With the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz peeking through the early morning fog, 2,020 runners lined up to compete in today's 4th annual US Half Marathon. It was a grey morning with temperatures in the mid to high 50s, a perfect day for a run, and athletes from all over the world came out to participate. From as far as South Africa and as near as San Francisco itself, the runners made their way from Fort Mason to the Golden Gate Bridge, across it and back again. "It was a gorgeous course, amazing!," women's winner and South African native Johanna Van Schalkwyk said after the race.

Some of the other countries represented included China, Japan, England, Spain and Canada. But lest you think this was purely an international event, the local forces also made their presence felt with locales such as Berkeley, Sunnyvale, San Jose, and Oakland represented.

A half marathon is, of course, 13.1 miles and a lot of position changes can happen in that distance but both the winners of the men's and women's divisions established their positions by mile one and never relinquished them.

For the men it was Michael Stoick, 27, from Minneapolis, Minnesota (photo) and for the women, the aforementioned Van Schalkwyk, 26. Both runners enjoyed the somewhat wet conditions and cool temperatures and besides a "slippery bridge" as Michael Stoick put it, referring to the Golden Gate, all went well.

Stoick, who proved that his race number 2 should have been one lower, normally competes in triathlons and this was his first run in San Francisco. "I had a great time," he said smiling. He finished with a time of 1 hour 13 minutes 45 seconds and beat the second place runner, David Thompson, by nearly five minutes-a very impressive margin. Thompson, also from Minneapolis, Minnesota, finished his race in 1:18:42. Third place went to Evgeniy Sklyanskiy who finished with a time of 1:20:04.

For women's division winner Van Schalkwyk, it was a day to remember. She won her first race during her first visit to America. Her smiling face said it all as she told me the stops on her visit which included Dallas, San Francisco and Los Angeles, "Americans are very friendly and I'm having a great time." No doubt her race result will help. She finished with a 1 hour 24 minutes 34 seconds outrunning her nearest competitor, Lisa Rosenbaum, by just over four and a half minutes. Rosenbaum finished her race in 1:29:05. Third place went to Nancy Morales of with a 1:30:39.

For the 2,018 other runners, the US Half Marathon offered a beautiful route, and the typical San Francisco weather offered temperatures to keep them nice and comfortable.

The course, which hasn't changed since this race's inception in 2002, takes runners on a picturesque jaunt around the northern tip of San Francisco. >From the Municipal Pier at Fort Mason runners make their way to Bay Street before turning west and running along the coast, taunting Alcatraz with their freedom. Then, as they make their way toward the Pacific, the Golden Gate looms in the distance playing hide and seek behind both the fog and trees. Before they cross the bridge, however, runners must first do some zigzagging around the northern end of the Presidio taking in a few historic buildings and old fortifications along the way. It is only then that what must be the most exciting part of the race (besides, of course, finishing) becomes reality-crossing the Golden Gate. But runners don't do it just once. After weaving their way around the north side of the bridge, they come back again to then turn east and head back towards Fort Mason where they ultimately finish at the Aquatic Park.

The Bay Area offers a lot of pretty races throughout the year and certainly the US Half Marathon is one of them. This year's race was a success and leaves no doubt that the 5th will be even bigger and better.

For complete results, visit www.ushalf.com.