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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 221 to 231]
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C. H. from Austin, TX
(1/15/2007)
"Not what I had hoped for." (about: 2006)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 The San Francisco Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 2 SF provided some great views but most of the rest of the race was a disappointment. Very few fans and the city really doesn't even know it's going on. Drink stops are not much of a benefit - very few provide any kind of food and the sports drink provided wasn't good. The coordination for the race was poor. Lots of confusion. They had more stuff from the previous year leftover they were trying to sell than 2006 stuff. When the race occurred they didn't even have a current race poster. They took the 2005 poster and chopped the date off the bottom - which made it look terrible and then there's not a date! Months later they came out with some posters but by that time I doubt many people were even aware. Weather was nice - maybe a little warmer than I wanted. The course was very hard. The majority of the hills are in the first 15 miles and really take a toll on your legs. By the time you get the the downhill side, your legs are fatigued and the decline is almost as hard because it's too steep. I've run Big Sur and the layout of this course was much harder, I thought. My wife did the half marathon and chose the second half - which meant she didn't get to run the Golden Gate but she didn't have the uphill part. With fresh legs, the decline was a benefit and she ran a great time. My buddy and I each ran 20-30 minutes slower than Nashville the pervious year running the full marathon. | |
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S. L. from San Jose
(12/27/2006)
"Run for the view/location mostly." (about: 2006)
2 previous marathons
| 1 The San Francisco Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 Good: - the course and view (mostly) - wave starts, later starts - start/finish area more spread out - location/location/location - it's SF :) Not so good: - mile markers (not clear) - bridge traffic congestion - last few miles too industrial (lonely) - not much stuff to eat at the end :( | |
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Kami K. from Corpus Christi, TX
(12/4/2006)
"Scenic & Challenging" (about: 2006)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 The San Francisco Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 Sunday, July 30, 2006. The loop course, as expected, was scenic and challenging. Eight-wave start, with the first wave departing at 5:30 a.m. and the last one at 6:10 a.m. Sunny day and I am guessing that the temperature ranged from low 60s to high 70s. They had 12 water/Cytomax (I tried the sports drink once and didn't like it) stations at approximately every two miles. Race t-shirt and finisher's medal were quite nice. Well organized running event in a beautiful city. The run started at the Embarcadero, going west through Fisherman's Wharf, Fort Mason, and the marina. There were two hills between miles zero and 5. Shortly after mile 5, we began a 1.5-mile climb onto the Golden Gate Bridge. Miles 6 to 9 were on the bridge, out-and-back. As far as I am concerned, that's the best part of the route, as the view was truly spectacular. We then ran south through the Presidio, Baker Beach, and Seacliff neighborhood, which included two inclines and one decline. Miles 11 to 12.5 were through the Richmond District and included two hills, after which we entered the Golden Gate Park. We exited the park shortly after mile 19. There were several inclines and declines in the park. The remainder of the route, going east, included the Haight Ashbury, Mission, and Portero Districts, Mission Bay neighborhood, South Beach Marina, and AT&T Park (S.F. Giants' ballpark). We ran under the Bay Bridge to the finish line at the ferry building. There were several inclines and declines between miles 19 and 22. The last four miles were fairly flat. There were four alternate routes between miles 11 and 22, which I guess were designed to alleviate congestion. I stayed in Hotel Mark Twain, a nice and reasonably-priced boutique hotel within a short walking distance from Powell Street BART Station. I took the BART from the S.F. airport to the hotel and back. I walked to the start line and took the BART back to the hotel on race day. | |
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T. W. from San Diego, California
(11/2/2006)
"Great race but be prepared for the hills" (about: 2006)
3 previous marathons
| 1 The San Francisco Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 Ok, this is San Francisco. Two things you can surely expect from this race: Spectacular views and eye candy, along with lots of hills. The route planners surely did the best with what they could to flatten out the course, but come on, this is San Francisco. :) Great race, good organization and support and an outstanding location. This is surely the best race to be had dead in the middle of the summer. Cool temps and sea-level air are the best. Great race to make a little mini-break vacation around. Keep up the great work, folks, and I will surely be back for another bite of the apple at some point. | |
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G. M. from San Antonio, TX
(10/20/2006)
"There are better marathons out there...." (about: 2006)
3 previous marathons
| 1 The San Francisco Marathon
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 I ran this marathon in '06 and it was a big disappointment for me. I never expected such a difficult and mostly boring course. I mean, how enjoyable is it running across the Golden Gate Bridge if it's so early and foggy that you don't know where you are? I would have definitely set a PR on this day if I had been running somewhere else. As for the crowd, there is little local support and most of the spectators are family members waiting for you at the end. Organization: Expo was a joke, and post-race entertainment was too. But nothing was as funny as the very casual and unorganized start of the race. The announcer said, "The elite runners may begin now!" Apparently they were invisible. | |
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N. C. from Chicago, IL
(10/19/2006)
"Beautiful course in a beautiful city" (about: 2006)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 The San Francisco Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 2 This was my first time back to SF since I was kid and what an awesome way to get reacquainted with the city. Chicago is as flat as a pancake, so the hills were challenging but manageable. I didn't mind the 5 a.m. start (7 a.m. to me). The Golden Gate Bridge crossing was awe-inspiring. The view of the bay and city was priceless. The Presidio and Golden Gate Park were scenic. I did have a issues with a couple of things that I hope will improve with time. I think I'm spoiled by the Chicago crowds but the spectator turnout in SF was spotty. The expo and packet pick-up were confusing and a bit disorganized. (Pick up your bib in a tent and go across the street to get your shirt). The last five miles were pretty lonely and desolate. I'll definitely come back for this. I look forward to an improved race. Thanks to the organizers, volunteers, the motorcycle clubs and the good people of SF. | |
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R. G. from Omaha, NE
(10/14/2006)
"Great course but where is the local support?" (about: 2006)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 The San Francisco Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 2 Beautiful scenery and good organization but the run had little support.... Why didn't the S.F. Chronicle make it a bigger event? Thank you to the biker club for directing traffic!!! All in all, a good place to run and take a vacation at the same time. | |
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D. B. from San Francisco, California
(9/29/2006)
"The crowd and volunteers were amazing!" (about: 2006)
1 previous marathon
| 1 The San Francisco Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This was my first marathon and I loved it. The course was gorgeous, the fans were awesome and the run was out of this world. The terrain was so varied that it felt more like five runs than it did one full-on marathon! | |
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A. C. from Chicago, IL
(9/10/2006)
"Fun race, challenging course" (about: 2006)
1 previous marathon
| 1 The San Francisco Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 This was my first-ever marathon, so take everything I say with a grain of salt. I thought that the course was a lot of fun and gave me lots of great views of the city. It was very well organized and memorable. I did however think that the course was more challenging than I thought it would be. Like another person said, you were either going up a hill or down a hill. And the first part of the race was mainly uphill. That being said, the race did occur in San Francisco, so you kind of need to expect this. Overall I had a great time though. However I plan on running a much flatter course for my next marathon.... | |
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B. R. from St. Louis, MO
(8/29/2006)
"Definitely worth the trip." (about: 2006)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 The San Francisco Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 I had reservations about this marathon after reading last year's feedback. Anyone who had a bad experience last year due to lack of organization should have been there this year. The race was very well organized, the location and course were beautiful. You can't expect a whole lot of spectators when you start a race before 6 a.m. though. As for the details, the course was front-loaded with tough hills but the last quarter was mostly downhill or flat. Very challenging, but I was able to PR at this one. Running across the bridge was just as inspiring as crossing the finish line before 10 a.m. I highly recommend this race. |
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