Wharf to Wharf (38:26/6:31 pace)

Wharf to Wharf…whew, there is a lot to unpack on this one. Last year, I had a great race. I surprised myself and ran 6:46 pace on a hilly 6-mile course. I thought I would be in the top 100 women. I wasn’t…I was 106th. The top 100 at Wharf to Wharf get a cool hoodie, and I was bummed not to make it. It’s hard to make such a fluid goal, because you never know who will show up race day and you also can’t control that. Like last year, I had a great race and I was really proud of it, but faster women showed up.

Wharf to Wharf gets me through a lot of summer training in the Mojave Desert. It’s a 6-mile race from Santa Cruz to Capitola. It can hard to train during the summer, but having something fun (and with cooler weather) gets me through. In 2025, they had to change the Wharf to Wharf course due to not being able to cross one of the bridges. I was happy they were still having it.

The race itself is a lot of fun, but the promise of nice weather up north for a weekend is always exciting. I know I’m in the best shape I’ve been in since 2019, but it can be hard to actually believe that. I knew there was no reason I should run slower than last year, but you never know.

It was a solo trip up to Santa Cruz, and I stayed the night in Paso Robles before. The day before was one of the most relaxing I’ve had in months. I needed it, and I actually spent from around 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. just hanging out, reading, and relaxing in my hotel room. It was wonderful.

When I woke up just before 5 on race morning, I felt refreshed. That does not happen often, so I will take it when it does. I did some writing in the morning and then started a warm-up to the Wharf to Wharf race start. I had opted to stay in a hotel that I could just run to the start (and really the Wharf to Wharf finish too).

Wharf to Wharf Race: 

This year, the Wharf to Wharf race start was way more crowded than normal. It was hard to really get to where I wanted to be. Ultimately, I just decided to start further back. The problem is, the top 100 is done by the first 100 people to cross the line, so really you want to start as far up as you can without being in the wrong spot.

I tried not to worry about it. We were off at 8 a.m., and I did feel a bit of anxiety because it was 10 seconds before I actually crossed the Wharf to Wharf start line. And then it was like I was a bat out of hell. The first mile was crowded, and somehow I still ran a 6:23 mile 1. I was surprised considering that’s about what I’ve taken 5Ks out in, and this was no 5K.

The next two miles went without a ton of note. I started to settle in, and I was feeling pretty good. I just focused on running my own race, looking ahead, and trying to pass any women I could. I felt smooth and I ran a 6:25 and 6:30. I hit the 5K just under 20 minutes, which felt satisfying considering I’ve been trying to hit that for years before this year.

I knew miles 4–6 were hillier, and I just wanted to finish strong. I remember being so proud last year that all my miles were under 7. I hit mile 4 in 6:31 and told myself: focus on the end. The last two miles felt like they were taking forever. During miles 4-6, especially miles 4 and 5, I questioned whether I was in the top 100, because I had no clue. It felt like I had taken the race out too fast (I probably had) and there were plenty of women passing me. I thought I was catching up to pack of women in front of me, but ultimately they dropped me.

As we began the rolling hills of mile 5, I just told myself: almost there. I was truly counting down but also trying to push it. Once I saw the huge downhill to the Wharf to Wharf finish, I just pushed. I ran a 5:52 push downhill, which is not bad, but I do think I could have pushed harder. I’ve been able to average 5:30 for steep downhills before.

I crossed the Wharf to Wharf finish line in 38:26 and as the 77th woman overall.

Wharf to Wharf Thoughts:

I’m happy with my effort and it was a good race. I had wanted top 100 so bad, so I’m happy to meet that goal. I know I’ve been training hard and am in much better fitness than I’ve been in years, so it’s fun when that is rewarded. Of course you never know who shows up on race day and the cut off this year for top 100 women was 6:37 pace. It’s fun how fast women’s distance running is getting.

You can see Strava here and all race recaps here.