Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Get on it!

Move fast if you want to do a half marathon in August

AFC Course.

If you’re thinking about doing a half marathon event this month, you better get on it. The Stairway to Heaven trail half-marathon is already sold out but it looks as though the America’s Finest City Half Marathon is still open.

Sponsored
Sponsored

The Stairway to Heaven is part of a four event series put on by Dirt Devil Racing. They’re offering collectible beer glasses and a medal as the “race loot.” There is a slim chance you can get into the August event if you get on the waiting list ASAP. The race is on Sunday, August 16th. Go the website to find out waiting list details.

A trail event such as this offers a different experience than urban running. I can’t say if it’s superior because there is a development phase in running. Most of us start by running in the city and progress to trails. When you’re ready to do trails, urban running tends to become less appealing unless it’s running in an event. This is a trail event which is the best of both worlds and something that doesn’t often happen in San Diego — hence the sold-out status.

Video:

America's Finest City Half Marathon 2012

America’s Finest City is the best of San Diego for an urban run. It is also part of a series. The other parts being the Carlsbad Half and the La Jolla Half. AFC is a point-to-point event which means the start and finish are in separate areas. The starting point is at Cabrillo National Monument on the tip of Point Loma. If you’ve never been out there, you’re missing out. The course then comes screaming downhill along the harbor before finishing in Balboa Park.

The thing I like about AFC, besides the ideal course, is that the course limit is three hours and the course closes as the event occurs. Part of this must be because the course goes past the airport. I like that it requires a running pace in order to stay in the event. Runners need to maintain a pace of 13:44 per mile in order to avoid being shipped to the finish. This forces the event to be about running instead of just participation.

There are plenty of events that encourage participation with luxurious course limits. AFC just isn’t one of them.

AFC is also on Sunday, August 16.

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Peaceful, eaze-y feeling

The evolution of San Diego's dope delivery
AFC Course.

If you’re thinking about doing a half marathon event this month, you better get on it. The Stairway to Heaven trail half-marathon is already sold out but it looks as though the America’s Finest City Half Marathon is still open.

Sponsored
Sponsored

The Stairway to Heaven is part of a four event series put on by Dirt Devil Racing. They’re offering collectible beer glasses and a medal as the “race loot.” There is a slim chance you can get into the August event if you get on the waiting list ASAP. The race is on Sunday, August 16th. Go the website to find out waiting list details.

A trail event such as this offers a different experience than urban running. I can’t say if it’s superior because there is a development phase in running. Most of us start by running in the city and progress to trails. When you’re ready to do trails, urban running tends to become less appealing unless it’s running in an event. This is a trail event which is the best of both worlds and something that doesn’t often happen in San Diego — hence the sold-out status.

Video:

America's Finest City Half Marathon 2012

America’s Finest City is the best of San Diego for an urban run. It is also part of a series. The other parts being the Carlsbad Half and the La Jolla Half. AFC is a point-to-point event which means the start and finish are in separate areas. The starting point is at Cabrillo National Monument on the tip of Point Loma. If you’ve never been out there, you’re missing out. The course then comes screaming downhill along the harbor before finishing in Balboa Park.

The thing I like about AFC, besides the ideal course, is that the course limit is three hours and the course closes as the event occurs. Part of this must be because the course goes past the airport. I like that it requires a running pace in order to stay in the event. Runners need to maintain a pace of 13:44 per mile in order to avoid being shipped to the finish. This forces the event to be about running instead of just participation.

There are plenty of events that encourage participation with luxurious course limits. AFC just isn’t one of them.

AFC is also on Sunday, August 16.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

San Diego Reader Best of 2024

A world-class museum, best drinking, best eating, best shops, ups and downs of Del Cerro, parent-friendly playgrounds, peaceful, eaze-y feeling
Next Article

Lost Abbey finds a new way

Best drinking in San Diego
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader