Run the Virgin Sport San Francisco Half Marathon [UPDATE- CANCELLED]

Virgin Sport is bringing a half marathon back to San Francisco. See details below.

*** UPDATE, Oct. 12th - Virgin Sport has unfortunately had to cancel this weekend's inaugural Virgin Sport San Francisco festival of fitness due to health issues caused by multiple wildfires in northern California. All events are cancelled, including the half marathon and the one-mile race.

The official cancellation notice from Virgin Sport begins (click link for full statement):

After careful consideration and consultation with the City and County of San Francisco and local officials, we are canceling our Virgin Sport San Francisco festival of fitness, including the Twin Peaks Mile and SF Bay Half, scheduled to take place this weekend, October 14-15, given the ongoing public health air-quality issues associated with the Napa and Sonoma wildfires, and following an official Health Advisory warning from the Bay Area Air Quality Management District. 

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The Nike women's half marathon in San Francisco was a big favorite for runners in the years it was held, and it left a big gap when it ended. Now the relatively new group Virgin Sport is holding a brand-new San Francisco festival in October, with the lead event being a half marathon (for both sexes, as all events are).

The event, called Virgin Sport San Francisco, is the latest in the group's series of races with related festivals. 

Even if you're not running a half marathon, you can get down with us and celebrate the weekend with fitness, food, music, classes, art and beer. On Sunday October 15, the festival will go strong, along with mix of free and pre-registered fitness classes at our Go Fit Yourself line up. Stay tuned for more updates and pre-register now to be the first to hear on who we will have leading the pack.

The festival, which takes place this Oct. 14th and 15th, features the half marathon and a one-mile race, and plans to include a lot of local San Fran color with events involving the city's culture and community—with art, music, and more. 

The athletic events:

• Saturday, October 14th  - Twin Peaks Mile, 9 a.m.
• Sunday, October 15th, Civic Center Plaza - Virgin Sport SF Bay Half Marathon, 7 a.m.
• Sunday, October 15th - Go Fit Yourself fitness experience, with a number of free and register-in-advance fitness classes taking place on several stages.

The San Francisco Bay Half Marathon starts and finishes in Civic Center Plaza, and the course winds around the hills and streets of the city, promising plenty of great views. 

The Twin Peaks Mile goes up and up and up, and the organizers say you'll have the chance to do it one of "four different styles: Straight Up, Better Together, Style Mile, and HIIT & Run."

And both of the races include a medal and a beer. Not to mention the gorgeous San Francisco scenery. 

The weekend's final event is the Go Fit Yourself fitness experience, with a number of free and register-in-advance fitness classes taking place on several stages.

See the links for each event or the Virgin Sport San Francisco website for more details and to sign up for the half marathon or other events.

Virgin Sport is one of the more recent projects of serial entrepreneur Richard Branson, found of Virgin Airlines and Virgin Records. Branson hand-picked Mary Wittenberg, former CEO of the New York Road Runners Club, to head Virgin Sport when he started it up a few years ago.