This was my first marathon (at age 58). I ran with my daughter. The course is beautiful and very easy to run. The water stations were good for my needs (5:03:45). The weather was great - a little warm at the end. The buses could have left earlier which would have given a little more time for the porta-potties. A great trip for Easterner's to visit Napa and San Francisco. This one sold out in January, so don't wait too long.

What a great course. The downside is that there are no pacing volunteers (just mile markers), so you are on your own. I would have friends be there to make sure you have food, because GU is not available and you are not sure what aid stations will have during the course. It is like the CIM, but with no running help. But a great crowd of locals! All in all, a great course for a 'fun' run.

Napa Marathon is a spectacular race for first-timers and veteran marathoners! Thank you for setting up personal aid stations. This truly makes your race a cut above the rest!!! I have just one complaint: Please go back to a shirt that has a dry weave or polyester blend so I can use it!!!! The cotton shirt is of no use to me! And I love the past design with the map of the course. Thanks, Michelle.

This was my first marathon, and I chose it carefully (okay I relied heavily on ratings/comments from this site when choosing between it and some other, bigger marathons) but I wasn't really sure what to expect.
I'm so glad I chose Napa - I can't imagine a better overall marathon experience.

An experienced marathoner had told me 'your goal for a first shouldn't be time, it should be to finish happy and feeling like you want to do another'. Well, I missed my time goal but I sure hit the 'happy, do another' goal. The scenery (especially first 18 miles) has to be seen to be believed, and the volunteers are so polite and encouraging - Napa guaranteed I will run another marathon.

I'd recommend this race to anyone. It's old-school, sure, with no Championchip or gels. But isn't that more of a positive than a negative? A watch does the same job as a chip and it's such a small field of runners, they'll put out 'special drinks' for anyone, not just elite runners. I enjoyed the small, supportive scale and found it a plus that it was less of a circus than some half-marathons I've run.

I wasn't quite prepared for the heat (especially after doing all my long training runs in blizzards) but a hat was enough to keep sun out of my eyes, and there was plenty of water at aid stations to dump over your head or body.

I really didn't find traffic an issue. Race staff had warned runners that one lane is open to traffic after the first bit (ten miles or so?) but even after that point, to be honest, I have no memory of seeing more than a half-dozen cars in total, and a few squads of cyclists - certainly nothing in the runners' lane.

Drawbacks? I guess, as in all races, there could be more porta potties... the first few miles do feature that ankle-busting slant (but the road levels off pretty quickly, so your ankles do recover)... that last hill isn't steep, but it sure is long and sunny...

Pretty lame drawbacks, eh? But that's the best (or do I mean worst?) I could come up with - and I had to think hard!

Run this race. You won't regret it.

The course is gently rolling for the most part - yes, there are some inclines in the first 10 miles and one later in the race, around 19-20 or so, but nothing horrible. The only negative thing I have to say about this race is that you're facing the sun the whole way, so do bring sunglasses and/or a hat.

Lots of food and drink along the course, great volunteers, well organized... this is definitely going to become an annual event!

This was my second marathon and quite a contrast from running with the the huge crowds at the Chicago LaSalle in 2002. NVM offers a 'postcard' scenic race course, well organized, well supported, friendly people and very good logistics (although would have appreciated gels in the final miles). The race shirt, bag and finisher's medal were all first rate. Would run this one again without hesitation and highly recommmend it to other runners. Really enjoyed running a smaller race in a picturesque setting and...the sunny, warm weather in early March was a welcome bonus (I'm from Western Canada).

This was my first marthon and I was more than pleasantly surprised by the beauty and organization of the event. I loved the rolling hills, the pastoral vineyards, horses, and the small size. Wear a hat and you won't mind the sun. Stay an extra day to enjoy the olive oil factory and of course the vineyards.

I'd suggest staying in Calistoga at the starting line to avoid the bus rush. The unseasonably hot weather caused me some gastric problems and a nice volunteer, name Mike helped me to the finish line. They really take care of you in this race. The 5:30 cut off time puts a bit of pressure on the novice (and older!) runner--but shhhh--medals are still given out if you are late! Homemade soup at the finish line. Mmm. Lotta fun!

I came from the cold weather of upstate NY to run this marathon. The weather was spectacular, although apparently warmer than usual. Temp at the start was 44F, and probably mid-70's after a little less than 4hrs. The buses do leave on time, if you get on the bus on time. You can catch a bus at 5:30am, for a 25 minute ride to the start. People who are late to the start are probably late everywhere they go. The finish is at a local high school, and they have everything there that you could want.

The expo was a bit small, but the organization of the race was excellent, especially given that they have run it 26 times. This is a rural race, encompassing virtually the entire length of the Silverado Trail. Contrary to what you might read, it is a bit hilly. Nothing steep, but sometimes it seems like you're running uphill for a long time. The aid stations are spaced a bit uneven, but each has both water and Gatorade, plus bananas and oranges at later stations. I am told that the typical weather would be about 40F at the start, and mid-to high 60's at the finish. You run past many wineries.

The porto-potties seemed sufficient, but may be a bit more crowded than other races because there is really no other place for men like me to go in relative privacy (5 minutes max wait). There's no chip, but it takes no more than 30 seconds to cross the start line. A GREAT RACE.

The course is nice. The people are great and the weather couldn't be better.

This was my first marathon and overall I thought it was great. Everything was well organized, the goodie bags were great, and the course was beautiful. I hadn?t done a lot of hill training but I barely noticed the hills.

My only complaint was that from mile 8 onward runners were supposed to have 1 lane of the road. The northbound lane was supposed to be for ?CHP vehicles, official race vehicles, and restricted local traffic only.? Well, from about mile 10 to mile 18 both lanes seemed to be open and there was a lot of traffic zooming by at 45 mph within a few feet of you. Runners were forced to the shoulder and if you wanted to pass a group of runners you had to move out into the road and watch out for traffic. Not sure if someone screwed up and forgot to set up a road block or what, but it was pretty annoying.