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The San Francisco Marathon Runner Comments
Back to The San Francisco Marathon Information & Reviews
Course 4.3 
Organization 3.6 
Spectators 2.6
Number of comments: 503 [displaying comments 101 to 111]
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J. W. from Midwest
(7/28/2010)
 "Maybe the best SUMMER race in North America" (about: 2010)
50+ previous marathons
| 6+ The San Francisco Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 I'm continually drawn back to this race (and it gets better every year). Yes, the hills are tough. But the beauty of the city and the COOL weather makes up for any exceptional difficulty. Not many spectators, but those who ARE out make it a party experience. | |
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J. V. from Scarsdale, New York
(7/26/2010)
 "I left my Quads in San Francisco" (about: 2010)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 The San Francisco Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 2 Went into this marathon a bit intimidated by The WSJ article proudly displayed on The SF Marathon website: "The Race Even Marathoners Fear." It's tough alright... but well worth it for the following reasons: 1. A great destination marathon; the course is lovely and showcases the city. 2. Very well organized, with lots of volunteers - and the size of the water cups was fine (never ceases to amaze me what people complain about). 3. Perfect weather... cool, cloudy and breezy. Great to use as a summer training run. 4. Very nice technical shirt. 5. Huge, lovely medal. 6. Finish line food was plentiful and varied, but if you have some money to spare, I highly recommend the VIP experience at Perry's. 7. The course was so varied and interesting that you really don't need or miss spectators. 8. Nice merchandise at the expo. 9. Very convenient; you can roll out of your hotel and get to the start... I saw a guy park on the street a few block away an hour before the race. 10. And finally: THE GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE IS AWESOME. You approach it as you run along the Presidio, with Alcatraz floating in the fog in the distance; then you start up the long, slow anticipatory climb, and there it is: huge and majestic, in the cool, cloudy dawn.... | |
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N. T. from Reno, NV
(7/26/2010)
"Don't underestimate the hills!" (about: 2010)
1 previous marathon
| 1 The San Francisco Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 First of all, I loved the shirt and the big medal. This is the first full marathon I've run, so I can't compare it to any other courses. It seemed to be pretty well organized - the size of the expo was something I've never seen at local races, and the finish line food was diverse and there was plenty left even for us slow folks. I think that the biggest organizational issue I found was with the wave starts. I was in wave 7 (for those racing under 4:45). The 4:45 pace group had started with wave 6 for some reason (even though we weren't allowed to move up to that wave), and 5:00 and 5:15 pacers were in wave 7. For a short time, the 5:15 pacer even passed the 5:00 pacer at about mile 1. The 5:00 group also stopped and walked at about 3/4 mile; maybe because they went out too fast? It was a little strange and I decided to just pace myself. Also, the announcers at the start got confused, and for about 10 minutes those of us in the wave 7 corral thought we got bumped back and were starting with wave 8. There weren't too many spectators, as the other posts have said, but those that were there were very friendly. I also have to say a huge thank you to the neighbors at about mile 20 (Waller St. maybe?) who put up a "Break Down the Wall" banner, blasted music, and handed out water. They were awesome. Also, the Harley Davidson group that acted as course monitors were super friendly and supportive. As for the hills, I was very skeptical about how tough they would be, since the elevation profile only features about 300 feet of difference throughout the race. I should have known better. The hills were pretty abrupt, and they just kept coming. The 8 or so hills that are each 150 eeft over a couple of blocks definitely start to add up. But the views and running on the Golden Gate made it all worth it. | |
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n. l. from Fort Myers, FL
(7/26/2010)
"Great race, beautiful views, tough hills..." (about: 2010)
3 previous marathons
| 1 The San Francisco Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 I am a newbie in marathons. This was my third (Chicago and Disney before). The course was spectacular. BUT... folks, must you stop to take pictures on the Golden Gate Bridge? It was very tight given that we had one lane to get across and some of the half-marathon walkers were walking three-abreast. Otherwise, simply spectacular scenery. The park hills tested me beyond my limits. I'd do it again! | |
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B. H. from Salt Lake City, Utah
(7/25/2010)
"great marathon, great city" (about: 2010)
2 previous marathons
| 1 The San Francisco Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 This is my third marathon this year. I don't know about everyone else, but I didn't think the hills were that bad. I actually prefer uphill running to downhill, as it is easier on my knees. The bridge was great, but pretty tight as you have no more room than about 4-people wide on either side of the cones going across the bridge. When you have the half marathoners mixed in with the marathoners at this point, it makes for some problems for us marathoners, but if you really think slowing down for a few minutes at mile 8 is going to kill your time, you are kidding yourself. Ending the marathon coming up and around Giants Stadium was breathtakingly beautiful. Plenty of port-a-potties and plenty of food at the end. Great city and pretty race. I may do this one again. | |
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Jeff Wang from Humble, Texas
(7/25/2010)
"San Francisco Marathon - the good and bad" (about: 2010)
11-50 previous marathons
| 6+ The San Francisco Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 4 This is my 8th San Francisco Marathon. As a loyal runner of his race since 2003, I have experienced this race through different courses and different sponsors. I have witnessed it evolving from a small event with fewer than 1000 runners to the huge race that it is today. I have also seen the changes, for better or for worse, as well as the lack of certain changes that I have suggested here year after year. Here us my take from the 2010 race. The course was still the same: hilly but absolutely beautiful (for the most part) around the city of San Francisco. The highlight was obviously the Golden Bridge run, about 2 miles in both directions. While there was only 1 lane each way reserved for the runners, I thought they did a good job. The wave system worked ok this year - something I think they have excelled at over the past 3-4 years since they started this. There were lots of water/Cytomax station as well as 2 GU stations (which were at mile 6 and 12 and could be placed a bit later in the race, in my opinion) as well as a beer station. Too bad there is no wine station. As for expos, I thought it was just acceptable. I really don't care for the venue, which is far off where everything is and where most of the runners stay. I had to take both a subway train and a bus to get there from Union Square. How about moving back to Embacaderos, like a few years ago? As for post-race, there were snacks and bananas, but they were stingy about water. The organizer took one of the 2 bottles of water away from me, saying there are more later, but I found none. Too cheap to give out 2 bottles of water for someone who ran 26.2 miles? The biggest disappointment for me were the mile markers. This was a joke. Mile markers were not an issue 8 years ago, but over the past 3 years, it's been getting worse. For this year, I saw my first mile marker at 3, then at 6 and 9 - and these were off. It was so far off that I thought I was doing 10-minute miles at 10 and 11. Then, at the spot where I thought the 12th marker should be, it said "13." Hmmm, I finished 2 miles in 10 minutes; must be my personal best. Even at mile 23, they used a "Mile 3" flag. Shame on the organizers of this race for not being able to get this straight. My suggestion for this race? 1. Move the expo back to Embacadero or somewhere near Union Square. 2. Move the GU stations back a bit. 3. Add more food selection at the end and don't be so stingy about water. For crying out loud, we paid to be here and we ran 26.2 miles. I would think that runners know the amount of fluid replenishment better than some guy who's probably never done a 10K in his entire life. 4. How about a finisher shirt or mug? 5. For their Runner Loyalty program, only those at year 5 and 10 are eligible for prizes. That sort of puts the rest of us out in the cold. A cheap shirt or sweat or mug can help them advertise and encourage runners returning - not a bad idea for all runner over 5 years, instead of just years 5 and 10. 6. Lastly, please fix mile markers! | |
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J. D. from Washington, D.C.
(1/21/2010)
"Great destination marathon!" (about: 2009)
1 previous marathon
| 1 The San Francisco Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 This was my first marathon, and I chose San Francisco because I thought if I was going to run 26.2 miles, I would choose a city I've never been to. What a great way to see the city! Weather - The weather was perfect! At the start of the race it was in the low-mid 50s and then warmed up to the low 60s. Course - The course was very scenic, and running over the Golden Gate bridge was really cool. I also loved running along the Embarcadero in the beginning of the race and then spending a lot of time in Golden Gate Park. They also had trivia questions and answers posted along the course, which provided some entertainment along the way. Hills - Yes, there are hills. But to be honest, I didn't do much hill training at all prior to the race and I thought they were manageable. Don't let the hills keep you from doing this race! Organization - I thought the race was well organized. I especially liked how there was a bus that took spectators to different viewing spots along the course, which allowed my friends to see me about 5 different times throughout the race. Fans/Spectators - This was something I was worried about based on other reviews I had read. Recognizing that this was my first marathon, I was really pleased with the crowds. There were parts of the course without anyone cheering, but it made the areas where they were that much better. Overall, I highly recommend this marathon for running veterans as well as first-time marathoners. I would absolutely run this race again if I were to back to the West Coast. | |
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R. V. from California
(11/13/2009)
 "Not bad, but could be much better" (about: 2009)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 The San Francisco Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 2 I've run several marathons before this one, and have never encountered a wave start quite like this. There are about seven waves, and about eight minutes apart. The most annoying thing to me was that people don't know their pace, and they get into one of the first waves. I spent most of the first half of the race trying to run around walkers who started before me. It became especially annoying on the GG Bridge where we had just two lanes: one for each direction. I carried my own water bottle, so the small Dixie cups were not a problem. But the Cytomax is awful - get something better! The good things were the course monitors who always headed us in the right direction at every corner, and having the start and finish right on the waterfront. There is also an option to run just the first half (including the GG Bridge) or the second half (mostly downhill). The race provides shuttles for those participants. | |
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Peter Bucholtz from Vancouver, British Columbia
(10/17/2009)
 "You must run this race!" (about: 2009)
1 previous marathon
| 1 The San Francisco Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 I'm new to marathons. My first was in May of this year in Vancouver, BC. So where to for the next race? San Francisco seemed like a great destination with race day less than three months away. We packed up our little Jack Russell and drove to California, camping along the way. The Golden Gate Bridge was our entry into San Francisco. What a beautiful city! The anticipation of running over this bridge was exciting. We settled into the Westin, which was within 10 blocks of the race start. We then walked to the race expo to pick up my race package. The expo was busy and a lot of fun, with several well known race veterans present. It was unfortunate that the expo wasn't held at the host hotel. I didn't see any advertising for the race around the city, which surprised me. The race stated at 5:30 (way too early!). I was in Wave Two at the start. I think there were far too many slow runners in Wave One who shouldn't have been there. The course was scenic, and challenging with the hills. Crowd support was very light, probably because of the early start. The back half was interesting, but lonely. What a great way to see the city. The finish line, at last! There was lots of support from everyone and good snacks. Great race (a PB), a beautiful city, and a memorable experience. We really enjoyed our visit. Thanks. | |
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J. L. from Phoeniz, AZ
(10/15/2009)
"Awesome!" (about: 2009)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 The San Francisco Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 Running the Golden Gate is surreal. The course allows you to see all of SF in a matter of hours - the best "tourist package" I've bought. A very organized event with wave starts, and perfect weather for July (who knew SF had such great weather in the summer?). |
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