Happy Mother’s Day to all the mothers in the club, and Happy Mother’s Day to all of your mothers! With them, there would be no "us"!

I hope you are all well, healthy, and keeping as sane as possible. 8 weeks in, I know it has been very stressful for many, and the small solace I can offer is that some kind of fresh air and exercise can really help.

As many of you know, while California is speaking of phase 2 opening up, the six-county Bay Area, including SF, has affirmed modified shelter-in-place orders through May 31, which precludes meetings of clubs like ours. Running and exercise are in fact encouraged, and we urge everyone to keep following protocols for safe running in public, observing social distancing.

I have been using this opportunity to explore new paths through SF, and have found some astoundingly beautiful ones. The Presidio in particular has become my new favorite place. For a brief period, pedestrians were allowed to run on the Presidio Golf Course, which is utterly breathtaking. I also found a trail from Baker Beach to Marshall Beach that lies right underneath the Golden Gate Bridge, and features hundreds of fairly new steps built by volunteers. More hills!

Last week, after running up 7th/Laguna Honda to the top of Market Street, I went on a hunt for the base of the cross on Mount Davidson, finally visiting it for only the second time since I moved up to SF from Palo Alto in 1985. With the fog, it was ethereal. There is a rain forest on the west side of the hill that has to be experienced, alive with birds and dense foliage. The second half of my run included a path through Stern Grove and Pine Lake Park, another fabulous oasis in our city that offers a sudden immersion into another world. When one emerges from the west end of Pine Lake Park, I swear it rearranges your bearings, up is down, east is west, and north is south! Bizarre.

As we plan to return to meeting again as a group sometime in the future, be prepared to see some new sights on our runs! Next up for my exploration: the San Bruno mountains, and perhaps the Sweeney Ridge Trail out of Pacifica.

Photos to follow in a second post. Please send me yours so we can share and remain in contact.

Hope to see you all sometime in the not-too-distant future. I miss you all.

Jay Kloepfer
President
Half Full Running Club