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May 6, 2024

Nike 26.2 = Nike Women's Marathon Runner Comments

Back to Nike 26.2 = Nike Women's Marathon Information & Reviews

Course 4.1

Organization 3.5

Spectators 3.7

Number of comments: 347 [displaying comments 61 to 71]

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A. M. from Florida, USA (8/9/2010) "Don't run the full; walk the half" (about: 2009) 3 previous marathons \| 1 Nike 26.2 = Nike Women's Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 3 This was my third marathon, and I was so excited to win the lottery to be allowed to enter it. From the start I was disappointed with the organization. I thought that since Nike was running it, everything would be fine, but the website was not user-friendly; it was difficult to find out when the lottery was, and the map of the race was not downloadable or printable, to name a few of my complaints. On race weekend, when I went to the expo I could not believe there was no race shirt in the packet. When I asked about it I was told they hand them out at the end. Are they kidding? I have run dozens of races of various lengths, and I have never heard of handing out shirts at the end. First of all, it clogs the finish line, and secondly, what if someone tries to run and can't finish? I wondered why they would do that and then realized it was to make everyone go to the flagship Nike store on the corner of the expo and spend more money to buy shirts. They realize that everyone wants to run the race in a race shirt, so there were lots of shirts for sale (at $50 apiece) in the store, but they don't give you your official, free, race shirt until after you run the race. I thought that was kind of crappy. Then on race morning, I could not get into my corral because of all the TNT walkers everywhere. I did not realize it at the time, but all the TNT members who were doing the half marathon (many, many of them walkers) were lined up in every corral. On the narrow streets and hills there were times I had to stop and walk simply because there was no way around them. I commend anyone who walks or runs any length, so I am not putting down anyone who was doing the half marathon, whether walking or running. But the race officials should be making sure that everyone is lining up in their correct corrals so that everyone has an enjoyable and productive race. Perhaps there should even be separate races or start times for the full and half marathons. For half of the race I was stuck behind groups of people walking together, taking up the road - and then at the half marathon they were done, and I still had the second half to go and was way behind my time. The race is clearly designed for half marathoners, because the first half was beautiful and scenic, and the second half was awful. We had to run on busy streets and on long sections of lonely road. At one point I ran past a turn, going off the course, and had to go back, and when I did the race volunteers were cheerfully laughing, and I was incredibly annoyed that they just watched me go off course and never said anything. Added to that was the fact that they charged a fee for anyone who wanted their real-time race results emailed to friends or family, and I paid for that and it didn't work, apparently for anyone. My family received notice that I had crossed the start line, and then nothing, so they were very worried. I got my money back eventually, but that was just one more thing that was wrong with this race. I would not do it again.
M. M. from Mobile, AL (8/8/2010) "First half is best!!" (about: 2009) 4-5 previous marathons \| 2 Nike 26.2 = Nike Women's Marathons COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 I have run NWM twice and am running it again this October (2010). The first half of the course is hilly, but gorgeous! The second half - particularly the LAKE section - is pretty bad. I do not like running in traffic and jumping from road to sidewalk, but that's part of it! I run for the chance to go to San Fran and get Kara's cupcakes!! My advice to anyone considering this race, unless you just WANT to do a full marathon, is DO THE HALF (it's all good)!!!
N. P. from Orange County, CA (4/18/2010) "AMAZING Half - and a pretty good full" (about: 2009) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Nike 26.2 = Nike Women's Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I ran the full marathon last year with TNT. This race is designed for TNT, so don't enter it if you're not happy to deal with mobs of TNT runners and supporters. I've run dozens of halfs and this was hands down my favorite - the energy and excitement is unbelievable, support is great, and all the motivation is there. Nike puts on a great race - and the apparel is worth the run alone. This was my first full marathon and it was ok. The best scenery is in the first half, and then it tapers off (along with the fans and crowds) after mile 14. I ran a 4:57, but because I started in a later wave, there were almost no people at the finish line by the time I got there (which made for a very unexciting finish). Also, there is a one-mile walk to the buses to take you back to the start line, plus a long line (not good when you just want to sit down and cry after running 26 miles). Also, the chocolate mile by Ghirardelli at Mile 21 is a great idea, but DON'T eat the chocolate until you're done! The good news is that there is a Tiffany's necklace waiting at the finish line for you (which is honestly 90% of the reason I finished) along with a hot firefighter in a tux (although they were past bored by the time I got to the finish line), so the finish line is calling your name the entire way!!! I'm running Nike again with TNT this year, but I'm doing the half instead of the full this time around.
W. P. from St. Louis, MO (4/11/2010) "Beautiful course, great race!" (about: 2009) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Nike 26.2 = Nike Women's Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Overall, this was an amazing experience and I have nothing but happy memories. Seeing the sun rise over the Bay Bridge as the race began, while surrounded by 20,000 other runners, was absolutely breathtaking, and I actually teared up a bit. I loved the first 18 miles and the last 2 miles of the course, which was very scenic. The expo isn't great, but honestly, I've been to so many other expos that all seem to be exactly the same that I didn't really mind. Just make sure to bring your own energy gels with you because you won't find any at the expo. One thing I really loved was the Nike apparel produced for the race - it was all very cute and designed with women in mind. Also, the weather was PERFECT - sunny and in the high 50's. The race volunteers were wonderful and very organized. My main complaint is that this race seemed a little like a big half marathon with a full marathon tacked on. I read afterward that of the 20,000 participants, a few over 4,000 completed the full marathon. I wouldn't mind except that the lack of spectators on the second half of the course was very noticeable, and it was also the least attractive portion of the course by far. Lake Merced (approximately miles 19-24) was the worst part. There was no scenery to look at, the field had really thinned out to where I felt like I was on a solo training run, and there was one point when we were running in a single lane of traffic that had been blocked off. It was underwhelming after having run the first half of the marathon through more scenic areas. Having said that, I really enjoyed exiting Lake Merced and running the final stretch down the Great Highway. One thing to be aware of is that there are simply more runners than what can be accommodated in the starting area at Union Square. I had read other reviewers complaining about people with Team In Training lining up in the incorrect area. Since it was my first full marathon and since I was running with TNT, I really wanted to start out in the correct area so as to not add to the negative stereotype. Well, I ended up starting with the 9:00-minute milers even though I planned to run 10:00-minute miles, because it was absolutely impossible to get to my correct starting area due to the crowd, and a race official actually made me go ahead and start running with the wrong group. Another complaint is that Nike's race website is ridiculously unhelpful. I understand that they wanted to make it look like a blog, but sometimes people like to look information up in advance. At the end of the day, the pros far outweighed the cons and I would definitely run this race again!
L. B. from New York, NY (4/2/2010) "Hills, hills, hills" (about: 2009) 3 previous marathons \| 1 Nike 26.2 = Nike Women's Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 This is one of the most challenging courses you can ever run. Hill after hill. I had done months of hill training and felt it was extremely difficult. The sixth mile is unnecessarily high and I blew out my knee on the long downhill that followed. There's also a lake late in the race that you circle, where you run alongside traffic with no spectators. I will say that the final miles along the ocean were beautiful and drove me to finish strong. It was well organized and there were fabulous items to buy, which is perfect for a woman's marathon; but I won't be doing this race again.
T. G. from Colorado (3/16/2010) "Loved the event, but the start was horrid" (about: 2009) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Nike 26.2 = Nike Women's Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 4 My primary complaint is about the start. I couldn't get into my corral and had absolutely no room to move at all for 30+ minutes due to the spectators and supporters who felt they needed to stand right next to the person they knew running. If everyone brought one person to start line with them, you could imagine the chaos that would cause. Even if I stretched prior to going to the start line, I would still like to touch my toes and keep my body warm while waiting for the start. The organizers need to determine some way to only allow runners into the corral area. I know with the start being in the middle of downtown that may be difficult, but something needs to be figured out. Other than that I loved the race and the event. I bought much more commemorative merchandise than I usually do because of the great designs and selection of items available. And it was the perfect time of year to run in San Francisco... just beautiful!
S. C. from Michigan (3/2/2010) "Needs improvement." (about: 2009) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Nike 26.2 = Nike Women's Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 I ran the half in 2007 and the full in 2009, and I had a much better time with the half. My complaint with both pertain to the walkers, who were EVERYWHERE!!!! My last third of the half was almost 8 minutes faster than the first third because I had finally gotten past all of the walkers! The full marathon was no better. As far as the course goes, the part of the course after the half split off was horrid. There were also hills that everyone was walking, which created quite the bottleneck. The start corrals needed to be actually enforced!!! The necklaces are cool, but my 2009 one broke about a month after I got it. Lame.
M. L. from United States (2/20/2010) "Nice area to run in, and a great necklace" (about: 2009) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Nike 26.2 = Nike Women's Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 2 The communication for registration needs to be improved in addition to the website. The event was fun. The expo was far below expections for Nike. It was geared toward Team in Training, which is not bad; it's just that participants need to know that ahead of time. Overall, I enjoyed it, but I do believe that Nike should place a little more effort into the event. It could be the event to talk about!
J. A. from Eppstein AM Taunus, Germany & Prescott, Az. (1/31/2010) "It is great with improvements needed" (about: 2007) 6-10 previous marathons \| 3 Nike 26.2 = Nike Women's Marathons COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 I have run this event for the last three years. The website needs a lot of help. I read a comment in regards to the second half of the full marathon, and I could not agree more. From the time that you split from the half marathoners and see the faster runners approaching the finish line (while you are at your halfway point), it's frustrating, and with all of the spectators at that point, every year it is confusing as to which direction to go, even having been there and done that before. That is the last place that spectators are a problem because around the lake they are nearly non-existent. The traffic on the street around the lake is worrisome, and there are not enough water stops. Forget chocolate, even though it is cool; as a runner you need water and Gatorade. Not to mention: Every time I have run this, the chocolate stop (which would have been my favorite) was out of milk chocolate and I HATE dark chocolate. But that's not really an issue - just a gripe. Aid stations are located around the course, which is helpful, and there are many of them on the first half, though the second half is lacking. Running the highway next to the ocean is awesome, but you have several miles around that lake to get to that point. It is great, but it would be nice if a few adjustments were made in order to make it safer with the traffic. This is not a small event; other runners were literally in the street, blocking a lane that was open to traffic. That could become a disaster!
H. H. from Calgary, Canada (1/23/2010) "Great marathon - had a blast!" (about: 2009) 4-5 previous marathons \| 1 Nike 26.2 = Nike Women's Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 I'm surprised at the negative comments that I'm reading! This was my fourth marathon - my first Nike Women's in San Fran - and I thought it was very well-organized. It very much feels like it's about "power to the women," and I thought the fans were great! My last marathon was Boston, and I honestly felt that this one was every bit as exciting and well-executed. I did not run with Team-in-Training, but still felt that I got plenty of encouragement from the volunteers. The others women who I met on route felt the same way as I did - we called it a huge success!

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