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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 331 to 341]
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M. G. from St. Louis, Missouri
(8/4/2005)
"Pack your own food & water - you will need it!" (about: 2005)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 The San Francisco Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 2 San Francisco was my 9th marathon and the first time I have felt compelled to provide written feedback. A beautiful city and marathon course. While slightly annoying (two crowded lanes), I did not have an issue with the bridge and was delighted for the opportunity to cross it as a part of the marathon course. Race organization - pitiful! Runners World - what were you thinking? Have any of you actually run a marathon before? Although already mentioned, it is worth repeating; inadequate water stops, no real food for race finishers, and no information from the race organizers that this could be expected. Tired and sore, I wandered around for about a 1/2 hour trying to find a finisher's food area. I was not alone. Many other finishers were doing the same. After several failed attempts, I finally located the alleged food area at a point that was far from the finish and general race area. Then to find no real food... agh!!! To make matters worse, the banana police were out in full force. I was going to take two bananas, one for me and one for my running partner who did not feel like walking to the food area. I was told in no uncertain terms that I could take only one banana. Sounds ridiculous? Well it was! Water stops? What water stops? Few and far in-between and not crewed to handle the mass of runners headed their way. Volunteers did all they could to provide good service, but were simply overwhelmed. The opportunity of running in SF made this race worthwhile, but please, future race organizers (any race), use the 2005 SF Marathon as a case study in how NOT to organize a race and treat your customer - the runner. | |
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A. S. from San Francisco, CA
(8/4/2005)
"Expected More From My City" (about: 2005)
3 previous marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 2 I ran the Half-Marathon and expected a lot more from my hometown. I have run 3 full marathons and I would rate this one 3rd out of 4. GOOD: 1. Weather 2. Beautiful Course 3. Expo 4. Biker/Volunteers BAD: 1. Post-Race Food (or lack of) 2. Where were the spectators? Media? 3. Alternate course change midway, somehow I passed mile marker 20 twice!?! 4. Music? What music? A nice race on a great San Francisco day but there is room for improvement. I expected more from a large city marathon (compared to NYC and Marine Corps). I will run SF again but only because I live here and love my city. | |
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M. H. from Highland Heights, KY
(8/3/2005)
"good medium-size race with a few blips" (about: 2005)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 The San Francisco Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 Overall, I enjoyed this race. It was my 8th marathon and if I lived closer, I would likely run it again. There were a lot of people, which made it more pleasurable for me, but I didn't think it was over-crowded like the huge marathons get (perhaps a little going up the first hill and on the bridge, but I found it to be OK). I really liked the bridge. I didn't like the wet, slippery grates that everyone has already mentioned. BUT I did like the FOG and I liked the bridge peaking through it. I did NOT MIND the EARLY start. I would rather run in fog and cool than hot/sun any day. It didn't get hot until toward the end of the race, which was nice for JULY! :) I did not like the fact that the walkers were treated so poorly by other runners and told they shouldn't be there. It wasn't their fault that the RD decided to start them 20 min. prior to the fast people. The start 1 hour earlier, as already suggested, to alleviate congestion for the speedier runners is a great idea. But runners should be respectful out there. I'm not a walker myself, but a friend of mine is and she walked the half and was pushed around, and told she should be there AT ALL, even though she stayed to the right and tried to get out of peoples' way. :( That is just not right. I thought the first two water stops were very overwhelmed. They didn't have any water for us at the first stop. The 2nd stop they did, but it was a chore to get. My biggest complaint about the water stops, however, is that they only had them every 2-2.5 miles. Thank goodness there were a couple of 'extra' non-race stations... I did like the 'chocolate-covered grapes' at mile 19 (how fun and different!), but could you give us some water to go with those?! I thought that the course was beautiful, for the most part. As I mentioned, I personally liked the bridge. I did worry that people would fall, though. And, at first I couldn't find the mile markers that were hung along the bridge. Once I found those, I was happier! Also, as others suggested, opening an extra lane for runners on the bridge might be good. I liked running through Golden Gate Park. The Eucalyptus trees smelled good and were beautiful! It was a beautiful park. It was a bit hillier than I thought it would be, but that, too, was ok (lots of little rolling hills, in addition to a couple bigger ones). Miles 19-21 had 2 large downhill sections, that were nice, albeit a bit steep. The only miles I didn't care for were miles 22-24. These were a little boring, but a little flatter than it had been. OK, now my biggest complaint. At the end of the race, I was given ONE bottle of water. I could NOT find any more water at the end of the race. By the time I got there, they were handing out more than one banana, but who wanted them? They had been sitting in the sun and were MUSHY and gross! The food at the end was a dismal failure, IMO. No one should have to wait in that long of a line to basically get nothing. :( Overall, I loved this marathon! It was tough, yes, but beautiful and worth the trip. I think with a few fixes it could be a great marathon. | |
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S. W. from Port Richey, Florida
(8/3/2005)
"S.W. from Port Richey, Florida" (about: 2005)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 The San Francisco Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 2 The San Francisco Marathon was an enjoyable experience for this Floridian. Having very few hills to train on, I thought the course was challenging, but fair. The weather was outstanding as well. Like most people stated, the water stops in the first half were insufficient, but fortunately they were plentiful the last half. Clocks should have also been used at every mile and they should have supplied unlimited food and drinks after crossing the finish line. Finally, I really don't care how many spectators attend a race; it's the volunteers and staffing that will make a race. If they can improve in this area, this race will continue to grow. Now it's on to my favorite marathon: Chicago! | |
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J. S. from Palo Alto, CA
(8/3/2005)
"Not perfect, but pretty good." (about: 2005)
6-10 previous marathons
| 2 The San Francisco Marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 Positives: 1)Weather. Couldn't be any more perfect. Probably in the 50s to low 60s most of the race with a light mist. 2)Course. It's a pretty nice course even at 5:30AM and goes through interesting neighborhoods. I also ran a PR by 2 minutes despite the hills. 3)Bathrooms. Lots and lots of them at the start and throughout the course. Negatives: 1)Post-race food. I gave up after 20 minutes in line. I did grab a Cytomax (spelling???). Dear Cytomax, if you're going to spend all that money giving away free drinks, at least make them cold. Otherwise your drink tastes pretty nasty, even to a desperate marathon-finisher. 2)Crowding. I finished around 3:30 so it wasn't terrible for me, but on the way back on the bridge the runners coming the other way looked really squeezed. Also, why is running etiquette so hard to understand? Just like driving, if you're not moving the speed of traffic, please move over to the side (in single file) and let the faster runners overtake you. 3)General disarray at the start. The starting bins became really disorganized and the slower runners ended up getting mixed with the faster runners. Overall: I was fairly happy with the race. It certainly doesn't compare with NY as a destination race, but as a local race or as low-key race, I was reasonably happy. I had mixed feelings about the 5:20 start. On the one hand, I wasn't too happy about leaving my house at 3:45 for the 30-minute drive, but on the other hand, there is something cool about having completed a marathon before 9am. | |
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J. F. from San Jose, CA
(8/3/2005)
"Brutal" (about: 2005)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 The San Francisco Marathon
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 1 This race was pretty pathetic. I only did the 2nd half marathon and thank goodness for that. First of all, if you are only doing the half, you feel like they didn't really want you there. The start was somebody shouting into a battery-operated speaker phone. Then, I set a new world record by running the first .9 in 3:30. The marker for mile 14 was only for the marathon and there were no other markers for the half. I had hope to run 6:52's for the race, but after going through the first 2 miles in 15 minutes, I was pretty much through. Plus, no splits anywhere. I spent $70.00 on this race and never received so little for so less. | |
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P. R. from Connecticut
(8/3/2005)
"Not the best-run event of all time!!" (about: 2005)
2 previous marathons
| 1 The San Francisco Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 1 I'd like to say that for a major U.S. city, this marathon was very poorly managed. It was as if they forgot they were having it until a week before, and then decided to get their act together. I don't know who came up with the idea of the slower runners starting first, but it caused quite a bit of congestion for me and many other runners I encountered on the course. Also, the aid stations at the beginning were completely unprepared for the runners, so much that when I approached they were just opening the water bottles, and there was no Cyto-max. Nothing like a quarter cup full of water early on in the race! I'd also like to echo one other review below: What's the deal with the lack of food at the end? After 26.2 miles, and a $100 entry fee, I think we deserved more than 1 banana and a few bottles of Cytomax. Where exactly were those turkey sandwiches?? The only other piece of worthwhile info is that there was very little fan support - not that important to me, but I think some people thrive on the enthusiasm. To conclude, I can't say I did not like the course, nice and challenging, although the bridge seemed a bit dangerous. I enjoyed myself despite the poor review, but probably won't run SFM again. Oh and thanks to the unknown runner who gave me some sports drink at mile 24.5...it truly saved me!! | |
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C. W. from Walla Walla, WA
(8/3/2005)
"What spectacular, gorgeous fun!" (about: 2005)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 The San Francisco Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 1 This is the most gorgeous run of my 6 marathons; ok, it ties Big Sur. I loved the early start, the fog, the misted GG Park trees, GG Park gardens... the view down the Haight was awesome, and even the SOMA area had great views of downtown. The final stretch along the water was exhilarating. So: Great course, great police protection from the cars, NO CARS the whole race, great pre-race seminars, great pacers, good, crowded expo. Consider: 1. The bridge was too crowded, and the metal slippery, 2. 2nd Half Marathoners buzzed by us all haggard at mile 18 with more concern for their speed than all of our safety, 3. The t-shirt is the WORST when it could have been the BEST. | |
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L. H. from New Jersey
(8/3/2005)
"Challenging" (about: 2005)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 The San Francisco Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 1 As it was my first time in San Fran, I expected a lot. I did get to see quite a bit on foot, that is. I was a bit disappointed in the organization, but I appreciate the volunteers' help. I was extremely let down by the spectators... come on, it is an honor to hold a great event in a fun city, why not cheer it on!?!? The course was overall challenging and good. I didn't like the metal strips on the Golden Gate Bridge. I think that could of been planned a bit better. The first strip I hit my foot on went forward and I had snapped my body upright; not good - could have been a serious problem. So my question is... where does all the 'extra' stuff from the expo go??? Why not hand it out??? | |
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Anna Castillo from Hayward, California
(8/3/2005)
"An adventure of a lifetime." (about: 2005)
1 previous marathon
| 1 The San Francisco Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 2 This was my first 1/2 marathon. I'm injured (back), but with the support of the Libby's group (Pam, Sarah, Jessica, Cindy & Brenda) I made it!!! Having my whole family waiting at the finish line was a bonus. I want to continue doing more 1/2 marathons and maybe someday, I'll be strong enough to do a full marathon. |
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