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Silicon Valley Marathon Runner Comments
Back to Silicon Valley Marathon Information & Reviews
Course 3.7 
Organization 3.9 
Spectators 3.1
Number of comments: 54 [displaying comments 11 to 21]
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R. E. from Minnesota
(5/1/2008)
"Nice, flat course" (about: 2007)
2 previous marathons
| 1 Silicon Valley Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 This was my 3rd marathon and I enjoyed it. The course was flat for the most part - until mile 13, when the steep hill appeared. But thankfully I had driven the course the day before. The scenery was also very nice when we ran along the Los Gatos Trail. The hardest part was the last couple miles when we ran back into downtown San Jose since we were running on the streets with cars going by and not many spectators. The aid stations were very good and the volunteers were very enthusiastic. The weather was also very nice for the race. We couldn't have asked for much better! | |
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Gregory Clark from Oakland CA
(11/21/2007)
"Suck it up, Sunshine." (about: 2007)
6-10 previous marathons
| 2 Silicon Valley Marathons
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 Wow. I feel I have to respond here. I'm surprising myself. I mean, last year I lambasted the SVM for garden hose water and un-gloved volunteer fingers in the water cups as they were handed out. (2007 = same hose water, but for reasons unknown it didn't taste like the hose this year. And I'm telling myself that the un-gloved finger tips at least were clean.) (Volunteers, please don't disillusion me.) Okay... folks, this is a small marathon. It had 712 full marathon finishers. Please take that into account. I didn't get to the expo, but I've done marathons ten times this size and, in retrospect, I could have skipped those expos, too. And, true, the post-marathon freebies are limited to a piece of a banana and a cold bottle of water. But, you know, I took the bottle of water because the girl handing it to me was so enthusiastic I didn't want to disappoint her. So, tuck a few bucks in your water belt and head for Pizza My Heart. You'll find them right there, somewhere in the "post-race celebration." Two years running they've served up this disgusting, oily, greasy, dripping pepperoni pizza by the slice that after 26.2 miles is, oh-my-god, SO GOOD. I've got eight marathon medals. Last year's from the SVM is t-h-e ugliest. This year's from the SVM is the prettiest, by far. They out-did themselves.... Nice work, people. The tech fabric T-shirt: The expo had short hours; I got there late, and all they had were smalls. At the time I thought to myself, "Since I ordered it months ago, how much trouble can it be to stick a large in the envelope with my bib and chip?" But, you know what? I took the small, and now there's a little boy next door to me who's overjoyed with his new, as he says, "Soccer fabric marathon shirt." I think I might be a small more often. Re: the Los Gatos Creek Trail. Rapes? Dead bodies? Are you joking? This is Los Gatos; I can't be sure, but I think "skid row" consists of those with a net household income of under $150,000. I coached 35 runners training for a marathon on that trail this year for six months. I was out there hours before first light marking the course and never had a problem. Uh... nor did I cause one. Sure, it's narrow much of the way. Be forewarned and add it to the challenge. Fewer runners per square foot than Boston or Chicago, I'll bet. Run the Silicon Valley Marathon for a flat course, for great weather (very likely), for a small-town feel in a big spread-out city, for enthusiastic volunteers trying hard to do it right and see that you have fun, for 75% friendly cops, and for the camaraderie of dodging dogs, and neophyte marathoners jogging three abreast, and baby carriages and... and... and... with your fellow bib-numbered buddies who are managing to maintain their cool just like you. If you don't run it with me next year, be at the finish line at 4 hours and 45 minutes and cheer me in. | |
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B. L. from Monterey, CA
(11/15/2007)
"A first! Please read on" (about: 2007)
3 previous marathons
| 1 Silicon Valley Marathon
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 2 A 1 hour early start was offered and was appreciated but there were NO starting mats, traffic control, and we were (swear to god) given printed maps to navigate down the streets. Not knowing the roads were still open some runners almost got hit by speeding cars flying down Almaden Blvd. The course went into the Los Gatos rape trail/ body dump/ skid row where we collided with pedestrians and cyclist on a narrow steep trail. Finish line food consisted of discolored oranges and brown 1/3 banana segments. The ONLY decent thing was the Medals. If you live in Santa Clara County, are bored, and have a ton of extra $, and really low expectations then go for it. | |
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J. M. from Seattle, Washington
(11/6/2007)
"perfect weather" (about: 2007)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Silicon Valley Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 This was my first marathon. I had trained on an island in Alaska, so the flat course with sunshine and no humidity was a nice treat. The people I talked to on the course were friendly and I was truly inspired running on the pretty trail. The bananas, water, and amino vital at the support stations were awesome, and gave me what I needed. There were not a lot of spectators, but there were groups of volunteers that cheered that increased my spirit. | |
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Eddie Hahn from Rancho Cucamonga, CA
(11/6/2007)
"San Jose Police Department Makes the Day" (about: 2007)
50+ previous marathons
| 1 Silicon Valley Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 1 In many of the marathons I have ran police that monitor the course seem like they would rather be someplace else. Not here. I can't remember a cop that didn't shout a word of encouragement! Thanks for the support. The expo is small and basic. The entry included a short sleeve nylon t-shirt with a small logo on the front (Roman numeral 10, denoting the 10th anniversary event). The back of the shirt is a bulleten board with about 24 sponsor logos. No goody bad was included; (it would have been nice to at least provide a list of pre-race final instructions.) The course is a mix of urban and rural-mostly rural on the Los Gatos and Saratoga paved asphalt bike path near, under viaducts, past parks, etc. The out and back venue circles a track near the return point where half marathoners finish their event. Although its out and back one especially significant and smart move on the race directions part was to parallel the return portion, so by the time we got back on the asphalt path we weren't mixed with the participants that still hadn't made it to the turn around point. Water and electrolyte replacement were quite plentiful-about every mile 1/2 to two miles. The very large finishers medal has an embedded silicon chip, and a roman numeral X. Its quite nice. I was sorely disappointed in finish line amenities-a 12 once bottle of water, one 3/4 once granola bar and a 1/4th of a banana. | |
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c. w. from portland, or
(11/6/2007)
"relaxed, friendly marathon" (about: 2007)
2 previous marathons
| 1 Silicon Valley Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 2 This marathon is a nice small race. Everything is really close and easy to get to. I found the other runners really friendly and relaxed. I was worried I'd get annoyed by the out-and-back course, but it actually went by quickly and the trail is pretty so it didn't seem like the same place twice. And the loop around the high school at the half was a nice little diversion. Great support at water stations. Gu at mile 15 and 21 was a bonus. I wish they would have published more information about the race on the website. The expo was nothing special, but for a small race you can't expect too much. Perfect weather. I'd do it again. | |
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D. B. from SAN JOSE, CA
(8/20/2007)
"Just signed up again" (about: 2006)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Silicon Valley Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 This marathon is chill. Everything was close by and the course was perfect for my first marathon last year. I'm doing it again. | |
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S. R. from Berkeley, CA
(3/5/2007)
"Just Okay" (about: 2006)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Silicon Valley Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 2 I've done 5 marathons, and I did this one in 2006. For me it was just an okay marathon. The course was average in that it wasn't very exciting compared to the other races I have done (Marine Corps in DC and Nike Women's Marathon in SF). You run through residential areas which can be dull and also some busy streets where it actually got dangerous with the cars. The temperature was undesirable for me, as it got too hot towards the end of my run. There were few spectators throughout the entire course, which was disappointing. Since I have other marathons closer to me in SF that better meet my needs (cooler temperature, more exciting course) I would not travel to this one again. If you live in the area and want to do a marathon locally, go for it, but I wouldn't suggest travelling for this one. I'm amazed that most of the comments for this race are so positive. I'm glad other people enjoyed their experience; I guess this one just wasn't for me! I thought it might be helpful to share an alternative viewpoint. :) | |
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Leila Grace from USA
(12/4/2006)
"first time" (about: 2006)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Silicon Valley Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 This was my first marathon and it was cool. The trail is pretty flat, so that was good. The spectators were all so friendly and supportive. You go through parks and over bridges, which I found fun. | |
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M. M. from San Jose, CA
(11/6/2006)
"Good finish line, but no split timings" (about: 2006)
2 previous marathons
| 1 Silicon Valley Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 The course itself is ok, but quite a bit of the trail can be boring and mostly inaccessible to spectators. Have to dodge cyclists and the occasional walkers - though not a big problem. Aid stations were excellent with very enthusiastic and cheerful volunteers (especially the ones by SanJose Fit and Asha). Finish line goodies were excellent and the rock band was an added bonus. A big negative is that there were no split times whatsoever. Having run the Portland Marathon before where they call out your time at every mile marker - I was surprised to find that completely lacking here. Not even at significant milestones. |
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