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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 121 to 131]
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A. S. from Tulsa, Oklahoma
(8/4/2009)
"Great race, beautiful weather" (about: 2009)
2 previous marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 The course was beautiful! You start along the piers, head over the Golden Gate, through the park, along the Haight Ashbury, and by At&T Park. What more could you ask for? I know there were some times on the second half the scenery was less than beautiful, but you will not see any complaints out of me! Organization: The wave starts were great! I personally enjoyed that there weren't mile markers at every mile, just because who needs to be reminded that they still have 20 miles to go? But, I do know that if you didn't have a Garmin, it might have made for some difficult pacing! The water stops seemed well spaced to me. I didn't enjoy the small Dixie cups, but I just simply asked for two each time. The end of the marathon was a little confusing for me. I saw that others had a shot taken in front of some kind of finishers' sign. Where was that? Spectators: I was kind of surprised to see that others had commented that there were no spectators. Because once I left the Golden Gate Park and entered Haight Street, there were plenty of people cheering. The rest of the course seemed to have plenty of spectators as well. | |
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K. M. from Dumfries, Virginia
(8/4/2009)
"Outstanding!" (about: 2009)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 The San Francisco Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I have NO negatives about this race. Maybe it was just my day to have a good run. I was raised in So. Cal. and have always wanted to run this ONE. Now I'm on the East Coast and just decided to do it during the family vacation in Manhattan Beach. I was not disappointed. I've run several marathons from the west (Honolulu) to the east (Marine Corps) and this was my second favorite (the first favorite is a long story). Anyway, I loved it. The course, of course, is beyond fantastic: ocean, Golden Gate Bridge, Presidio, the city, and the finish at the water's edge. I'm definitely coming back. | |
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Eli Salazar from Chicago, IL, USA
(8/3/2009)
"Great course and race." (about: 2009)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 The San Francisco Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 Ok, for a marathon, it had its problems, but overall, I had a great experience! The course was beautiful and running across the Golden Gate Bridge was amazing, though it was a little congested on the bridge when I crossed it. The good: The course and scenery! Of course, running on the bridge and through the various parks was incredible. Golden Gate Park was the best part of the marathon; it was quiet, cool, and relatively flat. I easily picked up several seconds on my pace. The bad: The organization, especially with regard to water stations, the beginning of the race, and parts of the course. Ok, the water stations were the worst of any marathon I've ever participated in. Dixie cups? Really?! I had to take at least 2 to 3 cups per stations to feel satisfied. Whatever electrolyte replacement they passed out tasted awful, watered down, and just gross at times. I couldn't even tell you the name of the brand they used. C'mon, organizers, get some Gatorade or PowerAde! The beginning of the race was chaotic! I couldn't find my gate and there were no organizers to assist me. I finally found it. There were way too many runners at the beginning, and the half-marathoners and marathons all bunched up on a slippery bridge, which was not very safe. Overall, I had a great experience. I didn't have a PR, but I came close. The hills were steep at time, but very doable - this coming from a runner who lives and trains in Chicago. I had no problem with the hills. I even qualified for the Boston Marathon! To all of the runners out there, keep training and good luck with all of your races! | |
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M. C. from Arlington, VA
(7/31/2009)
"Nice course, decent organization, poor fans" (about: 2009)
2 previous marathons
| 1 The San Francisco Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 2 Pros: - Scenic course, which hits all of the major parks and many attractions. - Great running weather: Mid 50's to low 60's with a nice mist. - Plan a vacation afterward! Cons: - Early start. Being from the East Coast, this was not a problem, but I felt bad for locals. - The expo floor plan was a bit awkward. - POOR WAVE PLANNING. This was huge. Wave #1 contained only 250 runners, but filled far too quickly. That's OK except for this next item. - FAST PACE GROUPS WERE IN WAVE #1. By the time I started a minute behind them, I was not going to catch my group. I was told pacers would be in Wave #2 because of the foul-up that was grouping, but that didn't happen. - Too much congestion getting into waves. Had I not hopped a fence, I would have been stuck with more than a hundred other folks standing on the street/outside our corral. Maybe the corrals were too small? - The final 10K go through barren neighborhoods. There were occasionally people out, but all were quiet. I don't know, maybe PAY people to cheer? Overall, a good time, but there were enough cons to leave me feeling shorted. Will I go back? Maybe in a few years. | |
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M. G. from Anaheim, USA
(7/30/2009)
"Scenic course, but oh so hilly" (about: 2009)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 The San Francisco Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 Having run all of the So Cal marathons (and complaining vehemently if there were four small hills in the course), clearly I was not ready for this race. Sure, I had read all of the comments posted for the last three years, and sure, I had seen the elevation chart, but I was sure that once on the course, the hills would not be that bad and that I would probably PR despite repeated posts by runners saying that this is not a PR course. Okay, so I was wrong. This was a very hilly course and not well suited for "flat land" runners like me. There were two very steep hills leading up to the Golden Gate Bridge, and then another ginormous one going into the Presidio. Then there was a series of rolling hills in the Richmond District before entering Golden Gate Park. Inside the park (miles 13-19), there were plenty of ups and downs and small hills. Finally by mile 20, there were some super steep downhills. :-) But wait, there's more. At mile 22, another surprise hill to conjure up curse words in your mind. Then, finally, the homestretch, which was flat. It was no PR day for me, but I thought towards the end that I could comfortably finish under 4 hours. By mile 25, I think the hills had beaten the you-know-what out of me, so I had no kick left and had to settle for 4:01. On the plus side, this was a very beautiful course and the weather was perfect: nice and cool, in the 50's, with very little wind. Despite the wave start, many parts of the course were too crowded, especially on the bridge. I guess I weaved in and out too much as my final Garmin mileage read 26.64. Race organization was excellent and the water stops were well stocked with very able volunteers. Thanks again for all who helped out. The drinks served in small Dixie cups was annoying, but you just needed to grab two. Lack of crowd support did not bother me at all. There were fewer folks out, but still enough to keep you motivated. Also, some posters have complained about running through the warehouse district towards the end of the race. That didn't bother me at all. At that point, I was oblivious to what was around me as I was just trying to keep from passing out and/or dying, all the while keeping my mind focused on the fact that there would be a ginormous medal and steak dinner waiting for me at the finish line. The expo was crowded, but as expos go, it was pretty good. However, my wife was upset that they ran out of half-marathon shirts by the time we got there. I had no problem scoring my full marathon shirt, so it was all good. ;-) The post-race was good, with plenty of food and liquids (though strangely I was unable to locate my ginormous steak dinner). The metal is large and beautiful. Congrats to the organizers for a well run marathon in one of the most beautiful cities in our country. I may not be back next year, but it was great to run this marathon, so I highly recommend it to others. | |
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D. M. from Fort Collins, CO
(7/30/2009)
"good, but some broken promises" (about: 2009)
11-50 previous marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 +'s + Good course... it's hard not to have it so in such a great/beautiful city. + Good wave start system... lots of runners were managed well to avoid congestion. + Good water/electrolyte stations. + Good safety... seems every Harley owner in CA turned out to help ensure safety at intersections. -'s - Gel was promised at two stations, but only available at one (I think it was mile 5). - Only 6 miles were marked. The first marker was at mile 12. That's a very strange oversight for a major marathon, and it made it impossible to calculate pace. - There was no food at the end. I didn't run it fast, but still, there was ABSOLUTELY NOTHING at the end. What about their promise that "a variety of foods will be available for all runners?" | |
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C. F. from Southern California
(7/30/2009)
"Great Course, Crappy Event" (about: 2009)
2 previous marathons
| 1 The San Francisco Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 2 First, the positive: the course is amazing. It's challenging, hill-wise, but not horrendous. The scenery is constantly changing and always beautiful and/or interesting. The weather was cool to cold (perfect for running) for the first 20 miles (at my pace) and sunny and warm for the home stretch. Despite all of that, I will never EVER run this race again because of the following: 1. There was NO WATER AVAILABLE FOR THE FIRST EIGHT (8) MILES. That's right. They actually had no stands of any kind for the first 4 miles and at the stand at mile 4, they RAN OUT OF CUPS, so they weren't offering water. 2. There were supposed to be two stops that had GU, but there was only 1 - around mile 7 or 8. I hope not too many were counting on that to keep them going! 3. There was NOTHING AT THE FINISH LINE. I got my medal and NOTHING ELSE - no water, no banana, no bars, nothing. Jack SQUAT. 4. Later in the race, they had cops STOPPING RUNNERS to let traffic pass. It's clear that this city, as a whole, doesn't give a rat's rear about this race. By the time this race comes around, they've already had Bay to Breakers and the AIDS walk, and maybe asking them to come out en masse for this is just asking to much. I will say this, though - even though the number of spectators was low, the few that were there were very vocal, encouraging, sincere and often very funny. I would have loved to have seen more of them, but I truly enjoyed the ones that were there. It's such a shame - the city, the course and the people have such character; this really has the potential to be one of the great American road races, but the bottom line is, for $120, it's a complete and total ripoff. | |
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R. H. from USA
(7/30/2009)
"Great city, great course, great experience!" (about: 2009)
50+ previous marathons
| 1 The San Francisco Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 Good running experience overall, with typical, July, morning fog in SFO making it very comfortable. Running over the GGB roadway was a privilege and a pleasure. The organization was also very good, but I have one major issue that can easily be corrected. Do NOT cut off the age groups at 70-plus. That policy is at least a decade out of date. Most races, large and small, now continue five-year age divisions through 80-plus and many are even going to 85-plus. Organizers, it's NOT about winning more hardware; most of us have plenty of that. It's a matter of principle! It's also good business; you have no idea how many runners you lose because of the current policy. Many just refuse to register... on principle! | |
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A. D. from Texas
(7/30/2009)
"Miles 1-18 were great" (about: 2009)
1 previous marathon
| 1 The San Francisco Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 2 The majority of the course was great. Running along the coast, over the bridge and through Golden Gate Park was amazing and made the hills bearable. The last 8 miles were much less entertaining and mainly through residential and industrial areas. Great race and perfect weather though. | |
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Z. Z. from San Diego, CA
(7/30/2009)
"I Left My Quads in SF" (about: 2009)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 The San Francisco Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 I enjoyed this run. The weather was perfect and course was scenic. Fun to run over the Golden Gate Bridge. The course support did a great job. The medal and shirt look great. If I had to be picky, the second half-marathon started at the same time I was passing through. It made the course a little congested - no biggie. Highlight: seeing Dean at the expo. |
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