Jalen Gooch

Read about my experience running the San Jose Half Marathon.

With three half marathons under my belt, I decided it was time for a challenge. And I say this lightly given that the first three races were far from easy. Each presenting its own unique challenges.

At this point, running had become a key foundation of my physical and mental health. When feeling overwhelmed or stressed, running would clear my head and put things back into perspective.

When I felt like a failure and as if nothing was working out, completing a difficult run reminded me that life, as cliche as it is, is a marathon, not a sprint.

So what better way to test that theory than to run an actual marathon?

While Karl rests like a blanket over the city, people are wide awake. As they stretch, they look towards the Golden Gate Bridge, its faint lights blinking through the fog. The sea is still, unlike the heartbeat of you and your fellow racers. 26.2 miles lie before you, but the months of training stand firm behind you. The San Francisco Marathon has begun.

Race Details

• Date: July 28, 2024
• Race Time (Chip): 3:15:01
• Race Time (Gun): 3:26:11
• Tummy Troubles: Mild
• Playlist: Push It Push It To the Limit Limit (SF Marathon)
• Results: 31st in M20-29, 209th of 5694

Running a full marathon has always been something I’ve wanted to do before I die. While I always pictured it being something I would accomplish years in the future, out of all the five races, only the San Francisco Marathon offered the full marathon.

I figured that it would be easier to check it off my bucket list now, when I was still in relatively good shape from the previous races than a few years down the line, when I would have to start training from scratch.

Immediately, reality hit as I watched my usual 15-minute recovery runs morph into 30- to 45-minute runs. When I saw that my first long run of the program was 18 miles, I manically refreshed the app, hoping it was a mistake. Training for the marathon was a major shift, not just physically but mentally.

As training continued, I realized I could not prepare for this race as I did for my half-marathons. This was a completely new challenge and required a new approach. The things I ignored in the past would decide whether I could cross the finish line.

I doubled down on my research, reading through blogs, Reddit posts, and YouTube videos. I ordered a set of GU Energy Gels and began incorporating them into my longer runs. While my training plan previously only included running paired with light stretches, I started strength training after runs using the Runner’s 360. 

After witnessing how much of an impact having a solid pair of running shoes can have on your performance, I decided it was time to invest in a pair of race shoes. After a rigorous research process (scrolling through Reddit, yet again), I settled on the Adizero Adios Pro 3, nicknamed Black Mamba.

After losing numerous battles with the sun, I invested in a lighter pair of running gear. I found the perfect matching set on Adidas but waited until I had a bit more money in my bank account to purchase them. 

A mere two weeks before the race when I decided I could no longer procrastinate, I was horrified to see that the tank I wanted had sold out in my size. I ended up buying the running tee that was a part of the set and opted to receive an email if the tank was back in stock. I received the restock email while at camp and had never purchased anything faster in my life.)

While it seemed as though all the pieces were starting to fall into place, with each success would rise another obstacle.

Aside from the race itself, the week leading up to and following the race would be especially chaotic. Over the summer I was preparing to volunteer as a Camp Counselor for Kesem Berkeley. I would be volunteering two weeks in a row, with the race sandwiched in the weekend between.

This meant that after returning from the first week of camp, I would have a day off before I would have to wake up, run the marathon, and then rush back to Berkeley to catch the bus before it left for week two.

As if this wasn’t enough, my apartment lease would end the week I was gone for camp, so I would need to completely clear out my apartment and hand in my key the morning of the race as well.

Race Weekend

Even though I spent the entire week leading up to the race in the mountains, I would wake up every morning and run an albeit modified version of my workout plan. These mornings running at such a high altitude and over steep hills would be my greatest investment.

After returning home and avoiding a minor COVID outbreak at camp, I woke up the next morning and headed to SF to pick up my Bib. I entered a huge warehouse next to the sea, and the enthusiasm of all the people around me was contagious.

For my final meal, I settled for a simple meal of grilled chicken and rice at a local restaurant. After looking further into my tummy troubles, I decided that eating too much fiber, whether that be broccoli or apples, was the culprit for my tummy troubles on the day of the race.

I hung up my race day gear and finished cleaning out my apartment before crashing on my twin mattress on the floor. Whether I liked it or not, race day was upon me.

Race Day

After drifting in and out of sleep, at around 3 am the following morning, I prepared for the long day that awaited me. To further add to the pressure, I had scheduled an Uber the night before and it served as a metaphorical timer counting me down.

Before the Uber arrived I needed to get dressed, stretch, drag my mattress to the dumpster, finish packing my bags for camp, and clean out my remaining belongings in the apartment.

I was racing against the clock before the race had even begun. 

Luckily I was able to get this all done with a few minutes to spare and just like that I was shivering in the cold in front of the ferry building.

For this race, I collected voice memos from my friends to listen to when facing a difficult part of the run. Being my longest run, I was worried about my headphones and phone dying, so I remember sitting in silence for around an hour waiting for an appropriate time to start warming up.

I found myself at the starting line after checking my bags and getting a few stretches and strides in. I told myself that within a few hours, I would either have crossed the finish line and be headed to camp or died of a heart attack somewhere along the way (but hey, at least in both scenarios I would no longer be running.)

Yet again, the voice of Whitney Houston singing the Star-spangled Banner patriotically danced through the air (I’m starting to realize a pattern) and the announcer began to count us down. 3, 2, 1, and we were off. (By we I mean the people in the front of the crowd, the rest of us had a good 1-2 minutes before we actually could start running.

With the sun still not in sight and Karl blessing us with a cool blanket of moisture, the start of the race went smoothly. For the first time in what felt like ages, I was able to focus on the beautiful setting surrounding me instead of my erratic heartbeat and wheezing breaths.

We ran alongside the bay, watching the world slowly wake up around us. Despite all that lay ahead of us, for this moment in time, the only thing I can remember feeling is peace.

Eventually, after a few hills that quickly ripped me out of that moment of serenity, we made it to my most anticipated part of the race: The Golden Gate Bridge.

I remember hearing about a challenge that started around mile 11. If you ran the fastest time at a specific segment you could win a Garmin watch, which if you are unfamiliar, is worth upwards of $300-$500. In the back of my head, I thought depending on how I felt at this point, I might attempt this challenge.

I saw the sign indicating the start of the challenge and realized why it was deemed a challenge. The “short segment” that lay before was a winding road leading up to the bridge with an incline bordering 90 degrees. I quickly gave up my delusion and focused on making it to the bridge alive.

My excitement for the bridge slowly decayed as I realized that we were not running its full expanse but along the sides of traffic. While this still was a great experience, when there are over a thousand runners all clumped up on the side of the bridge stepping on each other’s heels, it quickly loses its magic.

After making it across the bridges, through the neighboring peninsula, and back over the bridge, only a few miles remained in the race. Although the bridge was behind me, being back in the city was not the blessing it seemed.

The downside of the race being in San Francisco is that every few minutes you were climbing a hill in which every muscle in your body screams for you to drop and roll back down into the sea. Every time you would reach the peak of a hill, you ran a small plateau before starting another hill.

I eventually reached Golden Gate Park where despite not having any tummy troubles this time, I stopped to use the bathroom. Running deeper into the park I spotted one of my friends who I planned to meet at the end of the race. This gave me a much-needed boost and reminded me of the voice memos I had yet to listen to.

It was around mile 20 when I decided it was time. I would let the current song end and switch over the voice memos I had put together. In the middle of Corbin Bleu shouting for me to push it to the limit, which ironically was the song I chose to name the playlist after, I heard the dreaded noise of my headphones singing their final note. They were dead.

Not only was I no longer able to listen to the voice memos my friends had sent me, but I had to spend the last 6 miles of the race in silence. No music, no podcasts, no guided runs. Just the demons in my head and wheeze rivaling wheezy from Toy Story.

The last few songs in my playlist will be the boost I need to pick up the pace and finish strong. My fastest pace of the entire race is usually the last half mile for this reason. 

This time, however, again being left alone with the voices, my goal was simply to make it to the next mile. As time went on I began to notice more and more people along the sides of the course, the finish line had to be close. Still hesitant to pick up my pace, I waited until I could see the finish line with my own two eyes before releasing the brakes.

Using the last of my strength (resulting in a series of pictures I will never allow to see the light of day) I pulled myself across the finish line. It was over. I was overwhelmed knowing that I had just accomplished something that just months prior I thought was impossible.

I ended up running around 15 minutes faster than I had expected, even with the bridge traffic and bathroom stop. I found my friend and we both celebrated taking pictures and grabbing my medal. 

This euphoric celebration ended when I remembered that I needed to get back to Berkeley to catch the bus to camp. After hugging my friend goodbye I sprinted (shuffled like an old man) to the nearest BART station and hopped on the first train.

I made it across the bay before getting kicked off at the first station because a power outage had shut down the rest of the line. (Because today wasn’t already enough). Wasting no time and digging DEEP into my pockets, I called another UBER and made it back in time to catch the bus for the camp.

Being how difficult the marathon was, I knew that the next race would serve as a victory lap, of sorts. The hard race in the circuit was now complete and I had multiple races behind me. I relaxed knowing that I had an easy race ahead of me.

But if you’ve been keeping up with the series so far, then it is safe for you to assume that this was far from the case. And unfortunately, you are not wrong.

As my grandfather always said, “No free lunches” and this last race would make sure that I earned the title of Bay Area Challenger. 

Thank you for making it this far! I’d love to hear your thoughts on the topic so feel free to comment below or email me at funemployedera@gmail.com. If you are interested, I also host InMyFunemployedEra, a podcast where I discuss similar topics. Thanks again for reading and until next time. Take Care!

Be sure to check out my experience with the other races in the challenge: Berkeley Half Marathon, Oakland Half Marathon, San Jose Half Marathon