THE BERKELEY HALF MARATHON COURSE: MILE 3

Ever wonder what running the The Berkeley Half Marathon course is like? Let the Berkeley Half Marathon staff take you through the experience of running the The Berkeley Half Marathon mile-by-mile. Get a sneak peak, then get registered and get training!

Runners cross Bancroft Way and enter the UC Berkeley campus through the iconic Sather Gate to begin Mile 3. To start, runners will find the Martin Luther King Jr. Student Union Building on their left. Students can get a bite to eat at restaurants like Bear’s Lair Tavern and La Cocina or simply hang in comfy chairs and cram for exams. Just past the Martin Luther King Jr. Student Union Building, runners enter Upper Sproul Plaza with Sproul Hall to the right.

Sproul Hall is one of the most history filled areas of the UC Berkeley campus and has been the site of countless protests, actions and events. Most notably the stairs of Sproul Hall and the Sproul Plaza were the site of many events and protests during the Free Speech Movement and the Anti-Vietnam War Movement in the 1960’s and 1970’s. The Free Speech Movement was the first mass act of civil disobedience on an American college campus. Students insisted that the university administration lift the ban of on-campus political activities and acknowledge the students’ right to free speech and academic freedom. On December 2nd, 1964, thousands of students occupied Sproul Hall after a rally featuring many speeches and a performance by Joan Baez. This culminated in the arrest of over 800 students days later on December 4th.

Leaving Sproul Plaza runners pass through the iconic Sather Gate, a California historical landmark, which was donated by Jane K. Sather in memory of her late husband Peder Sather. Turning right onto South Drive runners will find South Hall on their left. South Hall is the oldest building on the campus of the University of California, Berkeley, and the only remaining building of the original campus. South Hall was originally the counterpart of North Hall, which no longer exists, but was located where the Bancroft Library currently stands.

Just past South Hall runners pass the Sather Tower or ‘Campanile’ as it is called for its resemblance to the Campanile di San Marco in Venice. Visible for miles, the Campanile is the third-tallest bell and clock-tower in the world, and an integral part of the campus experience. On clear days visitors can enjoy a spectacular, sprawling view of the Bay Area from the observation platform. Sather Tower houses a full concert carillon, enlarged from the original 12-bell chime, seven principal floors and even many of the Department of Integrative Biology’s fossils.

After a roundabout through many campus buildings runners emerge into a scenic section of the UC Berkeley campus running through the popular student hangout Memorial Glade and ending in the Eucalyptus Grove towards the edge of campus.