Marathon 36 in 50 of the #50in50: CA

36 of 50 states in the #50in50 done:

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  • NEW YORK 11/4/18: @nycmarathon

  • NEVADA 11/11/18: @runrocknroll Vegas

  • PENNSYLVANIA 11/18/18: @Philly_Marathon

  • WASHINGTON 11/25/18: @seattlemarathon

  • TENNESSEE 12/1/18: @stjude Memphis

  • ALABAMA 12/8/18: @irunrocketcity

  • FLORIDA 1/13/19: @rundisney #wdwmarathon

  • LOUISIANA 1/20/19: @thelamarathon

  • MISSISSIPPI 1/26/19: Mississippi blues Marathon

  • ARIZONA 2/9/19: Mesa-Phoenix Marathon @phxmarathon

  • TEXAS 2/17/19: Austin marathon @austinmarathon

  • MASSACHUSETTS 2/24/19: Hyannis Marathon @hyannismarathon

  • SOUTH CAROLINA 3/2/19: Myrtle Beach marathon @runmbm

  • ARKANSAS 3/3/19: Little Rock marathon @lrmarathon

  • NORTH CAROLINA 3/9/19: Wrightsville Beach marathon @wbmarathon

  • GEORGIA 3/17/19: Publix Atlanta marathon @atlantatrackclub

  • NEW MEXICO 3/21/19: Dust Bowl Series - New Mexico

  • OKLAHOMA 3/22/19: Dust Bowl Series - Oklahoma

  • KANSAS 3/24/19: Chisholm Trail marathon @chisholmtrail44

  • MISSOURI 4/7/19: Go! St Louis marathon @gostlouis

  • KENTUCKY 4/27/19: Kentucky Derby marathon @kyderbyfestival

  • NEW JERSEY 4/28/19: New Jersey marathon @njmarathon

  • OHIO 5/5/19: Flying Pig marathon @runflyingpig

  • NORTH DAKOTA 5/18/19: Fargo marathon @fargo.marathon

  • COLORADO 5/19/19: Denver Colfax marathon @runcolfax

  • VERMONT 5/26/2019: Vermont City marathon @runvermont

  • UTAH 6/1/2019: Utah Valley marathon @runutahvalley

  • DELAWARE 6/18/2019: Mainly marathons - Independence Series - Bear DE

  • MARYLAND 6/19/2019: Mainly marathons - Independence Series - Elkton MD

  • ALASKA 6/22/2019: Anchorage Mayor’s marathon @anc_marathon

  • HAWAII 6/30/2019: Kona marathon @konamarathon

  • IOWA 7/11/2019: Mainly marathons - Heartland series - Clinton IA

  • WISCONSIN 7/12/2019: Mainly marathons - Heartland series -Sparta WI

  • MINNESOTA 7/13/2019: Mainly Marathons - Heartland series - St Cloud MN

  • RHODE ISLAND 7/21/2019: Violet State marathon

  • CALIFORNIA 7/28/2019: San Francisco marathon

Ferdinand and I met up in California to run the San Francisco marathon. San Francisco is Gweneviere’s hometown and she has many family members and friends who live there I stayed with one of Gweneviere’s sisters m, Daisymarie. Daisymarie and her daughter Melissa ran the San Francisco half marathon and they are both running the NYC marathon as well.

We went down to the expo to pick up our bibs.

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It was huge. Definitely one of the bigger expos I’ve been to this year.

We took a bunch of pics.

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I hung out with some friends around tow, had lunch and stuff.

On race day, Daisymarie dropped me off and then went to her start with Melissa. The half marathon has a different start and starts later. What’s interesting about the SF half marathon is that there are actually 2 halfs with 2 different courses!

As Ferd and I were lining up at the start, I spotted another one of Gweneviere’s nieces, Sarah, right next to us. I didn’t know she was running, and it was a pleasant surprise.

The course is incredibly scenic and hilly in some parts, as you would expect out for San Francisco. We ran into Melissa’s husband and police officer, Nick, on the Golden Gate Bridge patrolling it. I have him a big hug and then kept running. Ferd and I were running great race, heading for a sub 4. But around mile 22, I felt nauseous and dry heaved on the side of the road. I knew that that meant I was mildly dehydrated. It through me off for the remaining 4 miles and we had to slow down. Just around that time, Sarah caught up with us. She was also having some issues, with her knees/legs. She almost dropped out of the race before she ran into us. We kept each other going and we were able to finish with a decent time of 4:16!

Here’s a snapshot of our run:

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Here’s Sarah, Ferd and me:

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Here’s us with Daisymarie and Melissa.

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After heading back to Daisymarie’s to shower and get a quick rest, we headed out to meet up friends and family for brunch. I got to see some more of Gwen’s family. It was great to see everyone.

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If you’re looking for a great, scenic and beautiful California marathon, check out this marathon!

Join me on the #50in50 for the Gweneviere Mann Foundation, with many ways to get involved.

PLEASE DOWNLOAD GWENEVIERE’S SONG

She was excited about releasing an album that she had just finished, but she passed before she could realize that dream, so we just recently released a single "What I Can Be" off of her album for her so that we could fulfill that dream for her. Download it here

Together we will save lives through early detection programs for lung cancer and brain tumors.

I ❤️ you Gwen.

Yasir

Yasir Salem