I don’t know what deal Brazen Racing has struck with the weather, but that’s the second time we’ve escaped the rain for an amazing day of running. The Coyote Hills Half Marathon is mostly flat with beautiful rolling green hills and a total elevation gain of 675 feet. It’s two laps around the hills and the run takes you through trails, dirt, mud, paved and even wooden bridges.

Coyote Hills Half Marathon

With a 9am race time, took my time getting up and ready for the race. Drove up and got there around 8:20 just to find a longish line waiting for the shuttles to take us to the starting line. On the drive up it was overcast and I saw some drops on the windshield. Wasn’t sure exactly how the day was going to turn out. I was waiting in line, cold and shivering and was watching the line get longer and longer. Finally boarded the shuttle and got to the starting line at 8:50. I wonder how many of the runners never made it to the starting line on time?

We took off at 9am sharp and immediately hit the Bayview Trail that took us through the wooden bridges and popped us on to Lizard Rock Trail. After a short stretch we are back on to the Bayview Trail approaching the first aid station. I’m not sure exactly when  the sun came out, but as I rounded the bend, the only word came to my mind was “wow!“. The bay just lay there with mild winds, clear skies with the Dumbarton Bridge as the backdrop. The Bayview Trail is a beautiful rolling hill course and I was definitely feeling good on the downhills. With all of the hill-repeats that I’ve been doing lately, I was cruising down with full strides with my Luna Sandals performing flawlessly.

After the short out and back on Apay Way, checked the watch at the 6-mile marker: 45 minutes. I was doing allright. The climb up on Rat Trail and down back to the starting line was the end of the first lap. Back out again for the second time, I kept my pace, recovering on the downhills and focusing on breathing deeply through my nose. Just like the ZombieRunner Bay Trail Run, there were a group of us that kept playing tag. I would pass them on the downhill only to be caught up on the ups. As we approached the Rat Trail for the second time, there was someone hooting and running up really fast. This dude was climbing up and vanished over the hill so quickly, it was amazing. I sprinted the last stretch down the hill, around the bend and crossed the finish line.

I finished in 1:43 minutes, placed 37th (out of 376) and 5th in my age group. The shuttle line to take us back to the parking lot was getting so long, I decided to jog the 2-miles back to the car, barefooted. A nice way to recover! All in all, an amazing day for a run and thank you volunteers for the cheers and great pictures. Did you run this race? How was your experience?

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