This was my first NVM today (2011). It was awesome, the rain notwithstanding. The spectators were spectacular, with stations filled with volunteers sharing oranges and bananas. The hydration stations with water and Gatorade were perfectly placed. Not a lot of music, but it's hard to beat the scenery, and the quiet of the surroundings was awesome. I was surprised by the number of rolling hills that worked out all of the different muscle groups and helped with overcoming fatigue. The organizers were good with the shuttles to the start.

One of my favorites... green rolling hills, wineries, fantastic course. Well organized. Always look forward to the swag; this year, like last, they had a gym bag. Really liked the hot soup and bread at the finish.

This was my first Napa Valley Marathon and I will absolutely be back! Breathtaking course, nice roomy roads to run on, and organized by some of the nicest people you will ever meet. The highlights for me were:

(1) The expo lectures and pasta dinner the day before. Being encouraged and motivated by great runners is such a thrill!
(2) Running only with other marathoners (sorry halfers, and relay teams, but running amongst other 26.2-er's brings up my game, and challenges me to be a better runner). I BQ'd on this course!
(3) The bottle drop option. I was on my own for this marathon (no family to meet me on the course), and loved being able to have my drink(s) of choice at whatever mile markers I chose.
(4) It was enjoyable to run in a marathon were most people weren't wearing headphones - nothing worse than wasting my energy on cheering someone on, only to find out that they can't hear me. Really, if you haven't tried running a marathon without headphones, try it - you just might surprise yourself and get more out of it.
(5) The finish. They had massages, food, no lines and shuttle buses to and from, which put it over the top!
(6) Sweet medal, cool backpack (or duffel bag) well fitted and beautiful shirt, extra fun freebies....

Overall, I felt VERY taken care of as a participant, leaving me with no worries so I could enjoy the day and take in the journey. Thank you, Napa Valley Marathon, for a wonderful experience!

This is the second time and second year in a row I've run the NVM. This is a runner-oriented marathon. The expo is small, but that makes it more personal. You can talk with folks at the expo for a long time without getting crowded out or waiting. They provide a genuine Asics long-sleeve technical shirt and a great choice of either a backpack or duffel race bag. The buses to the start really help and it's nice that they don't drop you off or kick you out. The fact that you can have personal water bottles at the water stops is fantastic! The course is BEAUTIFUL! The post-race soup and bread are yummy. They have free massages and physical therapists at the finish to work out the kinks, and help you stretch out tight spots or tape up injuries. All of the staff and volunteers are friendly and helpful. If you have questions or need advice, they will do whatever they can to help. Overall, it's the best in the West!

My first marathon race, and I will never forget it. Absolutely perfect!!! We started the day with perfect weather: blue sky, no wind, the sunrise... yes, the course was spectacularly beautiful. Few hills. It was a mostly flat course on a good road. Plenty of aid stations with lots of oranges, which I think it help me a lot. Lots of volunteers and friendly crowds to cheer along the turnouts. Music, drinks, of course wine.... Great gifts: beautiful tech shirt and a very usable gym bag. Mostly, the beautiful medal. Awesome artwork.... The organizer put this event very nicely. I will definitely recommend it to my friends, and, yes, I am coming back next year.

This was my first Napa Valley Marathon. I really enjoyed it and PRed as well.

The good:
- Great course - very scenic and fast
- Great weather
- Nice people all around
- Small and easy to navigate
- Love the sweat bag (backpack) and the functional, long-sleeve t-shirt
- Nice finisher medal

Areas of improvement:
- Hardly any spectators. The ones that were there were great but you won't get a lot of energy back from the crowds there.
- No organized way to get back from the finish line to Calistoga. I was lucky to have researched a public bus beforehand and managed to get to it in time, but nobody even knew about that bus when I asked.
- Not a lot of water/beverages, especially in the second half when it got pretty warm
- Why the restriction on headphone use? The course is not crowded at all, as there are not a lot of runners. Large marathons like the Nike Marathon (20,000 participants) allow headphones.

I finally got around to running my local marathon this spring. Despite the constant rain, the roads were in good shape and the organization was excellent. My only complaint is that the results were wildly inaccurate for days after the race. Ultimately they were corrected and this was a minor inconvenience, especially considering that this was the first year Napa finally used chips to record a chip time rather than gun time. Despite the relatively closed course, lots of spectators were at almost every intersection. Post-race refreshments were great, and it was especially nice to have a hot shower immediately after the slog-fest.

Gels were available at miles 14, 18, 24. What are they even thinking? They did have plenty of aid stations, but the course I would rate as average but inconvenient (because it was point to point). I won my age group and hung around for awards only to find out they were promised to ship awards to age group winners within 2 weeks. Here it is almost 2 months later and I am still waiting. I won't be back.

This was my first marathon and it was such an awesome experience. The course was truly beautiful and I praise the fans for coming out in the rain to cheer us on. An For future racers: the first half had many cambered spots. I have never had an injury before, but my IT Band was thrashed for a good month after the fact. I am not complaining by any means. This is just a little side note to warn green racers to prep for those conditions. As I obviously didn't.

Thanks to all for a great race. I'll never drive the Silverado Trail again without that experience embedded in my heart and mind!

I picked Napa for my first marathon for the flat course, the destination, and the probability of good weather. Two out of three ain't bad!

The course WAS lovely and flat - in Seattle, none of those "hills" even qualify as such. The mile markers were always visible, there were plenty of porta-potties along the way, and the on-course support and volunteers were great, too.

I loved the bottle drop option, which I happily took advantage of. Unfortunately, somebody took my last bottle at mile 18.4 (I don't know why, because there wasn't another one like it) and I ended the race dehydrated. It totally threw me off my race plan. Not the race's fault, but I'm still cursing whoever it was! Anyway, that's a great option that surprisingly few people took advantage of.

The only real complaint I have about the race is the finish line - you have this great support coming into town and during the last .2, and then you finish in a fence-lined chute with no spectator support. I love races where you can hug your loved ones immediately after crossing the finish line, but in Napa, I had to wait about 5 minutes for my husband to make his way around the back of the portables to find me. It seems like they could change that fairly easily, especially in a race this small.

As for the weather, well, there's nothing to be done about that. At least it was warm, and it made the course even more beautiful and lush.

And the schwag bag? Fantastic! It's my new triathlon bag.

All in all, a great race.