OAKLAND RECAP
Reprinted from the Oakland Tribune
By Sean Maher
The marathon course began at Broadway and 14th Street and wound into the Temescal district and hit a long uphill climb, peaking at the Mormon Temple on Lincoln Avenue before swinging downhill again into the Dimond district.
From there, legions of runners traveled down Champion Street and onto Fruitvale Avenue, running through parts of East Oakland before taking a long, straight jaunt up International Boulevard. The final stretch of the race sent runners through a fiery-shaped metal gate fashioned by craftspeople at The Crucible, paralleled Jack London Square and circled around Lake Merritt and back downtown, finishing just a few blocks from where the race began.
Greeting runners as they completed the journey were Oakland native Mark Curry, a comedian and actor, and several Raiderettes.
"I love that this is promoting Oakland as the great city it is, but it's also about supporting healthiness," Curry said. "I tried to run the last block with (marathon winner Tony Torres) and I couldn't keep up! I mean, I'm going to have to do some training for next year."
Crowds of spectators turned out along most of the course to cheer on the runners. Many wore "I hella (heart) Oakland" T-shirts, and others turned out in gorilla suits and Raider Nation gear.
A group of supporters at Fourth and Brush streets held huge banners reading, "Don't take our A's!" and "Fans say no to San Jose," speaking to recent public discussion as to whether the Oakland A's would keep playing baseball for their East Bay hometown.
The crowds lined up along the course throughout the city, but several runners said they saw the most cheering and support running uphill through Montclair and near the end of the race, on Mandela Parkway.
A woman standing by herself at 32nd and Hannah streets held out a giant bowl filled with orange slices to energize the runners in their final miles.
One onlooker at an early point in the race held a sign reading, "Toenails are overrated!" Two children standing in the steep downhill stretch if Lincoln Avenue held others reading, "Fly down Lincoln," and, "Feel the breeze!"
Musicians also lined up along the course, playing everything from electric guitars to Japanese taiko drums. At a point on Mountain Boulevard near the peak of several miles of uphill running, a trio of horn players greeted runners with harmonizing alphorns like those seen in Ricola cough drop commercials.
In total, more than 6,500 people signed up for runs, selling out every major race in the festival, spokesman Dave Gell said.
More than 900 people signed up for the 5K and nearly 200 children ran in the Kids Fun Run, he said. The big draw was the half-marathon, for which nearly 3,700 people signed up, and the full marathon was run by more than 1,100 individuals and 150 relay teams of four people each, Gell said.
Officials and volunteers actually had to turn people away at the in-person sign-up Saturday when events began selling out, as the last-minute turnout was higher than expected and would have overloaded water and safety services, Gell said.
"Californians, it turns out, are notorious late-deciders," he said. "They like to wait and see what the weather will be like. We'll plan for that next year."
No serious injuries or medical problems were reported throughout the festival, he added.
"We learned a lot putting this together, and it's going to be even bigger and better next year," Lee Corrigan of Corrigan Sports Enterprises said.. You just have to be sure you don't grow too fast, because that's how you make mistakes. We're looking forward to a long stay here in Oakland. It's a great city for runners."
