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Napa Valley Marathon Runner Comments
Back to Napa Valley Marathon Information & Reviews
Course 4.7 
Organization 4.7 
Spectators 3.9
Number of comments: 160 [displaying comments 121 to 131]
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N. R. from Colorado
(3/14/2004)
 "Great one for the first one!" (about: 2004)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Napa Valley Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 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! | |
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K. P. from Syracuse, NY
(3/14/2004)
 "Beautiful scenery" (about: 2003)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Napa Valley Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 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. | |
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m. E. from Seattle, Washington
(3/12/2004)
"What a great time" (about: 2004)
2 previous marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 The course is nice. The people are great and the weather couldn't be better. | |
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S. L. from Corvallis, OR
(3/11/2004)
"Great marathon but lots of traffic on course!" (about: 2004)
First Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 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. | |
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Glen Castro from Illinois
(3/10/2004)
"Yes, it's all true" (about: 2004)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Napa Valley Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 Everything I've read here about this marathon is absolutely true. From the awesome goody bag to the sorbet at mile 25, this is a great marathon to run. The last marathon I ran was Chicago, and I wanted to try a little something different this time--something a little more rural, with a smaller field, smaller crowds, and terrain of some sort. This was it. The hills were not too bad--this coming from a flatlander! The crowds were small, but their enthusiasm more than made up for it. It was the volunteers, however, that put this race over the top. From when I picked up my number at the expo to when I was being walked through the finishing chute by the nicest lady, everyone I encountered was simply the best! | |
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Morgan Brown from Palo Alto, CA
(3/9/2004)
"All-around, a great marathon" (about: 2004)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Napa Valley Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 Really a cool course through Napa Valley. Lots and lots of well-stocked aid stations, lots of enthusiastic supporters, very nice northern California scenery along the whole course. I'll just register a few random complaints. 1) Course faces into the sun the whole time. Bring your sunglasses! 2) No pace callers @ mile markers. Bring your watch! 3) Buses don't leave much time to stretch at the start. 4) Huge lines for the porta-potties at the start (would be less if buses arrived earlier). The course is fast and slightly downhill, but not devoid of uphills. The most notable lies between miles 19 and 20. I got heat exhaustion in this (2004) race, as the area was experiencing record high temperatures. Often, the valley is fog-covered, but in 2004, the sun peeked over the hills just as the race started. Up to the halfway point, the course is quite well shaded. The second half is far more open to the sun. | |
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R. J. from Kansas City area
(3/9/2004)
"This a great race and a great first time marathon" (about: 2004)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Napa Valley Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This was my fourth marathon and I really enjoyed running it. The crowd was wonderful. It seemed that they were there when you needed them. Support for the runners was wonderful. There was lots of fruit, water, and even sorbet ice cream on the couse. The hill was tough but the great scenery took your minds off of the hilly terrain. This was a great race overall. I hope they keep the participant numbers at 2,200 beacause any more people would be too much. I like the fact that it was just the marathon only and not half marathon - everyone you were running with had ran the same distance. I would strongly consider running this marathon again. If time allows it and I highly recommend it to any runner (beginner through advanced.) | |
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C. D. from Portland, Oregon
(3/9/2004)
 "Makes you want to live there" (about: 2004)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Napa Valley Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 This was a beautiful marathon that was well organized. I thoroughly enjoyed it and found all the people to be very helpful (except for the snooty wine folk). Don't let them fool you with the 'it's mostly flat with a few downhills' Along the way many times I heard variations of 'Flat? My ass!' No, it is hilly, hilly and more hilly with a particularly excruciating mother at mile 19. Yuck. It was a great challenge though and I loved having done it. The bags are really great as is the t-shirt. The aid stations were perfectly spaced with a lot of great people, especially kids, volunteering. It was a great day. | |
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A. L. from novato, ca
(3/7/2004)
"Great marathon, good weather" (about: 2004)
6-10 previous marathons
| 3 Napa Valley Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 This is my third running of this event, and the organization is superb, with the best sweets-bag around. Weather was a little warmer than in previous years, but I'll take it over a rainstorm anyday. With the sun right on you for at least 2/3rds of the race, hydration could be an issue. Loud and boisterous crowds at the intersections were a big help. Probably the only issue with crowds is that between miles 17 and 23, it gets pretty lonely out there. Volunteers were great as usual and I thank all of them. Maybe a few more porto-potties at the start would help. And big thanks to Nadia for letting me go to the porto-pottie ahead of her. I made it to the start in the nick of time! Thanks again! | |
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M. L. from San Jose
(9/7/2003)
"Definitely a must-run course!!" (about: 2003)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I thoroughly enjoyed this marathon: the weather was comfortable the entire time and the scenery is breath-taking. The spectator support was great: even the families of the wineries were out on the course handing out fruit and goodies. (Special thanks to whoever had the sorbet cups at the 25th mile)! The course has a few mild hills but the rest is comfortably flat. Great marathon for first-timers! |
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