I thoroughly enjoyed this marathon. The first half takes you through some great neighborhoods that I didn't even know existed in Oakland. First half is a little hilly, but the last half is almost completely flat. The volunteers were great and many of the fans were absolutely fantastic. There was a rapper at mile 8, a gummy bear guy in a costume singing at like mile 16, randomly distributed Oakland A's and Raiders fans in full dress throughout the race and multiple bands along the way. Even the police officers at the beginning of the race were extremely nice and encouraging. The fire department had music playing from their firetruck. Oakland has a lot of pride and enthusiasm and they really impressed me and showcased it during this marathon.

It was the perfect size in my opinion. Not too small, but not too big. If you wanted, you had plenty of space at the start and could really really get a great time and start. It was nothing like the bigger marathons I have run, but I have a feeling more and more people will register for this race once word gets around. I think they could even increase the marathon size and be okay. I would love to see this marathon get to a huge size.

Port-a-potties were enough, aid stations were placed every mile or two and there was plenty for all. I really can't think of anything to complain about.

They had about a full week straight of rain which made running around Lake Merrit at the end a little muddy, but that was absolutely outside of the organizers control, and they did an outstanding job despite the weather.

I would definitely do this marathon again, and I would highly recommend it to anyone. I am a new Oakland fan.

If you're looking for a spring marathon in the Bay Area, this is a great choice. It's a nice course going through lots of different types of neighborhoods. It's never boring. Awesome crowd support and interesting things to see. There are tons of people along the course in the last few miles. A great atmosphere. This is really a strong addition to the California marathoning scene and I hope the race is around for a long time. I'll be back. One other thing: the race shirt for the marathon was really nice... a plain, white and black, zip-up, technical shirt with long sleeves and without tons of ads on it. Just a simple logo on the back. It looks like something you'd actually buy yourself.

Well organized, but I would like to see this race get bigger (only 1,400 marathoners at present), as well as fewer hills and more spectators. The hills and lack of spectators is really what made this a 3-star race (otherwise, it might get 5 stars).

Pros:
1. Great organization
2. Easy packet pick-up
3. Great volunteers on the course
4. PLENTY of aid stations (official and unofficial)
5. Nice that they use Gatorade (and not Cytomax) and GU (top brands)
6. Start line was easy to line-up and cross the mat
7. Great communication leading up to the event
8. Unlike what people think of Oakland, this is NOT a dangerous course. Oakland is beautiful and the view at mile 10 is breathtaking.
9. They handed out actual bottles of water and not Dixie cups at the finish (nice touch)
10. Great weather this year

Cons:
1. Crowds are VERY, VERY thin. I would not say this is a well spectated event.
2. The course is VERY hilly. I found it harder than Big Sur. Brutal hills.
3. They said they had a reunion area, only for me to find out that they didn't set it up on race day leaving many wandering around for loved ones
4. Expo was small - nothing to see there
5. Finish area was a crowded mess
6. Finish shirts run VERY SMALL
7. No online tracking of athletes
8. It was AWFUL making the runners run on the muddy path at Lake Merritt single file (what were they thinking!)

I would consider this race again. I'll hope for more spectators next year to help the runners get up those hills.

This was a great race - very well organized. I loved the idea of doing a 5K the night before. It was pretty light and easy. Thanks to all for the great job, and the great organization. Every detail was fully covered!! Way to go!

I loved running this marathon! The people of Oakland MADE this event stand out! Every neighborhood had a charm and uniqueness all its own. This is my 7th marathon and, although they have all had crowds, spectators and volunteers, none had the enthusiasum like that of Oakland - none. Organization was great, course support/aid stations awesome, and traffic control perfect (for the runners, of course). The highlights were; the drum bands playing along the course, the kids of the community setting up their own tables of refreshments, the scenery and topography on various parts of the course, and the people. I can't even count how many times I was thanked for coming out to run Oakland. How cool is that? A very perfect day, and great experience. I only have 2 suggestions for next year. The finish area could have been bigger, and it would be nice if the medal for finishing the FULL marathon was bigger than the half and relay. I know the latter suggestion is a little shallow, but hey, I'd like something other than a different color ribbon/medal to denote the fact that I ran 26.2 miles - but maybe that's just me. :)

I'm so glad that a marathon is now an option in Oakland. I look forward to it growing and plan to run it every year. A top-notch event, and the race director is to be highly commended for it. This is a great urban marathon, which truly highlighted the city well.

This was my 18th full marathon and I really enjoyed it. Since my training was not up to par, I decided to just run and enjoy the sights along the way. The weather was great, the neighborhoods were welcoming, and the police and cadets did a great job with traffic flow. The view coming down the hill past the Mormon temple was spectacular. I lived and worked in Oakland for years, but had never been to some of the areas that we ran through. I loved that the race began and ended in Ogawa Plaza - a perfect setting. Although the expo was small, it was nice. I didn't understand the need for pre-registered runners to stand in the long lines to get into the expo, as it wasn't crowded at 9:10 a.m. I hope that Oakland does this again next year and I will encourage others to run it. I ran the Baltimore Marathon in October and enjoyed that one too. The course was flat, and I was better trained, and, of course, had a faster time.

I loved this race! It was really well organized and showed all of Oakland. The course is harder than any I have run - even harder than San Francisco or Boston, as the first 10 miles are pretty much all uphill. I still managed to PR, though. Pacers were amazing; I ran with the 3:20 pacer, and he was so supportive and helped a great deal.

The spectator support was wonderful, especially considering that this was the first year of the marathon. Even the volunteers and police were cheering.

I also really enjoyed the 7:30 start time and easy parking right at the start line.

The only negative I can think of was that, when the half marathon joined the full, so many slow people crowded the flow. The pacer helped to get us through.

Highly recommended! Great race.

What a wonderful day to run in Oakland. Weather conditions were nearly perfect (just a bit on the warm side), and residents showed up in force to do Oakland proud in cheering on the runners. The first half of the course is hilly, but very doable, especially since the trees provide shade aplenty. The second half is mostly flat, and passes through some gritty areas. I only have 2 gripes: 1 - Why does gear check shut down 6 1/2 hours after the start time when the time limit is 7 hours? 2 - They ran out of beer just before I finished. When organizers know the total number of runners and each runner has 2 beer coupons, this should not happen. Did the beer distributor goof up?

Because this is my 9th inaugural marathon (of 141 I have completed), I had some apprehensions. After all, they don't know the problems until they have gone through it at least once. But Oakland managed to put on a wonderful event, and I found no problems in their planning. The course is tough for the first half, but not as hard as I anticipated. The crowds were fabulous. I know it helped me hold my pace - how can you slow down or walk in front of people cheering you on? I applaud the decision to delay the start of the half - it minimizes contention both for porta-potties and the start of the race for both groups. The expo was small - that was expected for a first-time race - and well managed. The finisher shirt and medal were high quality. The police were great at maintaining traffic, and for encouraging runners (something I don't often see in a race). Congratulations, Oakland! You pulled off a good one!