This was my second mermaid run this year. This race offered a 10 miler, 10k, 5k, and mini-mermaid…read morerun for girls. I did the half marathon in May at Quarry Lakes in Fremont and signed up for the Sirena 10 Miler run this past weekend. Since I'm from the south bay, I appreciated that they had a packet pick up location in Sunnyvale. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to make it to that one or the second pick up day the following day in San Francisco. I ended up picking up my packet on race day. The mermaids series does a great job informing runners on race day information, including where to park. I do love races that offer free parking too. I arrived with 10 minutes before starting time and barely got my bib in time before the race began. The packet pick up lines could be more efficient... maybe more volunteers helping with the Sirena 10 miler would have been better since that race started first. The race itself was 100x better than the race I ran earlier in Fremont. It was great just being able to run across the Golden Gate Bridge. Just be prepared for some fog. Since it's a race in San Francisco, be prepared for some hills... It's not too bad. It's definitely easier than the hills we encountered during the Nike Women's Half Marathon last month. Overall, I enjoyed the race and the scenery. I got a cute necklace at the end with the same "Run Strong" theme as the tech shirt. After the race, you'll be in line for the post-race food that included bagels, Clementine, and juice. The expo is a bit small and crowded. Don't forget to join others at the photo booth area afterwards.

This is gonna sound weird but I had a great time running the 10K. Truly! I was a little nervous…read morerunning my 1st race in 3 years and though I hadn't trained as much as I should have, I finished at least 10 minutes under my goal time. I gave it my all! So much easier to do that when everyone around you is doing the same! I feel so good, I'm already planning my 8th half-marathon with my husband. The race was very organized. Signage was clear, there were enough water stations, and for the 10K, it was obvious where you need to turnaround for the loop back to Fort Point. The volunteers were handing out water, sports drinks, and chunks of Luna bars. The only thing I didn't like was having to loop back to Fort Point at Mile 3. But I am thankful that I didn't have to go up the hill like the 10 Miler runners. This is a small race, so the Little Marina Green was a perfect place to have the start/finish line. I got my bib a few days before the race in Berkeley, so I didn't have to get in line that morning. I tried my hand at Bra Pong, but only one of throws was successful, so I only won a Spork. Parking at the Marina Green was very convenient. It's only a short walk from there to the Little Marina Green. We got there around 6:40 am, so there were still lots of spaces. Get there early for no hassle parking. The food after you cross the finish line consisted of ripe bananas, yogurt, bagels and cream cheese and some pastries. Volunteers also hand you bottled water at the end. I was going to brunch with my husband and friends, so I didn't bother with such sugary food! I ran the inaugural Title 9K a while back in San Jose, and I have to say that this is a much better venue! The services are better too on the course. I 'm glad I learned about this race from a friend! It's always fun running a race with friends!

Bicycling in San Francisco....this review actually centers more on the Richmond District where I…read moreused to call home. Cycling here offers major, major benefits. If you go do a little shopping on Clement St or the Citibank on Geary or Charlie, the barber on Balboa, you don't have to fight all those cars for parking spaces. Seriously when I drive to Clement St., it takes 5 minutes to get there and 10 minutes to find a space on avg. This is a even bigger deal if you have to park at a meter, which is hwy robbery in SF these days. When you ride back home, again you don't have to hunt for parking spaces on your home turf. So realistically I can ride my bike to Clement and it would take roughly the same time to get my errand done, but with less stress and zero gas fumes. And the Richmond doesn't have too many hills. There are always some way to avoid the really steep ones. For fun, there's riding through Golden Gate Park or take Cabrillo all the way down to the beach. They put a bike lane on that street, but it is so wide and so quiet, it didn't really need one. Anza and Lake St and all the numbered avenues are super safe to ride on. Just stay off Fulton St, that st. is plain dangerous. So if you have a bike and live in the Richmond, try this out. Using the bike as transportation really isn't as weird as you think.

This group is great. Other businesses charge lots of money ($90) to go skiing for the day. These…read moreguys charge only $45 as a way of covering gas, oil changes and other repairs for later on. Very nice and very social, Thanks Rudy Perez!

This is by far the best and most organized group of snowboarders i have ever had the privilege of…read moreriding with. they have all become my most beloved friends! If your not snowboarding with NorCal your snowboarding in Mexico!!!

My first time attending the event and I gotta say it is what I hear it is. Fun, exciting, amazing…read morecostumes, awesome people. Event was suppose to start at 8 but with 8 groups it took awhile before my group got going, almost 9am. Then that's when I knew the reason why, the race was more like a parade or a walk or run. I started off pacing myself but by mile 2 I thought to myself this would be more fun to just casually stroll and spectate all the muse and excitement throughout the course from mile 1 to mile 7. Although I heard there was many restrictions but everything was still there at least that I saw. Great costumes, floats, music, weather, people and of course the nudity. Even the the residential area was throwing a party during the course. I gotta say this was my first and definitely won't be my last. Plus I forgot my costume so next year is a must. Thank you Alaska Airlines for sponsoring this years event!!!

Looooove it! It's always a nice annual fun break from the normal life. I don't really like to run…read moreso I walk/jog. Definitely worth being part of it.

I am sore, I am tired, and my friend and I will never look at a map the same way again. This is…read morelike a local version of the Amazing Race. 3 hours, (and some people did 7 and 16 as teams-we decided to have dinner and salute them with beer instead) - lots of fun- scavenger hunting meets road race (foot or bicycle or duathalon categories--although climbing up to the Mt. Davidson stop I was wishing for the chauffer driven limo category) - orienteering meets racing- find the squirrel on the bench, the tree on the street corner, the statue of the bear - obscure places - cool neighborhoods - participants unified by orange safety vests and yellow day glo bandanas. This was our first one - and we felt we won simply because we didn't get hit by a car, got back in time, and managed to remain friends!!!! Our team was Scrape me off the Pavement, and by the end that's pretty much how we felt -- we can't wait until next year- we're learning how to read topographical maps and use a GPS before then!

Definitely a fun race with lots of fun people and some seriously fun costumes…read more Good Stuff: The course, through Golden Gate Park, is beautiful. A bit hilly at times, but manageable. It was easy to get in and out of the event and we arrived an hour before the start time and had no problem finding free street parking. It was also not too congested at the start and, although they didn't do waves, they kept it slowly moving through. Nice shirts and medals. The Not-So-Good Stuff: There were a few narrow spots along the route and apparently a lot of people don't understand the concept of "slower people on the right, faster people on the left." Seriously. Stop walking four-wide. More importantly, what was with the lack of water stations?! And by "lack" I mean there were none. Zero. When we got to the end, they were handing out water bottles but is was a flavored kind...tasted good but I would have preferred plain water.

I know that races that are more of "fun runs" are not generally as organized. And I completely…read moreunderstand that as the first time to be hosted in SF, there might have been a few glitches. But seriously - the ENTIRE race was poorly organized and there was NO SUPPORT on the field at all. If I were you, I would save my money for the Color Run. Awesome support and atittude by staff and volunteers, as well as participants.

My first time running in this event…read more.. The Good: I ran the 10K w/ my boyfriend a few weeks ago. We were unfamiliar with the park but we were very well informed about the best route to get there. Highway 130/Hamilton Rd. was very winding and scary to drive at 6am but we were told that it was safer then taking Quimby Rd. The event was very well-organized w/ informational updates, race instructions, post-race food and entertainment. Although the actual race is very small (500 participants max), they particularly had an event for everyone. The Not-So-Good: However, I didn't enjoy the abundance of potholes on the course since it made it very hard to "run" the course. I also didn't like the quick, sharp and narrow U-turn after the first mile. Seriously? It was too congested and I nearly had to stop to avoid running into runners or tripping into potholes. Also, where were the port-o-potties? I had to go so bad - I asked 3 different race officials along the course and they kept telling me "it's further up" which literally meant at the finish line. As a natural runner, I would've taken the bush route but there weren't any that were tall enough to hide and to take care of my business. But thankfully, my bladder was able to hold it and I didn't get UTI (urinary tract infection) after all. Sigh. Overall, I had a good time and enjoyed jogging the beautiful park but I'd probably not run it again in order to avoid driving up the dangerous route and running a twisted-ankle route.

A great race if you want non competitive Runners, and family fun. The race only had around 2000…read morepeople so it's definitely not that crowded, the courses are well-marked, the weather was nice, and they hand out snacks such as hint water, applesauce, nuts, and Madeleine's at the end. Everybody is friendly and in good spirits and you can take a picture with the turkey or the Bison.

This was my first Turkey Trail Trot and it was a pretty decent run. It was a mostly flat course…read moreover natural terrain, including grassy meadows and dirt pathways/trails, which was nice on the knees! I guess in the past years, parts or all of the run was on Ocean Beach, but the course has been moved to more solid ground in GGP. And thank goodness for that, running on the beach? No thank you! Anyway, I liked the course because it was pretty scenic and took you through some nicely hidden GGP trails that I would have never know of had I not done this race. Registration was closed after 1200 trotters have signed up, which is great so there's hardly a crowd you need to push past. A ton of people come dressed in festive turkey day garb, making for some very nice distractions. They've also got a lot of volunteers to guide you through the course and cheer you on. Although, at Mile 1, one of the volunteers, while I totally appreciate the support, cheered us on as we passed by yelling "you can do it, you're almost there!!" Uuummm, are you kidding me girl? Depending on whether we were doing the 3 or 5 miler, we had 2/4 more miles to go, not even halfway! DO NOT TEASE ME!! Speaking of the different races, my bf and I had done the 3 miler and when checking the results, I was thoroughly surprised when I saw that I was 38th out of 240 trotters. I then looked back on the home page and the 3 miler was actually supposed to be a walk, while the 5 miler was for actual runners. Haha, if everyone was walking, how the hell did I manage to come out 38th?! Overall, great run to do and a fantastic way to get some exercise on Thanksgiving Day before gorging on all the delicious turkey food you know you'll be chowing down on later in the day.