Golden Gate Getaway

This past Saturday, the men and women Warriors took a trip to San Francisco's Golden Gate Park, and yes, they wore some flowers in their hair. The site of the 2009 D2 West Regional race, Coach Taylor thought it might be a good idea to become familiar with the course that is hosting the pinnacle meet of the season. The day trip, well, morning trip, was quite an experience, to say the least.

We all piled into cars at 6 a.m. on Saturday and made the 2 hour drive into the Windy City. Once inside the City that Never Sleeps, we drove straight to Golden Gate Park, the most famous recreational area in the Twin Cities region. The City of Angels was just stirring from it's Friday night slumber as we rolled in at about 8 am. It was a glorious affair to be running in the Mile High City, or what some might term the Birthplace of the American Revolution.

Once arriving at GGP, Captains Joey Nunes and Shane Brookshire led us on a wild goose chase to try and figure out the course, which is quite tricky when it isn't marked at all. After a few minutes of wandering, the women finally gave up and left out on their own, because women obviously have a superior sense of direction (Cat's words, not mine.) Needless to say, the men figured out the course about 2 minutes later, while the women still searched.

Finally, after all the course was figured out, the workout began. Run an hour. Hard. Continuous 2k loops of the course. However, there was a catch. Block part of the course with giant stages, gates, fences, and mobile golf carts. Fill the rest of the course with dirty hippies and bearded bluegrass enthusiasts who are too stoned out of their minds to coherently get out of the way when a runner comes busting through the sidewalk, and you're getting a good picture of what the tempo looked like.

Yes, it was the annual Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival at Golden Gate, a yearly event featuring free live music by some of the best bluegrass bands in America. This year the set list included such greats as the Austin Lounge Lizards, Dr. Magpie, and Poor Man's Whiskey! Nothing pumps up a runner for a hard workout like some blaring banjo and mandolin!

All sarcasm aside, it was nice to get out of Turlock for awhile and get on the Regional course. We got a good view of the course, and I think it will produce some fast times this weekend and again in November. Our next race is this Friday, October 9th, the SF State Gator Invite, on this course in GGP. Stay tuned for a preview of the Gator Invite, and don't forget to put some flowers in your hair!