Oakland Running Festival

On a glorious Saturday afternoon, it was great to see people getting ready for the Oakland Marathon by picking up their race packets. You could tell that there was an excitement in the air for the inaugural Running festival in Oakland. In fact, local businesses were packed with people visiting from all over the Bay Area on this warm Saturday. It also was great to see downtown filled with people and the trees blossoming just in time for the first week of spring. To get a sense of how busy some of the businesses were, Caffe 817 in Old Oakland ran out their house coffee by 2 p.m. The Oakland Marathon has been a long time in the making -- this will be the first one held in Oakland in 25 years. The timing of the marathon coincides with the transformation of Oakland into a more vibrant city. The greatest thing about this race is that it will allow folks not familiar with Oakland to see on foot the diversity and beauty of this city. As a participant in the half-marathon, I am looking forward to this Running Festival to highlight and showcase this underrated city that we call Oakland!