I’ve always enjoyed the story of the Tortoise and the Hare. You know the one about how the slow and steady tortoise finishes the race before the hare?

Well, that was my story about a week ago when a college friend and I participated in the San Francisco Half Marathon race held Aug. 3.

For those readers who have followed the few blogs and columns I’ve written the past few months, you know I’ve been walking/running on a regular basis in an effort to be prepared for my first big race.

It was a great day for my college friend, who I convinced to participate, and me as we headed for the starting line with about 19,000 racers who were also participating in the annual San Francisco Marathon and Half Marathon. The weather was on the cool side when the race began early Sunday morning with bits of the sun poking throughout at various times throughout the day.

We started out in Golden Gate Park on a curvy path that consisted of several gentle slopes around a few lakes and the Conservatory of Flowers greenhouse, among other sites. After completing a few miles inside the park, we came upon one of the many water/medical stations offered along the route. We were shocked to discover not only was there water, bananas and electrolyte drinks to offer fuel for what was ahead, but there was also a station that offered beer!

I admit I haven’t participated in too many races, but I had never seen or heard of beer being a good drink to gulp while en route on a race. Because we felt we needed all the energy we could muster and didn’t want alcohol to deaden any of our senses, we grabbed the water and passed on the beer.

After the scenery of the park our route took us along the streets of the Haight-Ashbury district with more hills to conquer. I was pleasantly pleased however that the inclines and declines throughout the entire course were manageable and offered enough variety to keep us in check.

Although we were moving at what we considered a quick pace throughout the Haight, I couldn’t help but marvel at this neighborhood that featured many beautifully restored multi-story wooden homes, hugging the street that were intermixed with an eclectic mixture of businesses and restaurants that still reflect images of the 1960s, bohemian subculture. I could almost hear the voices of Jefferson Airplane, The Grateful Dead and Janis Joplin as we passed by.

As we exited the Haight around the middle of the race, our attention began to focus on other race participants, who were beginning to pass us. We marveled at the runners who appeared to be decades older than us taking on such a challenge. We giggled at the few dressed in funky costumes such as the Trojan warrior and the one wearing an inflatable horse.

But the attire that really baffled us were those running in sandals and those participants who were barefoot. I knew how sore my feet were wearing my running shoes and massage gel inserts. I couldn’t imagine how anyone could run any type of distance with the constant slamming of bare feet against the San Francisco pavement. But like I said, this race culture was new to me.

As we made our way to the end of the race we were encouraged that there were plenty of runners in back of us. We were happy not to be in last place, but then our goal was just to finish before the course closed, which we did by several minutes.

As we crossed the finish line close to the Bay Bridge, a sense of accomplishment came rushing through my body. I didn’t feel like completing any more miles, but I thought I might be able to go further if I trained a bit harder and longer.

I don’t make any promises about completing a complete marathon but I am committed to participating in another half marathon, one in Long Beach, Oct. 12 with my 20-year-old daughter. The idea of training and running a race has intrigued her enough to want to give it a try.

While the distance will be the same as the San Francisco race, maybe my goal will be to complete the 13.1 miles in less time than San Francisco. But who knows, I have a few months to think about it all.