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Jul 7, 2024

Nike 26.2 = Nike Women's Marathon Runner Comments

Back to Nike 26.2 = Nike Women's Marathon Information & Reviews

Course 4.1

Organization 3.5

Spectators 3.7

Number of comments: 347 [displaying comments 141 to 151]

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A. L. from Brandon, MS (10/24/2008) "Every woman should do this fantastic race!!" (about: 2008) 4-5 previous marathons \| 2 Nike 26.2 = Nike Women's Marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 What a wonderful experience for my first full marathon! I ran the half in this same race last year, and things were even better this year. The course had been slightly modified from last year, which took out several spots that were "bottle-necked" last year. This added a few more hills, none of which were too bad. The scenery was again spectacular, and the course was well-staffed by volunteers who did a fabulous job of passing out water, Gatorade, snacks, etc. Plenty of port-o-lets, support, fans, etc. The race amenities were awesome; it's nice to get such girly things!! Great race overall. Hats off to the organizers ~ I'm looking forward to 2009!!
J. C. from Knoxville, Tennessee (10/23/2008) "an unforgettable experience" (about: 2008) 4-5 previous marathons \| 1 Nike 26.2 = Nike Women's Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 The NWM is full of challenges. The hill beginning at mile six was, I thought, going to be the toughest part of the race, so once it was behind me, I thought I was ready to just enjoy the run. Whoops! The steady incline thereafter proved to be more difficult than the hills from six to eight. And, although the view of the Pacific was wonderful, running out and back along the coast was difficult. The pavement was very rough and hard on already aching feet. All that aside, however, the race itself was amazing! My third event with Team In Training, and by far the most rewarding. The expotique is not all it's cracked up to be, but the finisher's necklace is awesome!!! I ran a marathon personal best in this race and, if San Francisco weren't so far from home, I would love to run this race again someday.
B. P. from Grand Ledge, Michigan (10/22/2008) "Necklace is beautiful; got tarnished along the way" (about: 2008) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Nike 26.2 = Nike Women's Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 1 Imagine my shock when I was 0.25 miles from the 30K mark to be told that you need to reach the mat by 12:00 p.m. I did not see this IMPORTANT piece of information anywhere on your website or e-mails. I brought 20 women 3/4 of the way across the country to run this race. All of them made incredible sacrifices personally and financially to get to S.F. only to be turned away at the 30K mat? That is exactly what happened one of our group. She reached the 30K mat 4 minutes after 12:00 p.m. and was turned around, even though it took her 20 minutes to reach the start mat. Are you kidding me?! Was this insider knowledge, because it seemed that all the TNT coaches were well aware of the cut-off. Again, I have searched all of my information on the race several times over and cannot find it anywhere that there is a cut-off mat. The funny thing is that she had to walk 3 miles back to the finish, putting her at almost 22 miles when I saw her with over an hour left in the 7-hour time limit. This is unconscionable. There should have been volunteers reminding people of this on the course, and at the very least, runners should have been told about this at packet pick-up. In addition, I registered and paid for a medium finisher's shirt; imagine again my surprise when I got to the finisher's area and there were only larges and extra-larges on the table. (Only to realize when I got back to my hotel, that my finisher's shirt was for the half-marathon.) I am not the only one in our group who this happened to. My final comment would be in regards to the expo. I absolutely loved the Thursday night expo party. I had no idea that it would be the extent of the expo for the entire weekend. You cannot be serious. You do not bring 30,000 runners to an event and not have a way for them to pick up last-minute items. Many of us traveled via air to get to S.F. Some even inadvertently forgot racing essentials and thought that they would probably be able to pick them up at the expo. Again, imagine my surprise when there wasn't one running item to be found. You even had to go to NIKETOWN or Lady Foot Locker for race apparel. No Body Glide, gloves, fuel belt or gels. Do not do that to runners in the future. The necklace is beautiful, but got tarnished along the way.
J. M. from Pennsylvania, USA (10/21/2008) "Oh what an event!" (about: 2008) 4-5 previous marathons \| 1 Nike 26.2 = Nike Women's Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 5 This was my 5th event, and first time at NWM-SF. The course, views, spectators, and positive energy were all fantastic! Pre- and post-event navigation of the Nike website was frustrating. There should be a website devoted to the marathon. The Nike site is truly lacking... where are the results?! Even though I did this for the charity and for fun, I'd like to see how I did. Speaking of beneficiaries, it's great that Nike is such a big sponsor, but the reason that the event got lost is their self-promotion. Seems only the event name gave the reason. Hardly any merchandise, blogs, etc. had the Leukemia Lymphoma Society info associated with it. Well, at least the society is benefiting from it! I'll certainly be back in the future! It was a lot of fun! GO TEAM!!
c. m. from alaska (10/21/2008) "Beautiful course! Liked the race a lot!" (about: 2008) 4-5 previous marathons \| 1 Nike 26.2 = Nike Women's Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 This was my 5th, though I've done a lot of the bigger half's, too. Overall, I'd really give it a 4.5 for everything. This is a race for more casual runners, not hardcore ones (unless you are fast enough to get in first part of the pack). Tons of weaving needed here. The really good things: San Francisco is a great town to visit. The "expotique" was fun - I even got to meet Joanie briefly. It was crowded though. Good swag-totes, chocolates, a Tiffany necklace, etc. The course was very beautiful! Much nicer than I expected in a city.Loved coming down the hill to the beach/cliff house area. Lots of water stops, volunteers, etc. Plenty of Luni Moons (good) and bars, plus oranges and bananas. I can't eat and run, but the oranges were nice. Amazingly, the course wasn't littered with them either as most are. Also, I liked having the firemen in tuxes give out the necklaces. Things needing improvement: The start was a mess. The start groups were too large and signage was poor, even for those of us trying to find right corrals. Never saw pace groups. A few marked balloons would help a lot! It is hilly, though thankfully, that's in the early miles. Not enough porta-potties in the earlier miles, but they had tons halfway in. Too crowded at end, without enough buses. I was really glad I'd done it with TNT.
M. M. from chicago (10/21/2008) "Beautiful!" (about: 2008) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Nike 26.2 = Nike Women's Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This was my first time in San Francisco and my first Nike race. The expo was nice; I was a little disappointed that you could not buy the Nike clothes at the expo, but I can see that they wanted you to spend your money in the store. The race itself was very well run and the views were awesome! Just when you got tired and thought "another mile," you turned a corner and saw a view that made you say, "Wow." The surfers cutting across the great highway made me laugh, the spectators were wonderful, and the volunteers were the best. Priceless. If you are a runner who gets frustrated weaving around walkers, this isn't the race for you, but TNT does a good job and is a worthy cause. The only downside was navigating the website and the spectator bus was a waste of money; there needs to be a better system for that. Also, most big races now have tracking. I think Nike can afford this.
a. p. from northwest (10/21/2008) "Mixed Emotions" (about: 2008) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Nike 26.2 = Nike Women's Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 2 Wow, great course. Nike, your store is crammed to the gills, but it might've been nice for you to offer 10 or 15% off of your merchandise for race participants through Monday - especially since you obviously couldn't provide the promised perks to the entire field. Race organizers, you knew how many people were participating and should not have run out of stuff or had people packed up at the end. And the support along the second half of the course. What? Packing up early? Motor coaches for some, school buses for others? The lack of results and the inaccuracies - what is that about? And the misinformation given to people who inquired ahead of the race - unforgivable. TNT, everyone deserves support who is out there, not just those in purple shirts. I technically had a great day, but these things were a disappointment and there is no reason why this couldn't have been an optimal experience if things were handled a little more professionally.
S. B. from ATL (10/21/2008) "Brutal marathon! Super hilly!" (about: 2008) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Nike 26.2 = Nike Women's Marathon COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 4 Nike was my 12th marathon. Boston and Adirondack were cakewalks compared to San Fran! I live in ATL and trained on the hills, but I caution you: really consider training on steep hills and punishing downhills to endure this race! I did this one with Team in Training; I loved the cause and I am proud that I raised the money; however, I won't do another TNT event. The logistics are awful. From boarding the first flight out, to waiting for the bus to the hotel, etc., etc. The lines were LONG, the wait FOREVER, and it seeped the good vibes right out of me! Marathon course: Difficult, hilly, and logistically challenging to have family drop-off and pick up without it being a nightmare. Medal: The necklace is nice. Tee: Finisher fee very nice as well. Expo: Laughable! 100% of the race merchandise had to be bought at the Nike store. What a rip-off! Would I recommend it to a friend? No. There are other, equally challenging courses that are more runner-friendly, making Nike's race just not worth it.
S. S. from Maryland (10/21/2008) "Too many walkers improperly corralled" (about: 2008) 4-5 previous marathons \| 1 Nike 26.2 = Nike Women's Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 This was my first Nike race, and as races go, it was OK. Just OK; not great, but not bad. The comment from 2007 about the novice runners was on-point. That was my biggest frustration about the race. Too many walkers who did not walk to the side and the course was too narrow so you couldn't pass them. I knew I would be running 12:00-12:30 pace, so I put myself at the front of the 12:00-15:00 minute/mile pace group. The problem was that too many slower walkers positioned themselves too high in the race corral because I passed too many people along the way. One woman I passed at mile 4 was wearing flip-flops! Another was carrying her baby on her back, and one man I passed at mile 12 was pushing a stroller! Come on now; even though we're not going to win, it's still a race! I also witnessed several women hogging the photographers at photo opportunities. Having a wider course (use the entire street), water stations on both sides of the roads, and more runner education (especially considering how many TNT people there are) would make this race a lot less frustrating and more fun for everyone.
K. K. from Central PA (10/21/2008) "Wouldn't recommend it" (about: 2008) 4-5 previous marathons \| 1 Nike 26.2 = Nike Women's Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 5 While I commend the Team in Training race this is, and am in awe of the amount of money this race raises, if I were not a part of Team in Training, I wouldn't do it. Nike's website is poor, the race expo is pathetic, the support services at the end are not geared towards those finishing the marathon quickly and needing extra support, the shuttles for spectators and runners are horrible (do not waste your money on this - the Fulton bus will take you back to Market street), and the Tiffany necklace is nice, but not worth the hassle of dealing with this marathon. Spend your $100 fee on your own Tiffany necklace. So while I wouldn't recommend this race, if you are considering a Team in Training race, this would probably be it. Majority of participants are Team in Training. The course is challenging, with many hills (although it's quite spectacular). Water stops along the way were plentiful and nicely stationed. Spectators were great. I gave the course 3 stars for the scenery, the organization 2 stars (would have given it one but they did have nicely placed water stations), and the spectators were a 5. All that said, this was a PR race for me and qualified me for Boston for a 2nd time, so I am happy with the end results. But I would not do this race again.

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