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May 4, 2024

Santa Barbara International Marathon Runner Comments

Back to Santa Barbara International Marathon Information & Reviews

Course 3.9

Organization 3.9

Spectators 3.8

Number of comments: 41 [displaying comments 11 to 21]

More Comments: [ < 1 2 3 4 5 > ]

W. C. from Los Angeles, CA (11/14/2011) "Awesome locals race. Will be back." (about: 2011) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Santa Barbara International Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 I'm posting my first comments on marathonguide.com to help offset some of the negative comments left on this site about the SB International Marathon that gave me concern about registering. Overall this is a nice, small, locals race with a pretty solid course and definitely worth running. Really feel the comments about the hills are overdone. Yes, mile 23 is a distinct technical challenge with 'the hill', but one that can easily be addressed with proper training. I will be back again next year for sure.
M. A. from San Jose, CA (11/14/2011) "Nice and fast!" (about: 2011) 4-5 previous marathons \| 1 Santa Barbara International Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 Very nice race, well organized, fast course, perfect weather, not too big (around 900 marathoners). I PRed with 2:26. It is very fast until mile 14 or so, with quite a bit of downhill false flats. It gets a bit hillier after that with a 1/2 mile or so climb at mile 23: prepare to lose 40s to a min at mile 23. Last 2 miles are downhill but we got a fairly strong headwind. Finish at the SB College stadium was very nice. I highly recommend this race as a nice, low-key and fast course.
M. P. from Santa Barbara, CA (11/13/2011) "Gets better every year" (about: 2011) 3 previous marathons \| 3 Santa Barbara International Marathons COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 This race gets better every year. 2011 was the best so far. Started right on time. Well organized, well supported. Water stations every 6 miles. Gu packets and Gu Brew. Lots of crowd support. The race finishes on the track at in SBCC stadium, which gives spectators a nice view of the finishers.
J. H. from Santa Barbara, California (11/13/2011) "Excellent race, it gets better each year" (about: 2011) 6-10 previous marathons \| 3 Santa Barbara International Marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This is my third time running this marathon, and each time it gets better. Very well organized race, nice expo. The course is similar to last year with a few minor tweaks due to realignment of a bridge along the way. Crowd support a bit thin at the beginning but very good overall. I managed to PR despite the hill at mile 23. Plenty of porta-johns both at the start and along the course. Aid stations were plentiful, well placed and well-stocked. Transport to the start was flawless. In addition, a great tech race shirt and plenty of food with good variety at the finish. I've already signed up for next year.
M. S. from Santa Barbara, CA (11/13/2011) "Beautiful Course" (about: 2011) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Santa Barbara International Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 The Good: -started on time -plenty of bathrooms at start/finish and throughout course -warm gym to sit in until start of race -great course (very scenic) -nice medal/adidas tech shirt -good expo with plenty of free parking (you would be surprised how many races have an expo at a convention center where you have to pay $5 to spend 15 minutes picking up a packet) -good spectator course (spectators can drive around to multiple locations to see their runner) -runner drop-off is set up well to minimize traffic -nice 2 mile down-hill finish into a great finish area in the stadium The Bad: (two major complaints) -No Gatorade on course, they had gu-brew (a very watered-down version of gatorade) at very few locations on the course. This was my 7th marathon and I've done more halfs then I can count and all have had water and gatorade at every stop. Mile 18 was the first time I realized how important gatorade is for minimizing cramping! -No caloric beverage at finish. No gu-brew/gatorade/powerade/coke/pepsi/sprite/whatever at finish. After I run 26 miles i like to throw back something that helps with recovery and keeps me from passing out. I probably should have brought my own, but most races have something like that.
J. M. from Redwood City CA (11/25/2010) "overall average race" (about: 2010) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Santa Barbara International Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 2 Hi all. I ran this race for the first time. I know there was a half-hour delay last year that I read about and this year was no different. I am not sure how the streets cannot be properly cleared, since some of the streets were closed on the day prior to the race. There were only 15 bathrooms supplied for the 1000 runners, which ended up being adequate because of the delay. My wait was about 35 minutes. The race course is certainly more interesting in the second half. The first half is just city streets, whereas the second half runs through a park, and has an ocean view for the last two miles. Be ready for the only meaningful hill at mile 23, and the corresponding downhill finish. The finish line at the stadium was great, with loud tunes rocking you to the finish line. The oranges, bananas and bagel did not seem like enough at the finish. The shirt and medal were great. I rate this a fast course but I would not want to run this again because of the of the late starts they've had in each of the past two years. That is unbelievable to me. I hope in the future that they incorporate more of the interesting parts of Santa Barbara - and no more of Goleta, which looks like Anytown, USA. I did PR on the course as the clouds hung in for the majority of the race for me - although I would have enjoyed running in the dark instead of the daylight.
D. D. from California (11/14/2010) "Needs improvement" (about: 2010) 3 previous marathons \| 1 Santa Barbara International Marathon COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 5 Most important: Do NOT fall for the course profile on the website - it's accurate, but it's displayed in a way to make it seem flatter than reality. Pros: - Santa Barbara, so it's a beautiful, fun city to visit. - Finished on the track at Santa Barbara City College. - Nice Adidas shirt with only a few, small logos on it. - Great, enthusiastic crowds and volunteers. - GU Brew drink and GU gels. Cons: - Must catch a bus at 4:30 a.m. to get to the start line. - Not enough porta-potties at the start line: around 15 (really!) or so for 1000+ starters. - Race start is at 6:30 before daylight savings, meaning the race is scheduled for a pre-sunrise start on dark city streets. - Race started 30 minutes late (two 15-minute announced delays). - Course is very hilly, with lots of constant uphill grades and very steep hills late. - Waters stops were too far apart (2-3 miles), and got farther apart in the last six miles. - Finish line food was lacking: orange and banana slices - nothing warm, not even coffee, for a race that costs $95-130. Final thoughts: Why start with a big loop in Goleta (forcing the early bus to the start and ugly first half) if not to avoid hills? The worst part is that race management did not seem to learn from mistakes in the inaugural race. Bottom line: I will not run this race again.
J. B. from SF Bay Area (11/10/2010) "inaugural not well organized; weak amenities" (about: 2009) 4-5 previous marathons \| 1 Santa Barbara International Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 3 My friends and I ran the inaugural SBIM (2009). It's been about a year now, and my lack of enthusiasm for the event hasn't changed. * Considering that it's Santa Barbara, the course wasn't very scenic. Only at the end did you break out and see the coast. There's also a long hill after mile 20 that caused most people to walk. * Short-sleeve, cotton t-shirt with a huge Adidas logo? Please, that's not marathon-class schwag; it's more like a local 10K's. * I don't think all the miles were marked. At least I missed a few. Hopefully the organizers learned from the inaugural event and will improve the course, support and amenities.
J. H. from Santa Barbara, California (11/8/2010) "Awesome race, great course, well done" (about: 2010) 4-5 previous marathons \| 2 Santa Barbara International Marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 As a local, I'm aware of the difficulty that the race directors face in pulling off an event such as this. Multiple jurisdictions (two cities plus unincorporated county areas plus state highway ramp closures) and a few vocal NIMBY residents make Santa Barbara a challenge for any kind of special event. Course changes from last year eliminated some freeway closings. The course was varied, including areas of orchards, a taste of the University, and a beautiful beachfront finish. This is my second year running this marathon and it keeps getting better. Huge, indoor, heated gymnasium to wait for the start; well-marked course; awesome finish. Yes, there's a hill at mile 23, but it comes in between two nice, long downhills. Lots of volunteers, fan support, music, and enthusiasm. Run this race; you'll love it.
M. F. from Los Angeles (11/8/2010) "Good, small race but more support was needed" (about: 2010) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Santa Barbara International Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 4 This race has a lot of positives about it: great weather, beautiful course, awesome finish, great fans/volunteers and a warm place to stay pre-race (high school gym). The end of the race is the best ever. Views of the ocean, and a downhill finish running into a stadium. You can't ask for much more. Some things the organizers can work on: 1. Aid stations (only 8) and the first was only half-a-mile into the race, which is not really a useful aid station. 2. Delayed start (again). 3. Lack of Santa Barbara scenery. Running down State Street, by the mission and the zoo area would be great. 4. There needs to be more porta-potties. I was fortunate that the race was late, or I would have been out of luck. 5. Pacers??? The race packet said they would be there but there was only one. This is the 2nd time I've run the race. I will give it one more try for them to iron out the issues.

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