I always wanted to do the Wharf to Wharf race in Santa Cruz. I’ve heard it is a lot of fun, and Santa Cruz is a beautiful area. It’s not really an area I’ve explored too much. The Wharf to Wharf race sells out, so it’s important to register early. It’s about 5.5 hours north of my house. This year seemed like a good year to run. Plus, I didn’t realize that I needed a vacation out of the desert and Los Angeles area. It definitely made me miss living in northern California though.
Before the Wharf to Wharf:
We left Edwards on Friday night and stopped about 3 hours north in Paso Robles for the night. When in doubt, make it a weekend trip. I slept in that morning, and we went for a beautiful but way-too-hilly run the day before. Do I think that hilly run affected my race? Yes, but it is what it is. It was beautiful, and I don’t regret it.
We arrived in Santa Cruz around 2:30 pm. My husband went for a mountain bike ride, and then we ate dinner at a Mediterranean restaurant. I was pretty exhausted and ended up getting 11 hours of sleep the night before. The Wharf to Wharf race starts at 8:30 am, and I didn’t get out of bed until 6 am (rare for me; I am typically wide awake at 5). But hey I’m never going to complain about more sleep, I’ve been exhausted the last few weeks.
I did a 3-mile warm-up and headed to the Santa Cruz Wharf for the race start. The Wharf to Wharf is a 6-mile race that runs from the Santa Cruz Wharf to the Capitola Wharf. It gives a nice pullover to the top 100 women and top 100 men (by gun time). I looked up previous results and saw that usually, the 100th woman was around a 6:50 pace, which was right where I felt I was on a good day. I knew it was going to be close for me to be in the top 100, especially considering I ran a 6:41 pace 5k the week before. (boy did I feel rough that day though).
At the Wharf to Wharf race start, I saw so many pro and elite runners; it was intimidating. I was like, do I really belong in this corral? I headed to the back, which was likely my mistake. I did belong there, even if I didn’t believe it myself. Not believing in myself was ultimately my mistake because I should have started further up and if I did, I my gun time may have been a few spots lower.
Wharf to Wharf Race:
The race went off, and so did we. I have never been to such a crowded start. It was jam-packed, and it was hard to run for a quarter of a mile or so. I mean it makes sense considering the top 100 women were under 7 minute pace. From there, I felt like I was in the hole and needed to make up time because I was on the bubble of the top 100 women. My first mile was 6:39, and honestly, I wondered if I had taken it out way too fast. My 5k the week before at Venice Beach averaged a 6:41 pace. But I trusted that was just a rough day.
The next few miles of the Wharf to Wharf race are rolling hills. I knew it wasn’t flat, but it never felt super hilly to me. Ultimately the race has about 200 feet of elevation gain. I was running my own race and honestly feeling pretty good. I didn’t feel like I was working super hard and ran 6:47, 6:50, and 6:50. There are a lot of short hills and turns at the Wharf to Wharf, so it’s important to run the tangents well. I’m proud to say, I “only” ran 6.03.
Around mile 5, I started feeling a bit tired. A couple of women passed me, and I desperately tried to stay engaged. There is one largish hill just before mile 5 that felt like it beat me up. I just kept pushing, telling myself, “1 mile to go. You can do it.” I knew some part of the final stretch was downhill, but I didn’t know how much. I had flashbacks of the La Jolla Half where it is a downhill finish after you run up about 200 feet. I kept thinking maybe it would be there. But it wasn’t, and there isn’t anything too steep. Finally, around 5.6, we reached the steep downhill, and I just pushed it. My last quarter of a mile was a 5:32 pace, and I passed a few women. I crossed the Wharf to Wharf finish in 40:43 and as the 104th woman by gun time. Just missed it!
Wharf to Wharf Thoughts:
While I am disappointed to not be in the top 100, I can’t really complain either. Just last year, I was barely breaking 7 minutes for 5-6 mile races. I have made progress since then. All summer I’ve asked myself after each good race, “Was this a fluke?” But then I keep running times I didn’t think I would ever again. So I’m happy with this progress. I do think with a good taper, I may be able to run under 90 minutes for a half again. I’ll definitely be back because it was so much fun!
You can see Strava here and more race recaps here.
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Questions for you:
What is your favorite summer race?
Are you currently training for anything?