Lately I’ve been running in the wee hours of the morning. This requires a lot of planning, motivation, determination, and just plain stupidity. Luckily, I have a live in running partner who helps with the first three requirements and shares in the last one. Together we rise from our beds, and the success of our run is completely dependent upon whether or not the other one hears footsteps in the hallway. Sometimes it’s me who is the first one up, sometimes it’s Elizabeth, but inevitably we always make it out the door before the crack of dawn.



San Francisco is an interesting city to run in when the sun is just starting to wink at us from across the East Bay. Sure, it’s a city, so there are the typical things to watch out for and this is why it’s fantastic to have a running partner who also owns a Doberman. But there are also the nonthreatening strangers who are doing their thing before the day starts.

On early morning runs in San Francisco you’re likely to spot the normal settle of riff raff from the night before. You’ll also see the uber fit, this is a classification of person that is beyond your normal recreational exerciser. These people are obsessed, they sleep in their running clothes (which, admittedly, I have done before and still do on occasion), they get up 30 minutes before departure just to make sure their properly fed and watered. Next, you see the dog walkers. These are fantastically friendly people (although sometimes their dogs don’t reflect the same warm personality). They are out getting a morning walk in before the big commute to the daily grind. Finally, there are the people who surprise you. These are the individuals, or groups who make me look twice. Elizabeth and I were on top of Bernal the other day when we saw a group of worshipers before the sunrise. They were speaking in either a language I just didn’t recognize and certainly couldn’t understand, or they were speaking in tongues. We’ve seen them on the hill a handful of times, once a woman asked us not to call the police. I should take this as a sign, but they don’t bug us, so I wont bug them. We’re strange to each other, and there’s something wonderful about this.

I’m lucky to have this experience for a lot of reasons:

• It keeps me healthy
• I have a friend to do it with
• Adventures, no matter how small, are a nice way to begin the day
• A hearty appetite for a rewarding breakfast
• I’ll always have a story to tell at the coffee machine in the morning…
• My crack of dawn is a lot better than Stan’s…