The Franks Family: Wharf to Wharf

What an experience! One I will never forget! Megan and I signed up to do the Wharf to Wharf race in Santa Cruz so we packed up the kids and our moms, piled into Meg's car (yes, 4 adults and 3 kids in car seats) and were Santa Cruz bound on Friday morning. The house we rented was really cute and right in the heart of The Village in Capitola - just a block from the beach! We had a great time....sunny beach, margaritas, shopping, wine, and mimosas! Then came the race on Sunday. We had to be in Santa Cruz by 7 where we caught a shuttle from the parking garage to the wharf. The race started at 8:30 so we stood shivering for over an hour. 15,000 people run this in race from all over the World, including Olympic hopefuls. Can you imagine 15,000 people running on a two lane road? I couldn't either and it was crazy! We lined up at the 9 minute per mile marker and it took us 5 minutes to reach the start line after the gun went off! Yes, 5 minutes and 18 total to finish the first mile!!! There were so many people that we walked most of the first mile until it finally started to filter out a little. We had to step it up a bit since we started off so dang slow. Oh and there were 56 bands that were stationed and playing all along the course - that was cool and really did energize us. We finished in just over an hour and I'm happy with that, especially considering how slow the first mile went. I made the goal to run in this race about 2 or 3 months ago and I reached my goal - yay!!! I hope to do it again next year too!