Once again I was one of the lucky 15,000 racers to participate in the Wharf to Wharf race (from Santa Cruz Wharf to Capitola Wharf). We had a perfectly overcast-and-neither-hot-nor-cold weather pattern to enjoy as our little “team” assembled by the boardwalk.
Four smiling faces of four smiling racers at the start of the Wharf to Wharf 2011
The scene at the start. You can see the tip of the Santa Cruz Wharf beyond the sea of porta-potties...
By the way, the Wharf to Wharf is the race equivalent of seeing everyone you know at the supermarket. Lots of familiar and friendly faces appeared in the sea of runners and on the sidelines. Every 1/4 mile, no every block, there is a different band. My favorite was the Crow’s Nest cooks out there in their aprons beating on pots and pans. Kitchen drum circle 
It was pretty crowded on the road but we managed to be running from the start, weaving through the bobbing flourescent spandex crowd. Evan (of course) had bounded ahead but Anne and Peggy and I kept tabs on each other and really had a very fun time running together.
By the midway point our confidence-level was fairly high and our silliness-level even higher as we passed a salsa band and salsa dancers. “OOh, I can do salsa hips” Anne cries and “salsa hipped” right smack into me, mid-stride, launching my swan dive into the cement. Ha ha, oops! Essentially unharmed, I picked up myself, and my remaining shreds of dignity off of the road and we continued forward.
The finish line and Capitola came not too long after; we linked arms for the cameras and we’re done! Yay. Now to survive the crush of finishers vying for their goodie bags on the beach, find Evan and walk back to where we had our return-home vehicle parked. “Mission Accomplished”
Four smiling racers at the finish... sweaty but happy!
Overlooking the Capitola Esplanade at the finish... lots of racers swarming the beach and streets
