RC3 Running Chicks of Cave Creek: Nike Women's Marathon/Half Marathon

October was a big month for RC3 Chicks as we headed to San Francisco for the October 17th Nike Women's Marathon. We got picked in the lottery as a group and we were all looking forward to this event. Spending time in San Francisco with Running Chicks is a lot of fun. The day before the race, there was serious Macy shoe buying thanks to Nikki wearing cute but uncomfortable shoes while walking around San Francisco. Needless to say there was a multiple shoe buy discount that we had to help her out with (Thanks Nikki--I love my little boots!). Dinner the night before the race was at Fino and it was nice to get all of us together. Syndie is to thank for getting our group of 13 a reservation in super busy San Francisco. You'll see in the photo that RC3 chicks clean up really well.

The blog photos are a sampling of all the photos taken by multiple cameras. We put a lot of them in one place and you can see all the photos HERE both of the marathon/half marathon scene as well as the fun around SF photos.

I can only speak for part of the half marathon course as I took the yellow signs on the full marathon route. In general, I thought it was a nice course. Hilly, but we had trained for that. I didn't train enough for downhill though as my knees took a beating. I know some of the other marathon chicks that had the same knee issues. We got poured on while running down the Great Hwy and were very cold and wet at the finish. I won't go into detail about that but I will say that Nike could do much better in making sure there are heat blankets available to wet cold marathoners.

Susie Kramer was a superstar again and took 16th overall. In a field of tens of thousands she continues to impress and amaze us all. Darris PR'd again in the half by a minute or two. With the hilly course, there is something to be said for that. Missy Linnens did her first marathon and got a 4:04 time. She had to do a lot of training on her own and we are so proud of her for putting in such a great first time. She would have been under the 4 hour mark on a flatter course for sure. Dara raised a ton of money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma society and it was great to share her first marathon experience with her. I had to put a photo of her "Just Did It" sign as I think that sums up the race for all us. Personally, the best part of the Nike Women's Marathon was hanging with the "peeps". Last but not least, I know we all want to thank Heidi for our Starwood Palace Hotel accommodations. We stayed in luxury and we loved the hotel and being so close to everything we wanted to see and do.