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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 371 to 381]
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M. T. from Cleveland
(8/1/2005)
"Hello - energy drink?!?" (about: 2005)
2 previous marathons
| 1 The San Francisco Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 2 In no particular order: Expo was disappointingly small. It was cool to meet Dean K., but this was a second or third rate expo in terms of the number and caliber of exhibitors. Start was fine (I was still on east coast time). No energy drink until mile 11 (stations were out for the middle of the pack)! I ran just half so it wasn't a huge deal for me -- but I typically count on sugaring up with energy drink in the early miles and switch to gel and water in the later miles of a mara ... this would have ticked me off to no end if I had run the full. Dearth of mile markers between 5/6 and 8 ... unless I just missed stuff on thhe foggy bridge. This was underscored when I asked the guys manning the pace clock at the chip strip just over the bridge. Me: 'How many miles is this?' Them (looking as if the question had never crossed their minds before): 'Um ... maybe 9?' It was more like 7.5. Anyway. Almost no crowd support ... at least for the first half. Crossing the bridge was crowded. And so foggy there were no views at all. Looooong line to get a bus back to the start/finish after the half. Total time from crossing the line to de-bussing was over an hour (and I got in the bus line immediately). Seemed too long to me. Odds and ends: Tech shirt given was some kind of off brand and the fabric seems clingy. Why not go with well established (and apparently affordable) alternatives from Brooks or Asics made with a nice mesh and that show up at so many races? Expo hours were too short for a destination marathon (ending 6 pm Friday and 5 pm Saturday). Bottom line: overpriced and somewhat flawed marathon in a terrific city. | |
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J. T. from Reno, Nevada
(8/1/2005)
"Nice Course Except for the Bridge" (about: 2005)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 The San Francisco Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 This could have been a great course if it weren't for the part on the Golden Gate Bridge. It was so crammed. Usually in a big city race there are a lot of runners jammed together for the first few miles and then it opens up and you can run freely. Not here. Runners were literally crammed together for the first 9 miles (or at least the several miles that did a loop on the Golden Gate Bridge) before we could run freely. Only one side of the bridge was closed so runners used just one side to go back and forth over the bridge. Also, the bridge was cold and wet, there was no visibility. So it's difficult to see any benefit from including the bridge in the course. The rest of the course was pretty nice, especially running through Golden Gate Park, mostly flat with heavenly smelling Eucalyptus trees. The water stations could have been more and better equipped. THere was no sports drink available for the first fourteen miles. It seems more than a few San Franciscans were upset that streets were blocked for the race. I saw a number of drivers upset with police for blocking traffic from going through. One man on Haight St. was outside a third floor window with a t-shirt that read 'shut the f--- up' as he was yelling at the runners, 'thank you for abusing our rights'. It, kind of, made me laugh. I would like to run this course again if the organizers fix the mess on the bridge. I feel a lot of runners were held back because of the crammed in conditions. | |
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r. h. from bend oregon
(8/1/2005)
"great, challenging course" (about: 2005)
4-5 previous marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 4 Race-walked the SF Marathon today.... What a fun challenging course. The Golden Gate Bridge was awesome. The Embarcadero and Fisherman's Wharf were great. Golden Gate Park is scenic and cool. Pac Bell... McCovey Cove and the right field promenade... where are the garlic fries? A zillion hills.... extremely challenging. Beer at mile 18!!! Some confusion on the alternate routes... my GPS watch saidIi walked over 26.6 miles.... It is always accurate, so I think that some of the routes were a bit screwed up. Need more water and power drink stations. More gel stations, too. The finish is quite confusing. The lines to get your food were too long... most people didn't want to wait. Hey, I had a blast; it was the toughest marathon I have done....and the most fun. Race-walked the whole way.... | |
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R. C. from Washington, DC
(7/31/2005)
"Great smaller marathon" (about: 2005)
2 previous marathons
| 1 The San Francisco Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 I was very happy with this marathon and think that organization of the race was great. My past marathon experience was with one of the big marathons and this smaller marathon experience was a pleasure from start to finish. Packet pick-up, the starting line and finish line, etc. were all easy to navigate. Water stops were well staffed. Adequate stocks of water, electrolytes, snacks, gels, etc. on the course (not always the case with the bigger races). The starting time was a bit early but that meant cool weather for the first 20 miles or so. I'll gladly take running at that hour over running in heat or sun any day. Really my only complaint was the bridge. It was supposed to be the highlight of the race but at that hour it's too foggy to see anything and the running lanes were too small and therefore crowded. And the metal strips on the bridge were a hazard - I saw several falls. All in all - great smaller marathon. If you go in with the right expectations (SF has LOTS of hills!) I think you'll really enjoy it. I'm sticking to smaller marathons from now on.... | |
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C. G. from San Francisco, CA
(7/31/2005)
"The 2005 edition is a disappointment" (about: 2005)
50+ previous marathons
| 6+ The San Francisco Marathons
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 Just got back from the marathon this morning and found this year's race not as good as the previous year. The first thing I disliked is that the new course, now including the Golden Gate Bridge, is not as scenic or enjoyable as one would expect. The bridge was completely obscured by the dense morning fog and I could not see its top even when I was on the bridge. Also, the portions on the bridge were narrow, overcrowded, and therefore difficult to run. Particularly dangerous were the exposed metal panels on the bridge, which strangely were both rough and slippery. In short, running on the bridge was neither smooth nor relaxing. The second thing I disliked (or hated) is the new starting time. The 5:20 AM regular starting time was unreasonable. I live in the city, yet getting up at 3 AM still just barely allowed me to make it to the starting line on time--thanks to the reliable San Francisco public transportation called Muni. Also hated running in the dark for more than an hour. The third thing I thought was bad was the water stations, or the lack thereof. We each paid close to $100 at least to get in the race. Yet the organizers were too stingy to put out more than 12 water stations on the whole course. Maybe this is the real reason why the race had to start in the middle of the night. In this sense, we were lucky to have the morning fog along the coast. Otherwise running in the full sun (like in the last 6-7 miles of today's race) can get very hot, and a water station every 2.5 miles just wouldn't do it. The last thing, which is relatively minor, is my dissatisfaction with the T-shirt. Tech material is surely nice, but what's with printing white drawings and white words on a white shirt? Takes a forensic scientist to figure out what's on that shirt. If I decide to do this race again, it will be only because I live 6 miles away from the start/finish. This race as it was today is not worth traveling more than 10 miles for. | |
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M. M. from San Francisco
(7/8/2005)
"I just don't understand this marathon" (about: 2005)
3 previous marathons
| 2 The San Francisco Marathons
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 1 This year Runners' World has taken up sponsorship of the SF Marathon. First mistake? Running the bridge. The organizers must not be from San Francisco, because running over the bridge at 6:00am it will be windy and cold. There may be a view, maybe not. It's called fog, what SF is famous for. I can't believe that a 7am start last year has been moved up to 5:20 so we can run the bridge. They removed a flat scenic 4 miles along the ocean for this disaster. Also, I hate to break it to out-of-towners, but there are MORE hills than last year. The bridge is a long hill, running along Lincoln is all hills (including a quad-killing major downhill) and up along 25th Avenue just goes up and down like a rollercoaster. It's also a joke that they claim there will be all these 'zany fans.' At 5:20? Running through the park and an industrial wasteland (miles 22-25) you might not see a fan. They claim to have gotten some elite runners for the race. Can any 'amateur' claim it makes a better experience when there are a couple pros running 5:30/mile up front? Anyway, if you still have time, try and do some hill work. Also, be prepared for cool temperatures at the start and running along the bridge. After you reach mile 16, it's mostly flat and downhill but there are a few more rollers. Don't go into this race looking for a P.R. Hope for a clear day and enjoy America's most beautiful city and the party afterwards. | |
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D. S. from Red Lodge, Montana
(6/26/2005)
"Let's hope RW irons out the kinks" (about: 2004)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 The San Francisco Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 2 I ran this in '04 and hope that the Runner's World sponsorship will iron out the kinks and make this a race as great as the city it's in. I experienced 3 significant kinks: 1. Hills. Hey, it's SF, that's part of the deal! But don't make the mistake I did. In advance I carefully studied the topography and saw that the big hurdles would be the two big hills: Crissy Field Road at about mile 6, and in the park at about mile 15. I trained for them, psyched up for them, and did well on them. What I learned to my dismay is that it's not the two biggies that get ya - it's all the little ones from miles 18 forward. 2. Crowds. Way thin. There's just too much to do in SF year-round for a marathon to raise any eyebrows. 3. T-shirt. It said "'04 Finisher" and you got it the day before at the expo - thus making it worthless. I didn't even have to be there at the start to have evidence that I finished! Aside from those items, you'll love this race if you love big cities, good organization, a loop run, and a great start-finish area (and its organization) smack at the Embarcadero. | |
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Rick Dulaney from US
(3/23/2005)
"Beautiful weather/race, poor publicity & support" (about: 2004)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 The San Francisco Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 2 Great weather, especially for a midsummer marathon, and beautiful scenery. The tough hill is early (mile 5) and then you roll. Problems: * understaffed water stops * long breaks between water stops (thank heaven for SF-ans who gave us food!) * some major intersections not staffed (crossing Mission St. for instance) * long line for post-race food Bottom line: if you can take care of yourself, you'll love this marathon. Also, the runners were great -- fun, supportive, etc. There was even a marriage proposal just before the starting gun!! | |
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B. T. from San Francisco, California
(10/10/2004)
"This race has the potential to be so much better" (General Comments)
3 previous marathons
| 2 The San Francisco Marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 2 I live here and I've run the full marathon twice and the half twice, so I'm pretty well acquainted with this race, but I just don't get that excited about it that much anymore. We have so many things going for us: - everyone likes to visit SF - the weather is perfect (spoils me for running any other place) - we're in a huge metropolitan area that's pretty fitness-crazy - there aren't any other big marathons in the area (Nike woman's marathon will run for the first time in 2 weeks) Why can't we get a marathon that draws more than 5000 runners? If we could create more of an event that people get excited about, there would be more spectators, more stuff happening around the event, and more people thinking of the SF Marathon. We've done it with the Bay to Breakers 12K, a veritable party in the streets which has drawn 50k to 100k runners. I'm not saying we start getting naked runners, centipedes, and rolling beer kegs, and a marathon is certainly a different animal, but we need some kind of draw, because we're not going to get anyone who wants a fast time (because of the hills). But people have lots of other reasons for going to a marathon, and I'm sure this city could supply a few if the organizers of the race could think a little creatively. Maybe put in more hills--that's what we're well known for anyway. | |
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Patrick Brew from Harrogate, England
(9/2/2004)
"Great weather" (about: 2004)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 The San Francisco Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 2 This was my 24th marathon, my last one being London this past April. COURSE - I knew there would be hills, but training in northern England prepared me for them. WEATHER - was great! This is one race where you don't have to worry about that aspect. This year at London a cold rain came down for about an hour. VOLUNTEERS - were great, plenty of water and electrolytes. FINISH - I finished in just over three hours, got my medal, but never saw any food that other people have mentioned. Where was it?! I did get a bottle of water. SPECTATORS - not many, but what do you expect at that time of day? I would do this race again. More publicity would be helpful. |
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