Flight 93! Whenever I do a race in San Francisco my bib has Flight 93 printed on it to honor the 40 Heros of Flight 93. On September 11, 2001, 40 strangers boarded United 93 from Newark, New Jersey bound for San Francisco. But, Flight 93 was one of the four hijacked planes that terrible day. In 30 minutes those 40 strangers fought back and tried to take over the plane from the terrorists. Their fight would end in a field in Shanksville, PA. Thus becoming heros to an entire nation!
There are a few things I do not like about the Flight 93 story. First of all Flight 93 had information about the other three hijacked planes. The passengers on FLight 93 acted upon that information. The passengers in ALL THREE of the other planes would have done exactly the samething as the passengers on Flight 93, if they had the same information!
I also don't like how people think it was only four passengers who fought back! Richard Guadagno, worked for the US Forrest Service. He carried a gun while on the job. If you don't think he fought back, you're an idiot!
But, most of all I hate the idiot "truthers!" Only an idiot would believe the terrorists wanted to crash into a field in the middle of nowhere! Whether the passengers reached the cockpit and fought for control of the plane or the terrorists lost control of the plane, the terrorists failed to accomplish their mission! A national symbol was saved!
So, every time I run a race in San Francisco, I try to see the city through the eyes one of the 40 passengers of Flight 93. San Francisco may have been home for some, a business trip for others, and vacation spot for others. It's a beautiful city and every time I see San Francisco, I think about the 40 Heroes of Flight 93!
Writing this review on the 5th anniversary of the successful completion of Operation Neptune Spear by US Navy Seals, makes it even more special! Geronimo, Geronimo, Geronimo!" Geronimo EKIA!! "We got him!!"
Another reason I love doing RnRSF is that I can wear my BALTIMORE RAVENS cap and SUPER BOWL CHAMPION t-shirt to rub salt into a very deep wound!!
Expo-Held at the Moscone Center, where parking is expensive or terrible. I took a bus and walked a couple blocks.
A good sized expo with a lot of vendors. Bib and t-shirt pick up is a breeze.
Race Day-The starting line is near the beach and it's freezing! Dress in layers when you do this race. Gear check was quick and easy.
Course-the first 3-4 miles is where you'll get most of the elevation gain for this race. Then you see the beautiful Golden Gate Bridge and you can't wait to get there! The Golden Gate Bridge isn't flat but, it's not very hilly either. They close down two lanes of traffic for runners and it can get crowded! But the views are fantastic! After the bridge you go downhill for a little bit until reaching a long stretch of flat roads. But, just when you think you're done with the hills, about two miles from the finish comes a hill. But, then you're basically running downhill to the finish!
There were mile markers and timers everywhere!
This year RnR SF had "The Blue Mile" which is a tribute- signs with a picture of the men and women in the military who made the ultimate sacrifice for this country! This was a very moving scene. I think since this is RnR San Francisco, the Blue Mile should include the 40 Heroes of Flight 93! So what, that they aren't in the military! They won the first battle in this war!!!
I always say Rock n Roll is my easiest half marathon because I have the help of the 40 Heroes of Flight 93 helping me! I can feel them pushing me through the tough hills on the course. I can feel their presence when I see and run along the Golden Gate Bridge.
Finish Area- One compliant about RnR races is that the Finisher's Photo Op is now reserved for the official photographers of the race. It's an easy work around, just ask the person behind you to take a picture, like I did!
The medal was pretty cool. Not a great design but, not bad either.
Water, bananas, protein bars, and some other snacks were given out. You could have gotten as many protein bars as you wanted!
It's no secret that I love RnR races! They are always well organized! I hope the 2017 RnR San Francisco has "The Blue Mile" and includes a picture of each of the 40 Heroes of Flight 93!
