San Francisco is a great city for many reasons - from Golden Gate Park to the Giants, from the food in the Mission to the shops in the Marina, from skyscrapers to the Sunset District (my home!), this city has it all. Upon graduating from college, San Francisco was the logical place to move because of its job opportunities in the nonprofit sector, my career field of choice.

But not only is San Francisco great for a 20-something young professional, it's an awesome place to be a runner! For the urban girl who loves having the city at her fingertips but who also logs hundreds of miles of training a month, SF is perfect. The trails of Golden Gate Park are steps away from my front door, and if I've got a track workout, Kezar Stadium is no more than a mile. Crissy Field is perfect for tempo days or mile repeats, and you can never beat the views of the Golden Gate Bridge while running the Coastal Trail on a long run. I'm not alone in my love for San Francisco - Runner's World voted it the top running city in America!

Back when I first started my blog, I titled it "Running Joyfully in San Francisco." I've since dropped the "in San Francisco" part for the sake of breadth, but the original importance of those 3 words remain: being in San Francisco is part of what makes my running so joyful. Although I lived in Davis for 23 years, I'm a big city girl at heart - and San Francisco has certainly captured mine! To share my love for this city and show you why training here is so amazing, I'm going to start doing Photo Friday posts every week, with some pictures of my beloved city. If these photos don't convince you to go for a run in SF, I don't know what will! Enjoy :)

Golden Gate Bridge

AT&T Park - Go Giants!

Baker Beach