Bay Bridge Trail-September 8, 2013

Back in 1989 part of the Bay Bridge collapsed during the Loma Prieta earthquake. Clearly bridges are not supposed to fall apart and those of us in the East Bay have been more than deserving of a new bridge for quite some time. After multiple weekends of bridge closures over the past few years so that work could be completed on the new span and the temporary addition of the scary S-curve, the new eastern span of the Bay Bridge opened right after Labor Day complete with a pedestrian path!

I needed to get a long run in last weekend and missed my group run on Saturday so I planned to try out the new Bay Bridge Trail that starts near IKEA. I had received many warnings from friends NOT to park in IKEA's parking lot so we parked on Horton right off of 40th St. in Emeryville-just about a half mile from the trail head.

Here's GK basking in the beauty of the trail head across from IKEA-you can't miss it, it's right next to the crosswalk.

The first few miles out will take you underneath the MacArthur maze. Exciting primarily because it's all new. There's a marked bike path and then a hard packed trail next to it for runners/walkers. While dogs are allowed along the path (and on the new span), Elsie stayed home due to some recent self-cannibalistic behavior brought on by allergies.

The old span with some unknown male checking out his armpit (photo credit: GK).

A comparison of old v. new.

The run from the trail head to the new span is very flat and then you have a very slight, almost unnoticeable gradual uphill on the span. Again the path is wide enough to allow walkers, runners, and cyclists to exist together peacefully (nothing like the unpredictability while running on the Golden Gate Bridge). Here I'm feeling pretty good as I was able to use one of the porta-potties before starting the climb over the bay. However- 5+ miles without a bathroom break at a 12:45 pace proved to be incredibly challenging. Luckily-a potentially awkward/illegal situation was avoided.

Right now you can only run to the first tower as the expansion to Treasure Island cannot be completed until the old span is demolished. The part of the span that you can currently run on is about 2 miles total. I ran to the end for a much needed stretching break and we took pictures just like everyone else who reached the dead end. Quite striking.

GK just before the turn around on his bike. I may have promised to watch football later in the day in exchange for getting up early to be my sag wagon. He entertained himself with my new iPhone 5 and snapped a million pics of our trek.

Happily exceeded my goal of 9 miles! This run was definitely a confidence booster-much needed as the San Jose Half Marathon is only 4 weeks away. I now know that this race will not be a problem as long as there are available restrooms to use.

I highly recommend this trail for its accessibility, views, and very low level of difficulty. While I had GK guarding me, as long as I ran during light hours (span is actually closed at dusk), there are so many people utilzing the trail that I never felt unsafe. If you want a shorter distance, you can start from Maritime St. in West Oakland. Depending on your distance I would also recommend bringing your own water as there did not appear to be water fountains available on the trail yet.