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I don’t know about the rest of you, but I think the Oakland Running Festival was a great success. Sure, there were some things that need to be worked out in the future — but as an inaugural event — I think it was amazing. Along with giving runners the chance to enjoy some of the city’s excellent surroundings, it proved to be a great event for the City of Oakland itself.
Here’s a brief clip from a recent N.Y. Times article (I definitely recommend reading the entire article):
At some point during the half-marathon on Sunday in Oakland, part of the Oakland Running Festival, I realized that people were yelling “Go Oakland” at me and other runners as well as the usual “Good Job” and “Way to Go.”
In other races, I don’t remember hearing “Go Wilmington, Delaware” “Yippee Napa,” “Show what you can do, San Francisco,” or “Well Done, Brighton,” as they might have said in England.
Michelle continues:
But back to “Go Oakland.” On Sunday, there was a connection between the runners and those who lined the race course. I started to feel as if I was running for a cause beyond stretching my own physical abilities. (I did the half in 2 hours 7 seconds.) Throughout the city, musicians provided a kind of fuel along with the volunteers handing out water.
I think this is something both the athletes and spectators felt as thousands participated in the first marathon hosted in Oakland since 1984. I also heard cheers and chants of “Let’s go Oakland!” while running, and thought it was rather surreal. I saw one lady break down in tears at the end of the event, saying she was proud of her city.
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