2013 Nike Women's Marathon SF- Runner Tracking & More

[UPDATE Aug. 22nd, 2017: The Nike Women's Half apparently is no more, but there's a brand-new, co-ed Virgin Sport San Francisco Half Marathon this October. It includes the half, a one-mile run, and a fitness festival. Learn more about Virgin Sport's new half marathon.

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[UPDATE Oct. 16th, 2015: See details on the 2015 Nike Women's Half Marathon, San Francisco, including interactive course map, runner tracking, and more. The race takes place Sunday, Oct. 18th.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *Sunday, Oct. 20th is the big Nike Women's Marathon in San Francisco, and you can track runners in real time with Track My Run at this link: gonike.me/sf13trackmyrun. At this site you can track multiple runners, follow them through the course with an interactive map, and even see the elevation at the point they're running (no small factor in a race that winds its way through the hills of San Francisco).

All you need to track runners is their bib number or last name.

Track Nike Women's Marathon runners in real time.

More information on the 2013 Nike Women's Marathon: check out the course map (JPEG), the race info sheet, and the race weekend FAQ. The race begins at 6:30 a.m. Sunday.

What's more, the website says you can "Get your race results and celebration photo on your mobile device right as you cross the finish line with the Nike Women’s Marathon Training App," which you'll find at http://gonike.me/werunSF.

For more information and updates on the Nike Women's Marathon, see its website here, check its Facebook page at www.facebook.com/RunNikeWomenSeries, or follow it on Twitter at @runnikewomen. You can also search on Facebook or Twitter using the hashtag #werunsf.

Good luck to all participants in this year's Nike Women's Marathon in San Francisco!

Constantina Tomescu Dita of Romania Wins 2008 Olympic Women's Marathon

38-year-old Romanian Constantina Tomescu Dita literally ran away with the Beijing Olympics women's marathon on Sunday (Saturday night in the West), finishing more than one minute ahead of the second place finisher.

Tomescu Dita pulled away with more than 10 miles to go, building a lead that a seven-runner pack behind her was unable to challenge at all. For much of the last few miles two Kenyans and two Chinese runners were battling for the silver and bronze. In the end, it was Catherine Nedereba of Kenya, one of today's most successful female marathoners, taking the silver and Chunxiu Zhou of China taking the bronze. The Chinese faithful were thrilled to see Zhou win a medal, and to see her compatriot Xiaolin Zhu finish fourth.

(You can find the complete Olympic women's marathon finish list here.

British marathoner Paula Radcliffe had another unsuccessful Olympic experience: she stopped several times but finished, visibly in pain.

The top American finisher was Blake Russell in 27th. Deena Kastor, the bronze medalist in Athens, did not finish.