This was my first marathon in 30 years (age 53).

Despite the rain, the course was beautiful. It was fun to pass some of the wineries I've sampled. Horses nickering in their paddocks, roosters crowing, mists on the hills, mustard flowers blooming in the dormant vineyards....

Along the way, there were many *wonderful volunteers* with lots of aid stations. I love those orange slices! Chip timing was new, I hear, and good to have.

Excellent care at the finish... soup, fruit, water, showers (not too hot after a 4:25 run but a quick rinse off was good) and massages. Results posted instantly.

The only thing to note is that spectators can't really see you except at a couple of places on the way. It's not a problem for me, but my wife was disappointed. Even more annoying to her was the terrible spectator access to the finish. Basically you are watching/photoing through a chain link fence. However, I suspect there are logistical issues with moving the finish.

Therefore, if you need lots of cheering crowds, this is not the marathon for you.

Afterward, we tromped up to Bottega in Yountville for a great lunch. There's nothing like wonderful food after a long run!

I will be back.

This is a wonderful marathon. The scenery on the course is gorgeous and the terrain just rolls gently, so it is perfect. And, what a friendly, relaxed atmosphere. Kudos on adding timing chips this year - an important thing for runners looking to achieve a time goal. The medal, t-shirt, and duffel bag are great. Volunteers were helpful, numerous, and I appreciated the one-on-one assistance I received. When I crossed the finish line, one volunteer matched up with me and walked me through the medal and Mylar blanket lines, and made sure I was okay. Pretty cool.

If you are into spectators on your course, this one is a little tough because the course is difficult for spectators to access. But, those that came out were incredibly supportive and appreciated. Unfortunately the weather was less than cooperative this year, but that is out of anybody's control. Having the school facilities open at the finish line also provided for great accommodation. My only organizational critique is the start area. The portable toilets were placed right in the middle of the starting area, which created all kinds of confusion and jam-ups. Move these off to the side or further back next year. That's it, though. I would recommend this race in a heartbeat, and thanks to the organizers for such a fine race.

Beautiful. Light rain, no wind. Excellent water stops... well staffed and plenty of room. Quick course. I qualified for Boston by taking 11 minutes off of my last Napa. Train for hills and expect a long, flat last 5 miles. Excellent post-race support and food. Thanks for the support at mile 24 - that was just where I needed a bit of encouragement.

The expo was a tad crowded and hot. Little crowd support... maybe the rain? Expect more vineyards than people along the course.

I had an absolutely great time at this year's Napa Valley Marathon! Though it rained the entire time, it was never TOO heavy and I actually enjoyed the cooling effect it had. The course was just as gorgeous as I'd heard it would be, and the rolling hills in the beginning weren't bad at all - most of the race felt downhill or flat.

In the weeks leading up to the race, I was really happy to hear that this year's results would be timed using disposable chips, and I was even happier the day of, when I was still in the porta-potty when I heard the race start. :)

As for the spectators, they weren't able to line the entire course, but I was incredibly grateful for the many fine souls who braved the elements just to cheer us runners on. As hard as it was to run out there, I imagine it would have been 100 times more miserable to stand there, get soaked, and watch strangers run by for hours. The crowd didn't seem to mind, though, and every spectator point provided me with an energy boost to keep going, even when my legs were screaming in pain (I especially enjoyed all of the cowbells/pots/pans, so thank you to everyone who broke those out).

The event's organization was also spectacular - it seemed that there were almost as many volunteers as there were racers! The expo was a little crowded but went smoothly and relatively quickly, and the finish line area was incredibly well-staffed, with volunteers helping each runner through the finisher's chute. And of course, everyone was really nice and accommodating.

I really couldn't have asked for a better first marathon experience, especially since the event allowed me to qualify for Boston (which was a HUGE surprise). I'm looking forward to many more in the future!

I wanted to do a California marathon and had read the past years' reviews, so I decided to check this one out. The runners were very friendly and I found out that many Californians come here to PR or BQ. The weather was not ideal (with the rain), but not bad either. The rain was not heavy and the temp was about perfect. The scenery is outstanding! The race bag was great, the shirt was OK, and the expo could use a little more space. Wine tasting everywhere! Crowds were not as good as one would want; the rain must have kept people inside. I would suggest to the organizers to have a competition between wineries, or different areas in cheering or music or refreshments to bring out the local participation. I have seen this in other races and it inspires the runners and enhances the race. A good time and a good race; hopefully it will get better. The finish line was cramped, with limited access for the finishers' families.

This was only my second marathon, but I want to rave about it anyway.

First of all, the course is beautiful, with vineyards on both sides for almost the entire run. The road is completely closed to traffic for most of the course, and the smaller size means no traffic problems.

The race is a one-way race with a bus shuttle to the start. The bus ride was pleasant; however, the wait in the dark rain was kind of a bummer. Once the race started, though, it was great, and I was able to knock over 20 minutes off of my first marathon. I will repeat this for sure.

I just ran the Napa Valley Marathon yesterday. It was might first. I didn't know what to expect, but at every turn I found that they made EVERYTHING EASY. From the first contact at the expo on Saturday, everything was focused on making things easy for the runners. There was a bus pick-up at my hotel to get to the race start. The buses stayed around to allow people to stay on them until shortly before the race start. Lots of porta-potties at the start and along the course. They give you the ability to have your own energy drinks at water stops along the course. It was great!

It was raining, so I welcomed the extra time on the bus. The course is amazingly beautiful even in the rain. The vineyards, the hills and the wineries beat the concrete and glass canyons in a big city. My only suggestions for improvement would be to have the expo on Friday and Saturday instead of just Saturday and to train the water stop volunteers (mostly middle and elementary school kids) not to crowd the course.

This was my first marathon and I loved it overall. The course was very beautiful and looked majestic partially because it was raining so much. As mentioned in previous reviews, the spectators are extremely loud and supportive, although their presence is a bit spotty until towards the very end of the race as you enter Napa. My only real complaints are quite small and were about some aspects of the organization. The start was somewhat disorganized. All of the runners crowded up to the front of the start, and there weren't any corrals or anything to keep things regulated. However, the chip timing assured that runners would get an accurate race time. Second, it was slightly annoying that at the finish the commentator neglected to call my name out as I crossed the finish line. I even stopped in front of his booth, pointed at my number and called out my name, and he just grinned and shrugged.

Aside from that, the race was a pretty wonderful experience. There are few enough runners that, aside from the very beginning, I never felt crowded on the course. There were also enough runners on the course so that I never felt like I was entirely alone, either. The runners were all extremely friendly, and a couple from Chicago really helped me out when I slammed into "the wall" around mile 20 (thanks a million, Laura!). The aid stations on the second half of the course were well stocked with oranges, bananas and GU. There were plenty of volunteers both patrolling the course and at the finish to make sure all the runners were doing OK. I felt like a rock star when I finished the race - as soon as I crossed the finish line, many people congratulated me and a volunteer came up and asked me if I needed help in any way (perhaps because I looked so wobbly as I finished). A second draped a Mylar blanket around my shoulders and a third put the medal around my neck. Being able to take a hot shower and relax in the gym for a bit afterward really helped. Massages and plenty of food were available to all runners as well. It was a great experience, and I hope to run it again sometime soon!

This was my first and definitely not my last marathon. My brother and I ran it together. Everything was perfect from the minute we checked in at the expo, and the people were soooo supportive of us virgins. Even though it rained (or poured), I had a perma-smile the whole way. I felt incredible and probably could have run the whole thing, but my brother decided to pass a kidney stone at mile 15. The trooper stayed strong and ran/walked the rest of the way in. We finished together holding hands... and are ready for our next marathon, less the kidney stone. The spectators were sparse... but were awesome and sooo supportive when they were there. My only complaint, if I have to find one, is that they opened the roads too early for us slow folks (11:30-12:00/miles). That made us run on the shoulder and stay out of the way of speeding cars. The website said the road would be closed longer... but oh well. It was a blast. SEE YOU NEXT YEAR!!!

A lot of thoughtful details - nice swag: duffel bag that doubles as a sweat check bag, for example. Beautiful, fast course, smoothly run, and staffed with conspicuously friendly and helpful volunteers. Very high class and down to earth at the same time. Awesome.

I strongly recommend this race, with one caveat: don't count on a hot shower! They have a high school gym locker room's showers available after the race, but for a slow (4:43) runner, the water was barely lukewarm, and I got badly wracked with shivers after a quick rinse (after a wet, cool race). Not their fault that the water heaters can't handle hundreds of cold, wet runners at the same time, but check the water temp before you commit. I brought a lot of unpleasantness and discomfort on myself that could've been easily avoided - it's not like a post-race shower is mandatory. Spending 5 hours slogging through the rain only to get hypothermia indoors afterward sucks.

I gave four stars for spectators because there's spotty access to the course, so there often are none.