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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 441 to 451]
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S. R. from Saugus CA
(7/28/2003)
"Great marathon but the city-folk are absent" (about: 2003)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 1 Organizers deserve many compliments for an excellent marathon. The course is beautiful and easy (a few mild hills), and support services are excellent. After the Los Angeles Marathon, I was amazed by the absence of spectators. Basically, the family and friends of runners were present and that's about it. Occasionally, there were a handful of cheering spectators. I guess SF just loses out in comparison to friendly southern California. Oh, well! | |
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Y. L. from San Francisco
(5/12/2003)
"Fun with Hills" (about: 2002)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 OK, it's not really THAT hilly, except for the big one in the Presidio -- and even with that, you get a view (if you look behind you for a second). Despite all the terrible comments I heard of previous runs -- wrong markings, traffic problems, uphill ending, etc. -- I did this one in 2002 and thoroughly enjoyed it. Although I am a local, I never tire of SF's natural beauty! Tip for training: park at Ft. Mason and run south past Fisherman's Wharf to Pac Bell Park, turn around to come back and run past Ft. Mason, along Marina Green, Crissy Fields, to Ft. Point (base of Golden Gate Bridge). It's about a 16 mile loop, and you have just covered the first and last parts of the Marathon course (which starts and end at the Ferry Building). Enjoy! | |
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L. F. from Walnut Creek, CA
(4/24/2003)
"Great Views! Lousy Crowd and City Support" (about: 2002)
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 1 Living outside San Francisco and having run fifteen marathons over the past twenty years - - including New York, Chicago, and Boston --I can say that this is the worst promoted and run marathon event in any major city in the US. As noted by another runner, there is no promotion by the major sponsor, the San Francisco Chronicle newspaper. The expo is a joke. The lack of support by the city is evident by the inability of the police to keep streets closed for the race. On more than one occasion, runners are routed onto adjacent streets at certain points and then remerged later. As a result, everyone does not run the same course! If you want to see the sights of San Francisco, give it a go, or better yet run the 1/2 marathon on the same date. Otherwise, go elsewhere, where there is a commitment by the city to the race. | |
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M. D. from Oakland, CA
(3/6/2003)
"Being in SF is what makes it good. " (General Comments)
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 I ran this marathon in 2001 and 2002. What make this marathon worth running is the simple fact that it is held in one of the most extraordinary cities in the world. You can't get better surroundings then the Marina, Palace of Fine Arts, Pac Bell Park, the Embarcadero, the Presidio, and Golden Gate Park. I agree that the industrial areas of SOMA are not ideal, especially when you are at mile 23 and 24. Although, having completed several marathons, miles 22-24 are going to be dificult no matter where you are. I would recommend this marathon to people who are expecting to run hills. If you want flat, don't run this one. It is hard, but in the end, it is worth it. And I agree, the t-shirts are not that great. Plus, i didn't even get my medal in 2001. I was so happy i finished under four hours that I walked right past everyone handing out medals, water and those space age looking sheets, and went straight to my family. I'm angry. I want my medal. | |
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R. K. from Fort Collins, CO
(2/20/2003)
"Mixed Bag" (about: 2003)
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 The last time I ran this race was the mid-80's. I don't know if it's even the same course, but I remember I was not that excited about the course. At the time (and for many years) I lived there so I know all the great spots. There were some great points along the route, ie the Palace of Fine Arts area, but there were also miles of dreary pavement (South of Market) late in the race when I most needed some visual stimulation. If you want to try a marathon with a great course, wildly enthusiastic crowds, and energetic and friendly volunteers, try the NYC Marathon. I've done it four times and was never disappointed. | |
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A Runner from San Francisco, CA
(12/10/2002)
"Scenic course nobody knows about; Lousy t-shirt" (General Comments)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 2 This was my second marathon and on my home turf. Hill training is recommended. The local newspaper and sponsor, The Chronicle, does a lousy job of promoting this marathon so it's no wonder that relative to the venue, hardly anyone registers or shows up to cheer the runner's on. The water volunteers get SIX STARS. The cops get 2-1/2 stars. The medal is nice, but the t-shirt is only good for washing the car. Some details... COURSE -- I've read some of the comments on this site and disagree with the notion that the course was boring and should be flattened even more. San Francisco is known worldwide for it's hills. Why would you want to run here if it the course was flat? Go to Kansas. All things considered, I thought the course was pretty scenic. Compare our course to Honolulu's. One would expect Honolulu to be pretty scenic, but I thought it was pretty boring. Almost two-thirds of it is on a highway and thru a track home development. Imagine a marathon that went on El Camino and looped thru Foster City. That's what Honolulu was like for me. In contrast, our marathon spied some terrific areas: Embarcadero, Fisherman's Wharf, Marina, Presidio/Golden Gate Bridge, Golden Gate Park, Ocean Beach, The Haight. Okay, so running along 24th Ave and 16th St may not be ideal, but overall, I thought it was pretty good. TRAFFIC CONTROL -- Over a dozen years ago, long before I started running, I remember when the course went down Columbus Ave. I was definitely one of those marathon nay-sayers. I was trying to go from Nob Hill to North Beach to visit my girlfriend, now wife. I was incensed. Now I'm a 'runner' and as such, I was really concerned to learn that there would be parallel routes to help ease traffic. While the routes were similar, they obviously weren't exact. Shouldn't everyone run the exact same course? I'm not experienced enough to judge. I haven't inspected the route, but it still seems to me that running down Haight to Laguna is a lot different than running down Waller to Duboce. There were some pretty upset drivers on Potrero when we ran along 16th. I don't think they were honking to encourage us. It seems that a loop course through our small city is going to be disruptive regardless of the route chosen. Better publicity probably would help. COURSE CLOSED EARLY -- By the time I got to the Lower Haight, I was on pace for a 4:40 finish time. I believe the area was supposed to stay closed to traffic until 10a. A number of us had about 20min left in the area, but a patrol car followed us and told us to use the sidewalk if we wanted to complete the marathon, because the streets were reopening. Everyone around me looked dismayed. One runner even balled out the cop at Market St, telling him we had until 10a. VERY BAD. PUBLICITY -- One comment from www.marathonguide.com that I have to agree with is how paltry the publicity and media coverage were. I agree that it seems strange that an event that bears the Chronicle name didn't get much if any coverage in the Chronicle or its apparent new sister TV station, KTVU. Did KPIX do anything? I did see a number of Cause To Run TV ads, but they didn't really convey that a marathon was approaching. Many runners seemed surprised that there weren't any banners lining the Embarcadero. When I attended the Expo mid-day on Friday, there were a number of perplexed workers from the area asking what the Expo was about. I overheard many asking or saying, 'is there a run going on?' Is it any wonder then that there was very little resident support? | |
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A Runner from Las Vegas
(8/16/2002)
"The marathon no one cared about" (about: 2002)
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 1 What has been commented on below is all true. No fans at all (Millions live in the area and not one cares about the race). Cops stopped runners to let cars go by--the cars all honked if they were stopped by the police and made to wait. Thus neither the police or motorists care about the race. The elevation map was a big joke--Suckers!! Awesome support stations and aid. Excellent volunteer staffing. Crowded, with the full marathon, half marathon, and early starters all on the course at the same time. | |
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-inc.com from Kansas
(8/10/2002)
"What about the Golden Gate Bridge" (General Comments)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 2 I have not run the SF Marathon since 1997. I enjoyed that race thoroughly and one of the highlights was the start and coming across the bridge into the city. This was a terrific start and I am curious why they changed it. Logistics in getting people out there? Traffic issues? Whatever the reason, in my opinion the race suffers as a result. | |
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A Runner from wilmington, DE
(8/5/2002)
"Good race in a beautiful city" (General Comments)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 2 I'm glad to see that a lot of positive responses are being posted regarding this race. I ran the course in 2000 and again this year. I was surprised by all the negative comments I read before doing it again. The course is very beautiful. I would prefer going in the opposite direction, leaving Golden Gate Park, Presidio, Golden Gate Bridge and Marina for the end of the race. The race support was great. Ample water and GU aid at all stations. And the watermelon and oranges were a surprise. Yeah, the race could become bigger with corporate sponsorship. Would be nice to see some of the elite runners take on this course to see how they fare. The elevation chart is way off as there are many more hills throughout the course. | |
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A Runner from Boston, MA
(8/4/2002)
"Scenic course, wonderful hosts...but no fans?" (about: 2002)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 1 I am a runner from Boston and traveled across the country to run the Chronicle Marathon as a practice for NYC and an opportunity to visit lovely SF. This is my third marathon, and I have never encountered such friendly and encouraging hosts as I did in the SFRRC. I joined a pace group sponsored by the SFRRC. The pace groups are a wonderful concept and I think that more marathons should adopt this idea. Not only does it promote a safe and healthy marathoning experience, it's a great way to meet new people! Also, the pace leaders were an informative and encouraging presence the whole time. I felt so lucky to run with them. I really enjoyed my experience in San Francisco. The scenery was gorgeous, the people were so friendly and the course was challenging, but not impossible. I may be biased because I trained on Heartbreak Hill and the Newton hills in humid 90+ degrees, so the hills along the Chronicle course weren't so bad for me. I will recommend the race to my friends in Boston for next year, although I do have some constructive criticism for next year's race: START TIME: 6AM is way too early. If the race were anywhere other than SF, a 6AM start time would be appropriate, but SF has very comfortable running weather in July. If the marathon started at 8 or 9, more of the city would be aware of the event (see below) and it would be bigger. SPECTATORS, OR LACK THEREOF: SF is a world-class city, why isn't their marathon a bigger event? Why were there no fans? Even when we ran by PacBell Stadium and folks were lining up to go into the Giants game, no one cheered! Many were not aware that a marathon was going on! Quite simply, it was weird. Maybe it could be attributed to the 6AM start time (no one is up at this time to cheer) or lack of PR. Perhaps the Chronicle could put banners on the street lights, as they have for the Giants, to advertise the race. They do this in Boston, Philly, NYC. Also, put the web site for next year's race the day after the marathon. That way you will attract more out-of-towners. TRAFFIC: The cops stopped runners to let traffic through. That is simply unacceptable. I have never experienced such a thing in any of the races I have run. It probably ties into the fact that the city doesn't embrace this event as it should. Residents should be watching the race and having marathon parties, as they do in other big cities, instead of trying to drive through it! Overall, it was a positive experience and I had a good time. The Chronicle Marathon has great potential. It's just that the rest of SF has to realize it!! |
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