I ran the half marathon.

It's San Francisco, you know it will be hilly.

Corrals were handled very well.

Only one complaint: work out the bag check!!

This marathon had a lot of great support on the course in the form of aid, nutrition, and other non-typical goodies like chocolate, free socks, animal crackers, and LUNA bars and CLIF shots. This course really caters to the runner. The scenery makes the hills well worth the effort. The NIKE signs along the way were inspiring and the digital timing clocks and big mile mark signs were great. The finish area could use a better 'flow' to it to avoid the mass chaos of fans and runners. Overall a great experience with awesome finishing incentives and really cool official marathon apparel from NIKE!

I had a great time. My only complaints are: the start was too congested. Perhaps walkers and half marathoners should have separate starts; I saw walkers as early as a half-mile into the run, and could not get into my pace until mile 5. Some of the water stops were in the MIDDLE of inclines... causing me to stop mid-hill to get water instead of running to the top of the hill. Finally, there was a LONG line to get our checked bags; if it had been warm and sunny, that would have been fine, but it was cold and foggy, and we stood in line freezing.

I loved the course and the race. I was able to PR and I was up front so that always makes you feel good.

I think the organizers really need to manage the after-race facilities to be more inclusive. My family came and could not enter any of the tents or pavilions, only participants. Nike and the finish line and others should have had something for the supporters of the runners. If they come to the finish and can only sit on a curb until you have a massage they get antsy. The crowded area between the tents was far too constricted. The other lanes of the highway should be used to allow more participating orgainzations to set up tents and to better treat the guests and non-participants. Yes it is all about the runners and walkers, but if others show up we should be welcoming and not treat them like outcasts.

In addition the announcers really should have made a special effort to call the finishers of the marathon, instead of calling the names of the middle-of-the-pack finishers of the half.

This was my first full marathon. I thought it was well organized and not too hilly of a course. Great weather. Beautiful scenery. Plenty of water/Gatorade stops. Oxygen bar was AWESOME; wish there was one on mile 20! Crowded finish. Bad organization to pick up finisher T. Lines too long for massage.

The race course was beautiful, challenging and worth every ounce of pain and sweat. The pre- and post-race organization could use some fine tuning, though. The shuttles to the race were great, but why were there no free shuttles back to the parking areas? After you finish a course like that you don't want getting to your car to be another challenge. More visible race-day signage would have been helpful too.

This is the second time I have participated in the half-marathon portion of the race. Since this was the second year, I expected many of last year's kinks to be worked out and although many were, there is definitely room for improvement.

PROS:
The course itself was beautiful (but hilly and not too much easier than last year despite the route change) and the weather was perfect! The necklaces are gorgeous and I like the shirts, especially since they had different ones for marathoners and half-marathoners! The music they had along the first part of the course was great.... I wish that could have continued into the second half but it was through residential areas. I appreciated that they had everyone line up according to pace at the start.... You were less likely to be stuck behind a lot of people that were slower than you. Also, plenty of porta-potties at the start AND finish!

CONS:
Not enough porta-potties along the course - only one here and there and each one with a LONG line. Bag check at the start was a mess and people with some number had to walk to a different location. Bag pick-up was also unorganized.... Bags out of order made it hard for us with post-race stupor to find our bags easily! I thought the 'marathon village' was too crowded as a whole.... Everyone was crammed in there and there were long lines everywhere, even to just get your picture taken! The expotique was also lacking, although I knew what to expect from last year. They had some great stuff like manicures and gait analysis but again, long lines for everything. They should also have race gear/items for sale, especially with so many poeple traveling from out of town or out of state who may not know where to go to get and Gu, water bottles, Glide, etc. that they forgot.

Overall I do love this race.... It's for a great cause and where else do you get chocolate along the course and a Tiffany necklace at the finish? Hopefully each year they'll be able to improve the organization!

Great, but the finish is too crowded.

- Put tents farther apart.
- For shirts, have those already receiving shirts exit on other side, not back to those waiting in line.

This was my first marathon and I have to say it was an incredible experience. Being the first Nike 26.2, sure there were some things that could have been done better. But overall, it was great!

The scenery was spectacular. Never having been to SF before, this course passed all the high points. The weather was perfect. The aid stations were well placed (although it was a bummer that the chocolate was gone before we got to it). The spectator support was terrific.

Yes, the victory celebration left a lot to be desired. And the 'expotique' was not what it could have been. And yes, it was hilly, but what do you expect in San Francisco? Overall, I found it a great experience and I'm sure that Nike will only improve upon it in coming years. I hope to do this race again, myself. And after hearing my experience, one of my good friends is preparing to run the 2nd one (tomorrow) as I type this message.

As for the non-TNT folks, all I can say is, perhaps you ought to try it with us next time. TNT is an awesome organization raising a lot of money for a great cause. I've never done anything that gave me the same feeling of accomplishment and 'making a difference' as completing this marathon with Team in Training did. It is not about, as one person said, 'getting your family and friends to finance your vacation.' It is about saving lives.

I was very excited for this race but found myself very disappointed on race day. I agree with the comments about the expotique; it just fell short of expectations for such a big race. The course was pretty brutal. Yes it is San Francisco, and I ran hills every day during my training but, come on.... it was crazy!! The out-and-back at the end was the most painful part, running into the sun while watching everyone on the other side heading to the finish. Fortunately I think they are fixing most of these problems.

I would say to the poster who described TNT 'as asking friends and family to pay for my vacation'.... I have never heard such a ridiculous and incorrect statement. I feel pretty damn good about asking my friends and family to donate money to a cause that has helped keep my 5 year-old nephew alive for the past 2 years.