My All Time Favorite 18-20 Mile Run: Park Your...

San Francisco, California, United States

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Posted:  Tuesday, November 4
Runner:  Tom Sanders

My all time favorite 18-20 mile run: park your car a Fort Mason/the Marina. Walk (do not run - yet) 15 minutes to Pier 31 and take the ferry from San Francisco to Tiburon. In Tiburon, you will start running. Start North-West on Tiburon Boulevard (facing Mount Tamalpais). After about 1 mile, there is a bike/footpath on the left, entering a park. At the end of the park, head left (West). You will be running on a quiet road next to Highway 131. When this road ends (there is a gas station and trafic lights), walk on the lefthand shoulder for about 200 yards. At the first chance, take a left, immediately followed by a right (Belvedere Drive). Take a right on Reed Boulevard (you will see a shopping center). Climb up the hill, cross the street at the ligthts (you are at 131 again) and take a left. What you did is effectively stay off the 131 and walk parallel to it. If this seems to confusing just follow 131. Follow 131, pass over Highway 101 and stay on 131 (there is a sidewalk and bike lane). Again: you can take a right and left to stay clear of 131. The route is pretty obvious. At the intersection of Lomtia and Blithedale, you are at the start of a park and a highschool on your right. Here starts a bike path that will take you all the way to Sausalito. By now, you will be heading South-Southwest. Also: there is a water fountain about 200 yards from the intersection and another one when you pass under highway 101 later on. Once in Sausalito, stay on the main road (Bridgeway), run pass the waterfront, avoid a few tourists and enjoy the great views of the city. Follow the road to the right, where it will start ascending. Take a left (Second Street) and left again on Alexander Road (this is all very intuitive: you will feel like you are following the main route). Now you have three options: 1. Take a left on East Road. You will decend into Fort Baker. This is a detour, but you will avoid running next to traffic. After entering the former army base, veer left, cross under the Golden Gate Bridge and climb up again. Make your way to the eastern side of Golden Gate Bridge, since walkers are not allowed to cross on the West (ocean) side. 2. Same thing, but instead of veering left once you are down, take a right after the baseball field, first left and right again, onto Bunker Road. You will climb again, pass under Alexander Road, make a U-turn and again join Alexander Road (if you do not make the U-turn, you will end up in a tunnel that is off-limits to walkers). Follow 3 from here. 3. Keep running on Alexander Road. When you get to Highway 101, take a left (do not pass under it) and make your way to the bridge. After crossing the bridge: veer left, cross the parking lot and take a left on Licoln Boulevard. Take a left on the second street (one way road, running against the traffic). You will see Crissy Field. After you have descended, find your way to the shoreline bike/walkpath (dirt road) or just follow the main road. Keep going in the same direction until you are back at your car/Fort Mason. You can do this race the other way around, but I prefer to finish at my car instead of having to wait for a ferry in the cold.

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