. Many classic movie scenes were filmed here, including San Andreas, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, X-Men and more. It has been destroyed on screen again and again. The bridge is 2.7 kilometers long, about 120,000 cars cross it every day, and people can also walk or bike across it.

We were very lucky. Karl was probably asleep at that moment, because the weather was unexpectedly good. Anastasia was surprised too and said it had been foggy recently. We really were lucky.

By the bridge, some people were proposing and others were simply taking in the view. We felt the strong sea wind, looked out at the Golden Gate Bridge in the sunset, watched a few birds pass by, and stayed until night fell, enjoying a rare easy and peaceful moment.

San Francisco Chinatown

As one of the oldest Chinatowns in the world, San Francisco's Chinatown is probably the largest Chinatown in the American West, even comparable to New York's Chinatown. In the San Francisco Bay Area, with a total population of more than seven million, there are over 700,000 Chinese people.

Our hotel happened to be right next to Chinatown, so breakfast the next morning was planned there: preserved egg and lean pork congee, big buns, char siu. Just thinking about it made me happy.

47 and I wandered through San Francisco Chinatown under the flowing fog. With Karl around, this finally felt like the base color of the city.

Suozhang also left me a message saying San Francisco's summer was the coldest winter he had ever experienced. I went around in circles trying to understand that line, and I guess he meant San Francisco summers are very cold.

And yes, the fog-covered streets were much cooler. But when we walked into the Chinatown market, it was full of everyday warmth and human energy.

It felt like time travel, a little old and behind the times, but maybe that is also a snapshot of an era for the older Chinese immigrants who crossed the ocean back then. The shops and signs were all in Chinese. Uncles and aunties bought groceries along the street, and it felt no different from a market in a second- or third-tier city in China.

We bought congee and buns at a breakfast shop, but there was no dine-in, so we carried the food to the nearby Italian neighborhood, ordered a hot coffee, and paired it with preserved egg and lean pork congee plus char siu buns. It was a little mismatched, but somehow also kind of perfect.

Lombard Street

After leaving the Italian neighborhood, we climbed a few more slopes and arrived at the world's most crooked street, Lombard Street. It is famous and has become one of San Francisco's most attractive streets.

In the 1920s, Lombard Street was designed and built this way to ease traffic pressure. As a very short block between two streets, it has eight hairpin turns. Because the slope reaches about 40 degrees and curves like a Z, cars can only drive downhill one way.

To help prevent traffic accidents, San Franciscans built many flowerbeds on both sides of the winding roadway, allowing cars to spiral around them. Residents along the street also planted trees and flowers in front of their homes, adding color to the street. Today, flowers and plants line the whole block, with something blooming in every season.

Travel guides say that when you climb to the top of the street, you can look back over the view, then drive downward from the top, watching cars snake one after another while enjoying the layered, colorful flowers and this one-of-a-kind scene. But we did not rent a car, so we missed this chance to improve our driving skills.

Bike the City

I really like biking. Back in China, I often rode shared bikes all over the place.

I had long heard that San Francisco has a special love for bikes. Almost every main road has bike lanes, and after just a turn, you can find bike rental spots on nearly every corner. Cyclists can be seen moving through the city's streets and alleys everywhere.

But we went one step further and booked a bike tour directly. Not only would a guide plan the route, the bikes were electric. In a city this hilly, an e-bike is the best possible answer.

The bike tour started near Fisherman's Wharf. Because we went the wrong way, we were quite late. I thought the guide definitely would not wait for us, but somehow we caught the last chance to join. We did delay everyone quite a bit, though, and I felt bad about it.

When traveling, biking is the mode of transportation that gets you closest to the corners of a city. Led by the guide, we rode through traffic, and at some stops he would pause to explain the city's history. He said he really liked this job because he loved San Francisco so much. No matter how many times he told the stories, he never got tired of them.

Before we knew it, we had reached Rincon Park near the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge. The bridge was spectacular, forming an enormous open scene together with the blue sky and ocean.

After leaving the park, we headed south, passing Oracle Park and the Warriors' Chase Center. Unfortunately, there was no time for me to make a pilgrimage, so I had to follow the group to Mezli Mediterranean for lunch. It was a great food stand, though of course not as good as Chinatown.

After a break, we set off again. Then a small incident happened: 47's bike broke. We had to change bikes, but we really did not want to delay everyone any longer, so we talked with the guide and decided to leave the group. Once the replacement bike arrived, we would move freely on our own.

The rescue car arrived quickly, the bike swap worked, and we arranged the rest of the route ourselves.

We first went to Mission Dolores Park. It is a perfect place to enjoy a sunny afternoon, with wide lawns for playing and resting, and a beautiful view of the city. The golden tower of Mission High School especially caught my eye.

Next was Alamo Square. Across from the square are the colorful houses known as the Painted Ladies, also called the Six Sisters. They have become a San Francisco landmark.

Even if you know nothing about design, you can still feel the beauty in the ornate roofs, stained glass and bay windows. Actually, when these buildings were first built, they were white. It was not until the 1960s that color designer Butch Kardum turned them into the artwork they are today.

Then we kept going and reached San Francisco City Hall, built in the Beaux-Arts style. It has the fifth-largest dome in the world, and many couples choose to register their marriages there.

We passed through San Francisco's Japantown. Japantown Peace Plaza looked special, with lively song-and-dance performances and plenty of people gathered to watch.

On the way back to return the bikes, we deliberately stopped at Coit Tower, which looks a bit like a fire hose nozzle. It is said to commemorate Lillie Hitchcock Coit, who bravely helped firefighters and dedicated her life to the development of the city's fire services.

Standing on Telegraph Hill in Pioneer Park, we could see one of San Francisco's famous sights in the distance: Alcatraz Island, the legendary prison island.

This used to be San Francisco's most notorious federal prison, holding troublemakers from other prisons, mostly bank robbers and murderers, even gang leaders. Nicolas Cage filmed The Rock here, telling a story that takes place between Alcatraz and the Bay Area.

We circled around San Francisco and finally returned to Fisherman's Wharf. It was super lively and also the end point for returning the bikes.

Fisherman's Wharf was originally a fishing harbor where Italian fishermen gathered. In the 1960s, as the catch declined, it gradually became a tourist attraction. Today it is full of shopping centers, crab sellers line the road one after another, and street musicians and artists perform one after another. It is incredibly lively.

We had planned to wait at Pier 39 for the last boat out to see the Golden Gate Bridge, but the fog came in and Karl wrapped the whole bridge up. The wind was strong too, so we decided to take the boat later. Better to go to Chinatown first for some Chinese food and recover.

We walked from Fisherman's Wharf to Chinatown and ate at a Chinese restaurant Eric Tsang had once visited. The setup was still as simple as ever, very much the feeling of an American Chinatown.

Postscript

When we came out of the Chinese restaurant, the flowing fog had spread from the west, where the Golden Gate Bridge sits, across the entire downtown area. It felt a little chilly, so we picked up our pace.

Thinking back on this full and tightly packed day, I thought of San Francisco, the theme song from Forrest Gump. What the song says felt exactly like my mood in that moment.

For those who come to San Francisco

For those going to San Francisco

be sure to wear some flowers in your hair

remember to wear some flowers in your hair

If you come to San Francisco

if you go to San Francisco

summertime will be a loving there

there will be beautiful times in the summer

- End -

Words | Arsenan

Photos | Arsenan

Design | Arsenan

Preface

I had wanted to run a marathon in San Francisco for a long time. I wanted to go a year earlier, but I missed the early-bird price and could not quite bring myself to register. And honestly, California really was far away.

This year, the San Francisco Marathon entered its 45th year, roughly the same age as the Chicago Marathon. I like races with that kind of commemorative meaning, so I did not hesitate and signed up right away.

Running a marathon seems to have become the main reason I travel, almost a habit. Once the marathon was on the calendar, California suddenly did not feel so far away.

I like San Francisco because it is so special. Whether you call it Saint Francis, Jiu Jin Shan, or San Faan Si, all those names point to this small city of less than 130 square kilometers on the northwestern edge of the Bay.

The Gold Rush made it a cradle for adventurers, and hippie culture gave it an untamed spirit. Pacific fog, West Coast tides, the blend of history and modern life, the collision of East and West: all of it gives the city a color unlike anywhere else in America.

But the San Francisco Marathon is another story. Unlike flat, steady city road races, San Francisco's course is intimidating, with relentless ups and downs that are hard enough to make even serious runners nervous.

For more than forty years, San Francisco has held a firm place as the 15th hardest race in the world...

As The Wall Street Journal put it, this is a race even marathoners fear.

Still, on this loop, there are busy city scenes and unexpectedly simple, beautiful views.

I was willing to accept that challenge, and I looked forward to measuring the Golden Gate Bridge with my own feet, with a runner's stubbornness and pride.

Packet pickup at the expo

The day before the race, we went to Festival Pavilion to pick up our gear. I was still doing the full marathon, and 47 had signed up for the half.

The surprise was that this year's San Francisco Marathon had two medals: one before the race and one after. Maybe it was to celebrate the special 45th anniversary. The pre-race medal was definitely not as grand as the finisher medal, so I was still looking forward to the post-race one more.

As we were leaving, I saw old marathon shirts for sale near the entrance, 10 dollars each, which felt like a good deal. I bought two long-sleeve shirts. The green one would end up going with me for half of the race.

The 45th San Francisco Marathon begins

On July 24, the 45th San Francisco Marathon was finally about to start. All of us runners gathered near the start by the Ferry Building.

The sky was still deep blue and the night had not fully faded, but the streets were already full of people. The start line in the distance was especially lively. Because of the wave start, some of the faster runners had already set off.

I squeezed into my corral with the crowd, told 47 I would see her at the finish, and headed out. The half-marathon runners would not start until an hour later.

At the beginning I was pretty excited, following the big crowd through Fisherman's Wharf and Fort Mason toward the Presidio of San Francisco, where the Golden Gate Bridge stands.

At that point I still could not really see the bridge. I just felt that running into the morning fog with the sea wind in my face was very comfortable.

Around mile five, we turned a corner and the Golden Gate Bridge suddenly appeared right in front of us, coming straight toward us.

Half of the bridge was still hiding in the clouds and fog, but all of us were thrilled. We immediately pulled out phones, cameras, pagers, whatever we had, and started taking photos.

I joined the photo-taking army too, wildly absorbing bridge pictures.

When we ran underneath the bridge, there was a turnaround followed by a big climb that felt a little like trail running. It was tiring, but the excitement outweighed the fatigue, because we were about to get onto the Golden Gate Bridge.

Before getting on the bridge, I ran to the roadside to take more photos. Other runners would come over and ask whether I needed help taking a picture. Of course I happily accepted. The best thank-you was to help them take a few photos with the bridge too.

After coming to the U.S., the biggest lesson I feel I have learned is to actively accept help from others, and then give back when someone needs it. No one can walk alone.

Finally, we were getting onto the bridge. The wind was truly strong, roaring beside my ears. Thick fog mixed with rain hit my face. It was a little cold.

Europeans and Americans really are resistant to cold. Some people were running shirtless, which honestly made my jaw drop.

But when I looked down at the sea below, the wind was pushing boats across the water and pulling out long ripples. It was spectacular. Overhead, the bridge appeared and disappeared inside the clouds and fog, like we were flying through some palace above the clouds. If this race had been only for this view, I think it still would have been worth it.

The bridge is long, about 2.7 kilometers. The freshness of running it for the first time kept me from feeling that this stretch was too hard. Aside from being a bit cold, everything was fine.

Then we reached the north side of the bridge and ran downhill. There were lots of photographers here too, and I happily leaned into the cameras, collecting some excellent running photos. I looked festive, so I must have been running happily.

By the water, I helped a few Indian friends take bridge photos from different angles, and they helped freeze my own condition in that moment too.

By then we were around mile 12. It was uphill all the way, and we had to cross the bridge again. The near-halfway distance plus the wet weather made me feel even colder, so I quickly pulled my long sleeves down.

The return stretch across the bridge was difficult for me. This time the sea wind was especially strong, and the rain seemed to be getting heavier. Add the earlier uphill effort, and I could no longer run well. I stopped and started walking slowly.

Those 2.7 kilometers of bridge felt like a very long distance to me.

In that moment, I truly realized that maybe only when you run on the Golden Gate Bridge can you understand that the core brains of Silicon Valley and the legendary geniuses of business have not only unimaginable mental power, but also astonishing physical stamina.

My thoughts started wandering. What if the person running next to me right now was Zuckerberg or Bill Gates? I could not let the big shots laugh at me.

A foreign girl beside me kept pushing me too, telling me to start running, keep my body temperature up, and follow behind her.

That was how I slowly survived the hardest part of the race. I still failed to keep up with her in the end, but I was grateful for her guidance.

Once I came off the bridge, I came back to life. It was downhill, and there was an aid station. I adjusted and got ready for the second half of the marathon.

Starting around mile 15, we ran through a stretch of neighborhoods. There, I took a sweet snack from a child. It tasted good and helped with energy.

After crossing the city, Golden Gate Park was ahead, and on the left was the finish for the first half marathon.

I was sure 47 had not finished yet, so I did not look much and kept going.

Ahead was Slow Lake, green and beautiful, with wild ducks in the water and a Chinese-style pavilion. It felt comfortable. Since this was Slow Lake, I decided there was no need to rush either, so I stopped and walked slowly for a while.

After leaving Golden Gate Park, I guess we had also left the weather zone controlled by the Golden Gate Bridge. The sun suddenly got strong and hot. One city, two climates. It was pretty magical.

In the end I was so hot that I had to take off the green battle shirt that had served with distinction and toss it by the roadside.

The downtown scenery in the second half did not disappoint. The buildings all had character.

The sky was very blue too, and running under it put me in a good mood.

Especially at this point, the second-half marathon runners also joined the course. The most obvious feeling was that the aid stations became richer, and the course became lively again.

Eileen Gu was in this group. I did see a tall, thin girl run ahead of me, but she disappeared quickly. I still do not know whether it was her.

Later there was a special stretch where beer was available. The owner said it was Hope Beer, free only today.

After Hope Beer, a turn brought us to Chase Center, home of the NBA's Golden State Warriors. It happened to be the NBA offseason, and I thought I definitely had to come watch Curry play here someday.

After mile 24, we finally returned to SF Bay. The ocean was healing, and running felt energetic again.

At mile 25, we reached the home of the MLB San Francisco Giants. The stadium was magnificent and felt even more impressive than the Warriors' arena.

In the final mile, the sunlight was especially fierce. Not far away was the magnificent Bay Bridge, and the finish line was hidden behind it.

I did not care too much about the time. A little over five hours, I guess, and I crossed the finish.

The medal was all right: square and tidy, very engineering-school.

I immediately practiced the correct way to take photos by pairing the medal with San Francisco scenery.

I called 47 at the finish and learned that she had finished too. She and Anastasia were driving over to pick me up. That was honestly so nice.

Post-race relaxing

At noon we ordered a big delivery meal. Since it was still early, we went to walk around the aquarium.

Then we went to Pier 39 for a boat tour, conveniently unlocking the world-famous image of medal plus bridge.

The wind on the boat was strong. Seeing downtown San Francisco from the water felt special too. Our boat went from the sunny Pier 39 toward the Golden Gate Bridge, which was still wrapped in heavy fog.

The scenery was good. I took some photos of the medal with the bridge and successfully completed the mission, adding a lot of precious inventory. That also included 47's grand-mage-under-the-bridge photo.

Postscript

Everything looked good. Next, it was time to go home.

We waited a long time at the airport. The flight was delayed several times. During the wait, I bought the race photos from San Francisco. They cost roughly half the registration fee, and there were dozens of them. The photos were expensive, but they felt even more precious.

In the end, the flight was canceled, so we had to return the next day and gained an extra half day of San Francisco time.

I did not run into Eileen Gu during the San Francisco Marathon. But compared with the domestic news frenzy over her 1:40 result and second place among women under 19, what I saw more often over those 26.2 miles was simple, ordinary love.

This year, the San Francisco Marathon partnered with sponsor Degree to form a special team made up of athletes with disabilities.

Zamperla, a participant from Philadelphia, said, "I was diagnosed with eye degeneration in third grade... and by age 30 I was completely blind." Zamperla was grouped with a woman from Houston who has multiple sclerosis, and on Sunday they completed their first marathon together.

The race also designed a 1,000-meter family lollipop run especially for children. A mother who participated with her four-year-old daughter said, "I think it is really good to get kids involved. It is especially important for physical health."

This year's San Francisco Marathon was also the first race in California history with men's, women's and non-binary divisions, and rainbow flags could be seen flying everywhere along the way.

Norris, a participant from Houston, said, "We work so hard just to do basic things, so doing something extra, like a marathon, is very difficult, but very worthwhile."

- End -

Words | Arsenan

Photos | Arsenan

Design | Arsenan