Wharf to Wharf 2008
We had great weather this year for the 36th annual Wharf to Wharf run in Santa Cruz, after a really hot race the last two years. The race is capped at 15,000, a crowd that fills up Beach Street between the Boardwalk and the Wharf. The pace signs don’t do much to sort out the crowd, so unless you are running with the Kenyans and Moroccans and Ethiopians up front, the first mile of the six mile run is more of an obstacle course than a race.
The crowds really make this one of the truly great races. This year, there were 52 bands along the course (according to the announcer at the start). Some of them come back year after year, and become a real part of the race. My favorites include the bagpipers near the beginning and the lone bagpiper around mile 5.5; the pots and pans band of Crow’s Nest employees; the Great Morgani, who is always at the top of the first hill; all the drummers; the groups playing Mustang Sally and Johnny B. Good; and all the hard rockers who seem so out of place on a misty Sunday morning unless they’ve been there all night.
Despite a really slow start, I managed a pretty good race, and set a personal course best at 46:31, which was a full 7 minutes faster than last year (!). The first mile was just over a minute slower than the average, and I was overcautious in the middle part of the race. Probably with a better start and a smarter race, 45 minutes would have been reachable. And if I stay healthy and actually do some speedwork next summer, maybe I’ve still got a few minutes to go after.
Of course, some might say that finishing within twenty minutes of the winner (Gebo Burka in 27:48) isn’t a very aggressive goal.
[Photo of 2007 race leaders (c) sgrace on flickr, used under cc license.]
