The race was extremely well organized. I was very impressed with the attention to detail and the wonderful runner support. Event organizers tried to get participants to line up according to their pace, but most participants just did what they wanted to do. I spent the first two miles dodging the slower joggers and walkers. By the time we got to Fisherman's Wharf, the field moved smoothly.

Before the race, I was worried about the hills, but they were very manageable, and I really enjoyed the beautiful scenery. The hardest part for me was when I hit Lake Merced at mile 19, and realized I had to run around the entire lake. It looks really big. Aid stations were plentiful. During the last half of the full marathon, there were aid stations at every mile. They gave out water, Gatorade, bananas, orange slices, Luna snacks, and chocolate.

Along the way, there was much to entertain (loved the Top Ten Reasons!) and encourage the runners. The finish line was tremendous. Handsome firemen, pretty blue boxes, a gorgeous necklace, thermal blankets, bananas, bagels, chocolate milk, yogurt/granola, Luna bars, shopping bag, cool shirt, massages, etc. The line for the buses was long, but moved VERY quickly and the people were absolutely fantastic.

I am so glad that I got into this race!

Kudos to Nike and Eternal Timing. My friends at home in Texas knew my race times before I got back to Union Square. The results were posted on the Eternal Timing website by the time I finished my shower!

This was my first marathon so I don't have anything to compare it to, but I had high expectations based on previous years' reviews, so I was slightly disappointed.

I have to agree with many others: the website was horrible and nearly impossible to navigate. Thank god for the emails with detailed information or I would have been lost.

I loved the necklace and shirt but was very disappointed to learn that the half-marathon runners got the same thing. It was frustrating to know I could have run half the distance to get the pretty necklace, even though I would not have the bragging rights that I have now.

The course was hilly but not nearly as bad as I expected. If you train on enough hills you will be fine.

I also agree that the walkers were very frustrating. I spent a lot of time trying to get around them, expending a lot of extra energy.

The crowd support was awesome, which is much needed when running 26.2 miles. I would do this race again, and at least now I know what to expect.

Although the course is hilly and the streets are uneven (I fell hitting a bump in the road!), I would run the race again for the sake of the course. I like its challenge in that respect.

The website for the race has by far been the worst to navigate through. There were constant website crashes, and not to mention that you had to sift through the entire blog to find race details and course info. Also, the chip timing results were not readily available after the race because of technical difficulties.

The start should be more organized as well. The pace groups were split up into different times but this also allowed walkers to be mixed within. This was not a good idea to have walkers starting so early in front of the other runners and made the start very difficult. The race should be organized so that walkers are aware to start in the back.

The course was amazing!!! Incredible views of the ocean, and Golden Gate Park was humbling! The start was not very organized in regard to walkers and runners lining up together. I lined up at nine minutes per mile and passed hundreds of walkers ahead of me. : ( It was dangerous and my finish time definitely suffered because of it. Why not a staggered or wave start, or walkers in a separate start? I fully support marathon walkers - I couldn't do it : ) - but in a race of this size with many more people participating in the half, there has got to be a better way. Start them earlier maybe, and then have a wave start for the rest of us? Otherwise, it was simply a beautiful way to spend 26.2 miles once I got out of the pack about mile 3 or 4! Unforgettable!

Overall, the good may have outweighed the bad. This was my eighth marathon, and the worst organized. The inept race organizers make up for their failures in the overall specialness of the event, but I was glad to be done with Nike. Because it's a lot of people's first/only marathon, Nike can get away with throwing a bad show.

Positives:
-Beautiful course... and an awesome challenge
-The finish line with firemen and necklace
-The Ghirardelli chocolate stop
-Shuttle transported spectators

Negatives:
-No e-mail for anyone in my group saying we got in (I found out on my credit card statement)
-No additional e-mails about the race (including the email for packet pick up)
-Nike website was difficult to negotiate. As one friend put it... "It's all about Nike with a little blog about an upcoming marathon."
-We finished in five hours and most of the food treats were already gone (I got a banana and a tablespoon of cereal)
-The expo was completely limited to about two vendors... and the manicure line is over an hour
-The race results took many long days to post
-Runner-tracking didn't work, but at least they gave me a refund afterward

Positives:
1. Beautiful route
2. Fireman in a tux at the finish line with a blue box
3. Well stocked hydration stations

Negatives:
1. The worst website!!!!!
2. No other vendors at the expo (bring GU, Shot Bloks, etc.)
3. Too many walkers blocks the streets
4. Leukemia & Lymphoma teams FORGET that there are many runners without support groups
5. Waited in line for more than an hour to get on the return shuttle cold and tired!!!!!
6. Same finisher necklace for both the full and half marathons; why should I run the full then?

I'm glad that Nike is bringing money to cancer research, which is truly a worthy cause. However, the Nike merchandising was crazy-over-the-top. Normally an expo includes well known speakers lecturing on running topics, and I look forward to learning something about training/running/racing. I enjoy previewing new products and race information from other companies. Nike Women's Marathon SF offered none of this. NO outside races were promoted, and no other vendors products were previewed, except Nike and a few sponsors like Luna. The race course was lovely, but runners were elbow to elbow for miles. Very hard to get past walkers who started up front. Too many people in too small an area. Things did break up around mile 17. The lines for the shuttle buses back to Union Square were unreal. They have got to make some improvements to cut down on the two-plus hours of standing in line we had to endure for a bus after a 26.2 run. That was just too painful. My advice to runners interested in running this race: take lots of money if you want to buy lots of Nike, but save enough money to pay for a cab (at least $30.00) from the end of the race back to Union Square. Skip the prepaid bus!

The race was great, but the website was the worst. The blog approach DOES NOT work. I spent more time trying to find information than actually running the race!

As many others have mentioned, the course was even hillier than expected, but it offered a great challenge. This was my second marathon and I was able to PR at 4:58. Although there are 20,000 runners, only 4,000 do the full marathon. This can be a little hard to swallow when the halfers are at the finish and you turn off to do your last 10 miles.

I see the results are now posted here, but I was distraught to see that my name was not listed. Nike suggested finding the results a different site. I do show up there, but of course all of my friends use Marathon Guide, and they thought I didn't finish.

Great, scenic run, a good cause, and a great necklace, but I won't run again.

The visit to San Francisco was fabulous, and the course was fun and festive. The finish with the firemen (:-)) was the best finish I've experienced (I've done 13).

I didn't like trying to maintain a nine-minute pace behind lots of walkers - more dodging than I've ever done.

Also, trying to get information from the official website was a lesson in frustration.