Click Here: Please visit our Sponsor

May 6, 2024

The Santa Rosa Marathon Runner Comments

Back to The Santa Rosa Marathon Information & Reviews

Course 4.0

Organization 4.0

Spectators 3.4

Number of comments: 53 [displaying comments 11 to 21]

More Comments: [ < 1 2 3 4 5 6 > ]

K. E. from North Carolina (9/3/2015) "Beautiful course, but poor pre-organization" (about: 2015) 50+ previous marathons \| 1 The Santa Rosa Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 4 This was my 102nd marathon. It was among the most beautiful courses I have run. The turns were well-marked and marshaled. My only complaint was with the confusion regarding the signing of the online waiver, when registering through Active.com. I am in North Carolina. My partner drove to California for backpacking and I flew out for the race. He had a copy of my driver's license and a note to let him pick up my packet (as directed in the instructions). However, on the Friday before Sunday's marathon, I received an e-mail with a waiver that needed to be signed in order for him to pick up my race packet. This was very last-minute (as he had already departed). He was able to get my packet, but this should have been made clear earlier, ESPECIALLY since there is NO race-morning packet pickup.
C. B. from Louisiana (8/30/2015) "Very Cool Low Key Race with Gorgeous Scenery" (about: 2015) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 The Santa Rosa Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 We've already got BQ race so we ran this for pure enjoyment. Weather conditions were PERFECT. 6AM start was genius. Plenty of Gatorade/Water/GU on course. Lot's of Powder Rooms strategically placed. Excellent organization. Really beautiful run kind of Pastoral. We'll be back. PS. Get the VIP package if it's still available. Goodies and Ride on Rosie is so worth it. Spectators are overrated.
P. J. from Dallas, Texas (8/28/2015) "Solid, Friendly Small-Town Race" (about: 2015) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 The Santa Rosa Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 I signed up for Santa Rosa because it has a reputation for being a good course for a Boston qualifier and because it is one of the few good weather races during the late summer. It generally lived up to that reputation. It is certainly not entirely flat and fast there are rolling hills from around mile 8 to 15. But the last 7+ miles are flat, and I felt like the course was conducive to a good race. I ended up with a near-even split and Boston-qualified with about 4 minutes to spare. The weather was good - around 60 and cloudy throughout. That's about as nice as one can expect from the late summer. The course was nice not as scenic as advertised, but very nice in a lot of spots. I expect that the California drought made it a little less scenic than it would otherwise be, since the farmland wasn't particularly green. But I enjoyed running by the Santa Rosa Creek, through the DeLoach Vineyard, and around the vineyards of Sonoma County. The race organization was good. Water stops were generally well-run. The 'schwag' included a full-sized bottle of wine, a race jacket (which was above average, and certainly better than a dri-fit shirt), and a giant spinner-medal at the finish line. And the start and finish line were handled well. The race organizers and volunteers were friendly and helpful. The post-race beer festival (separate admission cost) was a lot of fun and a nice way to spend the late morning. My bottom line is that the Santa Rosa Marathon is worthwhile for anyone looking for a late summer Boston qualifier who can enjoy a small-town race without needing to be dazzled.
K. M. from Canada (8/26/2015) "Two thumbs up!" (about: 2015) 3 previous marathons \| 1 The Santa Rosa Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 This was my third marathon and I spent a lot of time trying to find a good North American race, late in the summer, prior to Boston registration. I am not particularly fussy about race expos, spectators and other gimmicks that many people appear to be concerned with (the expo and race pack were very cool - even included a bottle of wine). I care more about a well-run race on a good course with a decent field. This race checked all those boxes. The race organizer provides a very honest, mile-by-mile description of the course on their website. I can now vouch that the course is super fast and substantively flat. Ran a 7 min PR and BQ'd by 9 minutes. Conditions were perfect and there was beer, wine and pancakes at the finish. It's a small town so there aren't a ton of spectators but I was surprised by how many turned out. Fans were very enthusiastic and the volunteers were great. Awesome race which I highly recommend for someone looking to BQ.
v. e. from Nevada (8/25/2015) "nice course/nice people" (about: 2015) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 The Santa Rosa Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 The course was lovely. I did the half marathon, and enjoyed the weather and the 7AM start. All the volunteers were very nice and the expo was nice as well. I felt this was very organized and I enjoyed it. I'll do it again for sure.
O. P. from Texas (8/25/2015) "Great race" (about: 2015) 4-5 previous marathons \| 1 The Santa Rosa Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Great course mostly flat with a few very short, fairly steep undulations to loosen your legs somewhere in the middle. Beautiful scenery. Plenty of people cheering on the runners. You could tell that the organizers and the locals really put their hearts into this event. Overall, this race was a very fun, relaxed and enjoyable experience, and I will definitely be back.
J. L. from California (8/25/2015) "Fast and flat" (about: 2015) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 The Santa Rosa Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 Expo: this was the biggest pain, requiring a whole weekend to be made of the race if you happen to live not in Santa Rosa and immediate surrounds. The shuttle from hotels was poorly organized - I don't understand why they had separate routes instead of all shuttles making a stop at vaguely central points downtown plus hotels. The shuttles also did not stick to the timetable so I missed one out of the winery expo that left early, and had to wait 90 minutes for the next one because of course the other route did not go downtown. Definitely factor in uber costs or just rent a car and brave the horrendous parking at the winery. Race day: It started at 6am which meant it was run and done before it got stinking hot. Once you hit the cowpath there's no moving from wherever you are in the pack so make sure you're where you want to be. Scenery is repetitive but pleasant enough, and there were more spectators than for the SF marathon which was a nice surprise. The first few aid stations didn't have water because they couldn't fill up cups fast enough and there was a lot of carnage later on with people needing medical attention. The medal was unnecessarily large and so heavy I had to take it off. It's a good race though and pretty good for running fast!
J. Z. from San Francisco, CA (7/31/2015) "Terrible organization." (about: 2015) 11-50 previous marathons COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 3 As someone who runs a lot of races, I was surprised to discover that the sponsors of the Santa Rosa marathon have a policy that states that there is no mailing of race packets and no packet pick-up on the day of the race. What does this mean? If, like me, you live close enough to the event that you can drive up on the race morning but not that close (San Francisco), you need to make a second trip the day prior just to pick up a race packet that could have been easily mailed. For me, that's a minimum of a two hour round trip, not to mention the waste of polluting fuel. Every other race I've participated in offers packet mailing, usually at a extra fee of about $10 which I'm happy to pay. I can't figure out their logic except that they want to force participants to come early, probably to buy DeLoach wine. I will skip this race and you should too.
C. C. from Washington DC (9/3/2014) "Disorganized event in 2014" (about: 2014) 1 previous marathon \| 1 The Santa Rosa Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 1 The course was ok - they seem to make a big deal out of the path next to the canal and running through the winery but it's really not that amazing. By mile 20, I was pretty bored of the scenery, especially since miles 20-26 is just a repeat in the opposite direction. The organization was poor and almost deceitful. They explicitly advertised several times on their website and on facebook that they will have amazing jackets (showing pictures of the design of the jackets). On pick-up day, they said the jackets are not ready but that we can pick them up the next day on race day. However, after the race was over, all they had were these plain black hoodies. No jackets. No explanation was announced. False advertising, and made me angry that they kept raising people's expectations and then let people down like that. Many people were expressing their disappointment. Another point about bad organization - at around mile 8, they didn't have any water or gatorade at the water station, so they were using a GARDEN HOSE to fill in the cups. Terrible. Spectators - very few spectators. Also some false advertising here by the race. They said that 'the last couple miles' of the marathon, we will be cheered on by the crowd. You can hear crickets chirping from miles 20-25.5. There were some people during the last half-mile of the marathon. Very few supporters. Positives: their medal is huge and the weather was nice. That's about it.
K. K. from Eureka, CA (9/3/2014) "Great little marathon!" (about: 2014) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 The Santa Rosa Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 Things I liked: 1. The 6AM start was wonderful. It is was still dark at that hour, but the city streets in the first 5K were plenty lit to see well enough and spread the field out a little bit. 2. Bike path: It was only crowded on the outbound miles when I ran with a pace group. The return trip with the half marathoners was nice. They provided mental motivation both when I passed them and the encouragement they offered. All I encountered were alert (thanks to the one ear bud rule, I think), courteous, and ran along the right side of the path. 3. Pacing groups: The three guys I ran with (3:30) had a relaxed attitude and perfectly even splits. They were great. 4. Loved the rural loop. Vineyards, horses, cattle, and some well-placed cheers at mile 16. 5. The small hills and inclines/declines kept my legs from cramping like the pancake flat courses do. Ran my first BQ!!! :) :) Things that could improve: 1. More information on road closures. My hotel was 2 mi south of Julliard Park and I spent almost 30 min lost in dark neighborhoods trying to get to the race parking area. Volunteers placed at these intersections might have helped. 2. Gear Check: Website indicated that a bag and tag would be included in packet with race number but was missing from mine. I ended up skipping my warmup sweats and chilling a bit. 3. No water at the start. Even though it's a smaller event, I thought it was on par with larger marathons like CIM, minus the logistical issues (super-expensive hotels, early shuttle times). This is a perfect low key way to run a new PR or BQ.

More Comments: [ < 1 2 3 4 5 6 > ]

Quick Links

Marathon Search
Upcoming US Marathons
Upcoming International Marathons
Search Marathon Results
Latest Running News
Recent Newsletters
Race Director Tools

Become an Advertiser

Click Here: Please visit our Sponsor

Click Here: Please visit our Sponsor

Click Here: Please visit our Sponsor

Click Here: Please visit our Sponsor

Become an Advertiser

© 2000-2024, All Rights Reserved by MarathonGuide.com LLC

Privacy Policy Refund Policy Terms of Use