Running in San Francisco

Recently, I happened to be in San Francisco for a few days.

{Pic courtesy of Duffy Gillman]

What's the best way to see the city in a hurry?

One might think of their iconic cable cars, perhaps BART or buses.

Instead, I ran.

In two runs, I covered about 11 miles.

Both days were sunny. There's definitely a runner's high to be felt pounding along the waterfront along San Francisco Bay and up and down those steep hills with great views.

Wish I could've stayed longer and gone further, e.g. do the Golden Gate bridge.

Routes

Starting out each time from near Union Square along Market St out to the Ferry House.
Then Run #1: turning right to head south along the Embarcadero looping around the SF Giants' AT&T Baseball Park and back. About 5.5 miles and mostly flat. (Found this route on the SFRRC's website.)

Or Run #2: turn left to head north along the Embarcadero to Fort Mason, but coming back along Taylor St over Russian Hill (with a view of Telegraph Hill and the Coit Tower to the left) and then Nob Hill. About 6 miles.

Bonus

One evening after dinner, I had the chance to cross the Levi Plaza and run up the Filbert Steps to the Coit tower in street clothing and shoes.

I felt like passing out but managed to snap two pictures with my iPhone camera (below).

Only two tenths of a mile according to Google Maps. Who needs a stairmaster and gym when you have this?