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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 241 to 251]
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D. H. from St. Paul, MInnesota
(8/6/2006)
"A fantastic experience!" (about: 2006)
3 previous marathons
| 1 The San Francisco Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 Don't listen to those with negative comments: this is a first-class marathon in a first-class city. The early start time, with its cool temperatures, was perfect; the organization was flawless; the water stops and toilets were frequent and plentiful; the course was well-marked; and the spectators were enthusiastic in some places (who runs marathons for spectator reaction anyway?). The scenery was beautiful and running the Golden Gate Bridge was a once-in-a-lifetime experience! Do some hill training in advance; it is a challenging course. But do the S.F. Marathon - it's well worth it! | |
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M. C. from Portland, OR
(8/5/2006)
"Scenic, fun course" (about: 2006)
First Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 2 I ran only the half-marathon (first half), but what I saw of the course was fantastic. The GG Bridge was gorgeous! The race organizers had put Burma Shave-style signs with questions and then, a few hundred meters later, the answers, along the race course, especially on the hills. It was a cute idea, and I noticed that it prompted conversation between strangers a couple of times - great way to encourage camaraderie. Five stars for the t-shirts: high-quality and great design. My only frustration was the fact that we were on our feet for quite a while both before and after the race. The end wasn't very well-organized, and I had to walk around in circles looking for my checked gear. I asked different "staff" members (actually a high school track team that was staffing the half-marathon finish), and none of them were quite able to point me in the right direction. Finally I saw a racer who had already gotten his gear, and he pointed me there right away. Also, the food/medal collection lines weren't always well-marked. Can't comment on how the overall finish area was, but the organization at the first half-marathon finish area could definitely be improved. The start corrals were also a little bit frustrating because there was such a long wait for back-of-the-pack runners. I had been told I needed to arrive before 5 a.m., even though my group wasn't scheduled to take off until 6. If their goal was to cut down on congestion, they did an admirable job of that, but especially since the race did start so early anyway, it would have been nice to know that I didn't need to be there quite so early. Those are minor quibbles, though; overall, a fantastic experience and a great way to see San Francisco. It's a great course: the first half went along the waterfront, over GG Bridge, through some charming little neighborhoods, and past some very nice parks. I had a blast and would highly recommend it! | |
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John Homer from NYC
(8/5/2006)
"Not a PR." (about: 2006)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 The San Francisco Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 Start was efficient - no congestion. Congestion at Golden Gate was debilitating - the lanes should have been twice as wide. I lost approximately 5-8 minutes in the mix. So, this is not a PR course. The weather is incredible and the hills moderate. It is a great summer marathon. | |
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P. P. from NC
(8/4/2006)
"The scenery was nice, but that's just about it..." (about: 2006)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 The San Francisco Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 2 From start to finish, a poorly organized race. Here are a few reasons why. 1. When I asked about the baggage drop-off, a volunteer informed me that it was up the road and to the left. I walked a distance, and didn't see any tables or volunteers. It wasn't until I asked a number of people that I discovered you merely needed to drop off your bag behind a barrier marked with an 8.5 X 11 piece of paper with your bib number. Keep in mind that it was 5 a.m. and dark. 2. The miles were not clearly marked. At times there were banners, at other times the miles were spray painted on the road. It was difficult to determine and adjust pace. 3. There were not enough water stops, and the Cytomax was provided in a very small cup. 4. Spectators were far and few between. Those I saw seem uninterested at best. 5. As the 10K was still being run at the time I was finishing, I had to yell at slowers runners to get out of my way for my final kick. 6. Post-race refreshments were lacking. 7. Masters winners won both Masters and Age Group awards. When I questioned this, the reply was, "While it is true that many races do not allow it, the San Francisco Marathon does allow Masters winners to win their age groups." I don't recall reading anything about this prior to the race, but I could be wrong. I'm running a marathon in all 50 states, and I'm sorry that I picked the SF Marathon for the race to run in CA. | |
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A. K. from Southampton, England UK
(8/4/2006)
"Best experience of my life" (about: 2006)
1 previous marathon
| 1 The San Francisco Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 This was my first marathon, and I chose it because it seemed a bit "different" from NY, London, etc., and because SF is my favorite city in the world. I had read a fair number of negative points here in relation to previous years. Not having done a marathon before, I can only go on my experiences at this one, and that was a well organized event. Yes, there weren't loads of spectators, but the advantage of this was that it seemed more intimate - the handful of people on a street corner weren't reduced to the blur of a crowd, for example. The course is beautiful, but yes, it's true, the last three miles or so are ugly and demoralizing! (Hence me giving the course a "4" and not a "5.") Running over the GG Bridge was superb. The hills on this course aren't really that bad - I had done NO hill training at all and came in with a time of 3 hours and 30 minutes. Once you've run back over the bridge, the inclines are pretty much out of the way. The expo was OK... although I felt Dean Karnazes seminar could have been much better (instead of, hi, why don't you guys watch my segment on David Letterman for the first 10 minutes whilst I disappear again?). My thanks to everyone involved, including the spectators and everyone running the aid stations. I will be back next year! | |
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J. S. from Columbus, Ohio
(8/3/2006)
"Enjoyed every minute!" (about: 2006)
11-50 previous marathons
| 3 The San Francisco Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 So much better organized than 2005. Still room for improvement but 100% better than 2005. The staggered start was a huge help with overall congestion, especially on the bridge. Shirts are amazing, best I've seen in all my years of running. Suggestions: This race is so large that the expo area needs to be expanded; having it in two locations doesn't work well. Also, larger mile marker signs would be nice. Would like to see running caps again, like in 2005. | |
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T. R. from Santa Rosa
(8/3/2006)
"I think they fixed it" (about: 2006)
2 previous marathons
| 1 The San Francisco Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 2 I hadn't run this marathon before, and because of the many negative comments posted here, I signed up for it a little reluctantly (my friends wanted to do it). Well, either the organizers solved the problems or the complainers have been overstating the problems, because I couldn't see anything seriously wrong here. The route is beautiful for most of the distance (though I admit that it was an anticlimax, late in the race, when the course turned south of Market Street into neighborhoods which San Francisco has no reason to be proud of). The route was hilly enough to be challenging, but not excessively so, and in fact it would probably be hard to create an interesting alternative route through San Francisco that wasn't more hilly than this one. I didn't have the slightest difficulty obtaining water or Cytomax at any stop (including the finish), and the stops were frequent enough. I expected the bathroom-break issue to be a serious problem, but it wasn't; I took one pit-stop in Golden Gate Park, and the lines were mercifully short - shorter, in fact, than in many large races. (They were too long at the start, though.) The combination of different races (full marathon, 1st half, 2nd half, 5K) led to some interesting interweaving of groups and required us to pay attention to the signs, but I couldn't really say that it caused any serious problems or confusion. I think the bridge-crossing added more to the fun of the race than it subtracted from the speed of the race. After the finish, I had no trouble obtaining water and food. I couldn't find the sweat-bag pickup, and nobody seemed to know where it was, but as that is the usual situation after every organized race, I can't subtract too many points for it. So, all in all, I have to say that whatever people have been complaining about in regard to this marathon in years past, I didn't see it. | |
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J. H. from Santa Barbara, California USA
(8/3/2006)
"They listened! Negatives from last year all gone!" (about: 2006)
First Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 This was my first marathon, and I was somewhat apprehensive after reading the comments here about the 2005 event. I was very pleasantly surprised. Virtually everything negative posted was corrected. There must have been a couple of hundred port-o-johns. The expo and start were very well organized. Mile markers were huge and prominent, and the course was well marked. The shirts ran true to size and were of excellent quality. The steel plates on the bridge were covered with non-slip surfacing. Post-race food was plentiful and diverse. The only downside was the lack of publicity both before and after the event in the local press. There were long stretches without spectators, but hopefully that will improve once the word gets out that the problems have been fixed. Weather was perfect; nice touches were the trivia quiz signs throughout the course about running and the city. Running the bridge was awesome. Scenery in Golden Gate Park and throughout the course was spectacular, for the most part. Hashers serving beer at mile 14 - great! Things to improve: More timely updates to the website pre-race with regard to parking, start procedures and timing, visitor and family meet-up areas (that they existed and generally where), and the like would have been helpful. Best of all... I finished, and close to my goal time! | |
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J. C. from Emeryville, CA
(8/3/2006)
"Good marathon - I'm glad I did it." (about: 2006)
1 previous marathon
| 1 The San Francisco Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 This was my second marathon after running LA this March and I was a little hesistant after reading some of the previous comments. But since I already had signed up beforehand, I was committed to running it. I agree that the 5:40 a.m. wave start was a little tough, but besides that I think the marathon was great and a lot of last year's issues were fixed. The wave starts (based on your expected times) minimized the typical starting congestion that you would expect in a large race. The scenery was amazing, the bridge was not too crowded, and the volunteers were REALLY great. There were lots of water, Cytomax, and gel at all the stations (however I found the tiny Cytomax cups annoying because sometimes I had to grab 3-4 cups before I felt I had drunk enough electrolytes). The hills were challenging, but manageable. Though they incorporated a 2nd half marathon into the race, the impact of that was minimal. And the run to the finish line was really great with views of AT&T Park, the Bay bridge, SF city, and a tug boat spraying water into the air! In the post-race area, there was lots of free food (bananas, yummy Brown Cow yogurt, cheese quesadillas, etc.) Thumbs up, SF Marathon, for a well organized race. I really enjoyed myself and am glad I did it. | |
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S. O. from cambridge, MA
(8/2/2006)
"Pretty smooth execution but BAD start time!!" (about: 2006)
2 previous marathons
| 1 The San Francisco Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 2 This was my first time running the SF Marathon. I heard the nightmare stories about previous years, but my experience this year was great! I am not sure if it helped being the in the front starting group, but I had no issues with spacing out runners and bridge congestion whatsoever. Lucky for us, the course was entertaining, because there were barely any spectators and those that were out there were a bit lackluster in their support. Could be that they were just not awake yet since the race starts so damn early!! I agree with other previous comments that the last few miles are excruciatingly boring and bleak as you run through a wasteland of warehouses wharfs and underpasses. Regarding the registration: the goody bag should be called "the air bag" because there was nothing in it but one energy bar and some useless coupons. Also I read there was going to be a massage offered at the end but never could find the location. Finally, I always hate having to be herded through all the capitalistic booths just to get my number. Doesn't paying a registration fee afford you certain benefits?? All in all, a great race and lots of fun. |
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