I ran this race in 2001 and it was my 7th marathon. San Diego is a great place and it is a great vacation spot. Don't expect to see a lot of fine scenery aong the course and most of the course is deserted. It doesn't appear that the city supports the race as well as other big city races. Most of the poeple we ran into didn't know about it. The hype is the biggest thing about this race. The finish is BAD and chaotic. The military volunteers are five stars! If you are looking for a great vacation were you can have a nice run--this is it. Probably not a good cadidate for a PR, too many people.

No complaints till the finish as many have said. Up to that point it is a great race but I will not be there again because of the torture of trying to get out of there at the end. It took me several hours to get back to the parking lot where my car was and then to be able to get out of the lot itself. The bus ride back was very overcrowded and people were getting sick and vomitting on the floor of the bus. When I got back to my vehicle the traffic was at a stand still, felt like screaming more that once.. I hate to be such a whiner but it really really sucked, and I see this year they want $85, well they won't get mine. See you in Buffalo....

This was my first marathon and it was a decent spot. I thought there were not enough bands and the course and the finish line area was poorly picked. Additionally, San Diego has a lot of beautiful places to view and it would have been nice to see more of those. A very good thing however, was that there were no hills (really) and temp. is perfect for a marathon. An okay first marathon.

Ran this course in 1999 and 2001. Great start, great course, horrible finish areas both times. Race organizers have moved the finish area around in failed attempts to improve it - and unless the course is entirely revamped, don't hold your breath for a major improvement at future races. Each year my wife spent over 2 hours stuck in traffic trying to drive less than FIVE miles, only to arrive long after I crossed the finish line. If I run this marathon again, she'll go shopping and meet me back at the hotel.

This was my first marathon. While it was an exciting experience (enough so that I'm training for another), there were a lot of things that I felt misled about. First, the music is way overhyped. I felt the bands were pretty infrequent. When you do come across a band, you hear music for about a minute and then you're gone. It's pretty silent for a lot of the race. Second, it is by no means a flat course, as many of us were led to believe. Fortunately, I'd done a lot of hill training but it was still unexpected and some nasty hills popped up at some tough moments in the race. Third, the traffic is atrocious. My boyfriend was a saint and sat in traffic sometimes for 2 hrs. He missed seeing me cross the finish line. When you DO cross the finish line, there was no 'Congrats' to any of us from any of the volunteers, just pushing to get us through the finish corral. Maybe that's whiny of me, but finishing is to most people an extremely emotional experience and a little pat on the back would have been nice rather than feeling like cattle being herded. Medical and water stops are plentiful and they didn't run out of anything. Many people were out on the course passing out pretzels and additonal food (THANK YOU!) I had a good time but I don't think I'd do this one again.

San Diego was my first marathon ever, which I completed only with the support of Team In Training. I didn't think that I was going to complete the marathon because for some (stupid) reason I didn't take the heat into consideration when I decided where I was going to run my first marathon.
One thing that needs to change though is the highway...take that off the course!! It was too hard on the body to run on a slated highway. Also, there were no spectators on the highway. One more thing...the course description was noted as 'flat'...now maybe I have a lot to learn but this course was anything but FLAT!! Other than the huge bridges... it's San Diego, it's not a flat course. Other than that, the course was beautiful, a beautiful city!

A lot of improvements in 2001. Transportation after the run was better but still a little bit of a traffic jam. Why not open the fence and let the runners walk to their cars? We need to walk afterwards anyway and walking is better then standing in line waiting for the bus.
This course would be perfect if Highway 163 was taken out. It's a beautiful highway but the bank on the course destroys my calf. I've ran it two years in a row and I'm doing it again in 2002 but 163 is looking to be a walking option.

Great course, and all the cheerleaders and bands along the route really helped. And there were ample refreshments along the way. But the finish line was just pathetic, horrible. After running 26.2 miles, everybody was pushed into a narrow (4-5 feet wide) corridor which went on and on and on, and was jammed since that was also where fruits, water etc. was being handed out. It took me 20 minutes to get through that. Imagine doing that immediately after running a marathon.

Also, I signed up for the souveneir chip, was promptly charged $35 for it, and then asked to return the chip at the finish (no refunds, of course). I did not recieve my finisher's t-shirt either, and was made to call up dozens of people (none of whom return calls, although most take your number and promise to call back) for it. And my race photos just came in, nearly 4 months after I ordered them.

This is supposed to be one of the biggest marathons in the country. I guess its also one of the most amateurishly organized.

The booklet for spectators did allow my sisters to follow the route and support me. The San Diego area is beautiful and provides a lot of activity and participating hotels to add to the event. My sisters did not see me finish because they were sitting in traffic trying to get to the finish. I have already signed up for the next Rock n Roll Marathon.

This was my first marathon and I really enjoyed the event. The encourgement from the fans at Fashion Valley Center was great. I was disappointed when my family didn't arrive at the finish line on time to see me finish. They were caught in traffic on I-8 for 3 hours trying to get to the spectator parking lot. I plan on running it next year, but my family will probably stay home.