Marathon Notes for Sunday: watch out for the purple wave!

The Rock -n-Roll Marathon is on Sunday, June 2.  This includes a half marathon (which will go around North Park and Kensington), as well as the full marathon (which goes through Old Town up  to Mission Bay).  Both races will finish downtown at Petco Park.

 The races  start near the Cathedral  (at 6.15 and 6.45),  so  6th Ave will be closed from Elm to University from 4am to 9am.  Parking near SPC won't be so bad (distance runners park at the finish, not at the start), but getting here may be a bit complicated.  Many  streets and ramps around San Diego will be closed including northbound 163.  You can see a course map here,  a list of street closures here, and an interactive map of closures here.  Take a look at the maps, and allow yourself some extra time if you are driving.

This is a big event especially for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) which sponsors  Team in Training.  TnT helps casual runners do endurance events around the country, with active coaching and team activities, while raising money for research and treatment of blood cancers  via sponsorships.  A very large number of participants at San Diego's Rock-n-Roll will be part of the "purple wave" (so called for their purple singlets), as this is a favorite TnT event.  Needless to say, these are recreational runners, and not the elite atheletes.  They'll be shooting to finish in 4-5 hours, not in 2.5!

Shameless plug:  I was a TnT participant at the La Jolla Half Marathon, back in 2002.  I raised nearly $7000 for leukemia research on the way to running 13.1 miles from Del Mar to the Cove.  I also have been on the other side of the equation:  I was a Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Stohlman Scholar  from 1997-2002 , which was an award supporting  my research on the fundamentals of DNA replication.  Later,  I served as an evaluator of  career development grants for the agency, part of the expected volunteer service of active scientists. 

I don't run anymore;  shinsplints, a stress fracture, and an absolutely agonizing sprained ankle a couple of years ago  have cured me of it.  But I loved being part of TnT.   The camaraderie and commitment of the team were truly inspiring, and I can guarantee you that the money raised is well spent! :-)  I highly recommend it to any recreational runner who is thinking about doing a long race, and doing some good at the same time.

Susan Forsburg, blogmaster