This was my 2nd marathon with Honolulu being my first. The weather was outstanding and the organizers of this event should be congratulated. The course was excellent except for the banked curves in some areas. Unfortunately I was one of those who required medical attention (heat stroke at mile 25, uggghhh!). If it wasn't for the quick response by the medical personnel, I'm not sure I'd be writing this. THANK YOU!!!!!!
My advice to 1st time marathoners.... start slow and consume water every chance you get. Skip the Ultima sports drink. It's complex-carbs won't hydrate you as well as 'simple sugar' drinks like Gatorade, Powerade, etc.
Any suggestions on where to run my next marathon?

I want to preface this by saying that I have nothing but utmost respect for the Team in Training and the dedication they have. With that said, I got INCREDIBLY tired of hearing the fans yelling 'Go Team in Training' instead of 'Go Runners!'. They would all but ignore anyone that was not wearing a purple shirt. It was very demotivating to have people yelling like mad for those around you, and stop dead when you passed by. My husband & friends joined me for a few miles and they were shocked as well. In fact, when someone would yell 'Go Team in Training' they would add 'And everyone else who trained for months and deserves just as much support!'.

This is one of the Team in Training's big races, so others should know coming in that you will be in the minority, and the great fan support will not necessarily be for you.

This was my first marathon. I've run several organized races over the years. However, the city and the race organizers kept this one to do again and again. The weather was perfect and the course beautiful. I would recommend this race to any runner and would strongly recommend it for first time marathoners. This is one that I'll put down on my calendar in permanent ink.

WOW! Afraid I'll become an addict after this. Weather perfect, fans enthusiastic. Yup, the finish was terrible. The start? Here's your secret - TAXI! Less than 10 minutes from my hotel to start, tho on the RNR map it was 5-6 miles by freeway. Surface streets were deserted except for taxis which we followed after hearing horror stories about the freeway. Ultima works for me so no complaints there. The course? Do some hill training and you'll barely notice them. Next year I'll not only eat all the gel and power bars offered but I'll take a gel for mile 20+. Fans were GREAT, especially the homeless guy who high-fived me in downtown SD, and the marines at the water stations. I'll admit that if the sun had been blazing, it would have been horrible but it was FOGGY which was perfect. See you next year!

I can only compare this race to the Marine Corps Marathon in DC which I ran last year and this race, while fun to run, doesn't come close.
The race was definitely well organized for the most part and the volunteers on the course were great. There were plenty of food and drink stops and medical areas. I was lucky that I stayed in a hotel within walking distance of the finish line (I don't understand why the finish line was so far away from the start anyway).
However, I was disappointed that most of the race seemed to be on highways and I didn't get to see the beauty of San Diego. Also there were far more hills than I expected because the course was advertised as flat.
The crowd support was nonexistent compared to the Marine Corps Marathon but I can't blame people for not wanting to stand on highways all morning.
Lastly, the rock and roll aspect of the race was totally overhyped. While the bands were great and inspirational there were far fewer than advertised.
Overall, I would say that it is a race worth running if you live in the San Diego area and don't mind running on highways but I would not travel far to run this race (definitely not from the east coast as I did).

I thought that it was a good run. But I won't repeat.

I have to echo the earlier comments from other runners. The course was good. The fans were good. I thought that the start was great that we weren't out there for hours like other races. But, the finish needs work. It was small, crowded and at one point I wanted to just scream. I ran 26.2 miles and now I'm standing in line because the space is too small. It shouldn't be that complicated. The race organizers knew that there would be 15k people -- give us space to move and find our families.

Also for future runners definitely pick your hotel to walk from the finish. You may drive to the start and be dropped off but waiting for a bus at the end looked undoable to me. I stayed in old town and walked back which wasn't bad. I do think that this should be better organized by the race team but since they don't appear to have fixed it yet -- I advise that you're better safe than sorry.

This is a great marathon to 'run' because of the great organization and expo. Lots of water/Ultima, course support (bands and cheerleaders), gels, and the weather was perfect (64 degrees and cloudy). I prefer not to get sunburn or overheat during a marathon. The first 22 were great but the course does have some minor hills. The last four miles are a little boring.

As mentioned in another posting, the end of the race was a disaster due to the finishing area and traffic. However, I would guess that the event coordinator is well aware of this and will address it for next year.

Give this race a try if you would like to have a great time in San Diego.

It has been a week since my first marathon in San Diego and I'm still euphoric! I thoroughly enjoyed this challenge. The weather was perfect, and the event was exhilerating. Some problems with bands not showing up and the end was a cattle drive, but overall I would do it again in a heartbeat!

This was my third marathon and I have to say the course was pretty good. It was great having the bands out there because there aren't many spectators. Also, they provided plenty of water and gels, even for us slower runners. There are hills, which we knew about, but you also run along a lot of canted roads, which we didn't know about. Very hard and painful to run on for long periods of time. However, their organization leaves alot to be desired. The start and finish are 4 miles apart?? They recommend hotels downtown then don't provide any kind of shuttle bus service to the start or from the finish to the hotels?? You have to park about a mile from the finish and then take a bus to the finish line? And then you can't leave the finish area except on a bus, which had lines that weren't moving (no busses were pulling up) and it would probably have taken about 2 hours to get on a bus, just what I want after I ran 26 miles - stand in line for 2 or more hours! Okay, so we convinced a marine major to open a gate to pedestrians and solved that problem, but we shouldn't have had to do that. I know this is only their fourth year, but if they need help organizing the transportation, get help from a city that knows what its doing and has done this, like DC. There is no reason it should have been so BADLY organized and because of that I would never do this race again. It spoiled the whole thing.

Having just come off of Big Sur, I was ready for a 'flat' course. This one was not as flat as anticipated. However there were no back breaking hills. Those that whined about the lack of scenery need to look up and not at the pavement/ground. I brought my camera and got some good memory shots. The support from the sidelines was fantastic. Plenty of water, sports drink, gel, and power bars. For those that can't handle the taste of the drink, you are not working hard enough. Ending at MCRD brought back memories of that parade deck from 30 years ago. It was ...surreal. Lots of eats and drinks at the end. Thanks to the volunteers, from start to finish, for being there. I understand that the bus transportation was less than desirable. One of the lessons that I have learned, as I have marathoned about, is to be self reliant and plan ahead. Thanks to Chris, there was a very short walk to the car after enjoying the shaded grass and encouraging on the mass of TEAM Leukemia runners (no longer in training, they had done it!). A truly enjoyable race that, in my book, has surpassed L.A.