This was one of the best-organized marathons in which I've participated. The course was well laid out with a mixture of hills and flats. Most of the hills were pretty gradual, although the rise up to the Presidio was the most challenging ? but it was only about a mile in length.

The best part of the race was the temperature! I am a cold weather runner (from Michigan) and the race started at 57F and dropped a few degrees during the race. With a 5-10 mph wind and slight drizzle, the conditions couldn?t have been more ideal. BUT, as this weather is pretty typical for August in San Francisco future runners can expect similar conditions. With a singlet, I was very comfortable.

Support was probably the best of my 8 ?thons and the finishing area was well set up with both food and a great massage. Even though crowd support was virtually non-existent, thank you San Francisco for an awesome experience!

At the expo, the race organizers pleaded with people to start early (5:00 am). I was one of those who did, and found the course unmarked (made two wrong turns in the dark), and NO WATER until the official start of the race. Volunteers would not give water out, and I had to run off course at water fountains. Other than that, the weather was GREAT, and the course very scenic.

This is a great run through San Fran. Running by the park, the stadium, the coast, etc. was fantastic. Train for the hills though.

Since this was my first marathon, I don't know how this race compares with others, so take my comments with a grain of salt! My wife and I had been training since January, and I analyzed (my wife will say over-analyzed) every detail of the course. I have read negative comments about the hills, but the website topography map shows you exactly where and how high they are, so we trained appropriately and were well prepared. I also read comments about no GU at some stops, but again, the website spells out there were only 2 stops that had GU, so we brought our own. The weather was magnificent. Of course, compared to the 90-100 degree weather we trained in, anything would be better.

The packet pick-up was simple and fast. We flew in on Saturday and went straight to the expo without a problem. Everything that was advertised was there and available. The only bummer was they were out of race merchandise. We should have ordered off the web, but wanted to wait until we could see the items before we purchased them. Live and learn, I guess.

I am used to no spectators at normal races, so this wasn't a big deal to me. My wife and I wore 'Kansas' t-shirts, and had several comments about Jayhawks, Dorothy, and Toto, which helped bring smiles to our tired faces.

Overall, our experience was excellent. I thought the race was well thought out, but I do have a couple of things that can easily be changed.
1) I wish there was more things to eat and drink at the finish (my wife only got one bottle of water), but that has already been well documented.
2) I hit the half-marathon mark right after the 2nd part half-marathoners had started. I spent the better part of 2 miles weaving in and out of half-marathon walkers. They were taking up the entire street! I wish they would have moved the half-marathoners to one side so we could have gotten past easier.

Overall, everyone was very friendly and helpful, which made our first marathon very enjoyable. The course was very scenic, and for tourists like us, lots of fun (I'm just glad we didn't have to run the hills near Lombard Street!). I would definitely do it again if I lived in the area, but since I'm half way across the country, I doubt I will anytime soon.

For a first time marathon, I was told not to judge all by the Chronicle. Our running companions that average 10+ marathons a year for 20 years said this was not exemplary relative to organization, water, traffic support or spectator support.

Check in was great fast and festive, and my son loves the t-shirt.

We opted for early start, the course was not marked well or at all in some areas, no water etc. set up until 14 miles. We brought water but some runners expected aid stations - very dangerous.

We saw some spectators on Hague Street and then only at the finish line. There will be more marathons in the near future to compare organization, etc. I doubt that we'll pay to fly, hotels, etc. for the Chronicle again.

I love San Francisco and this marathon is one of the best. The course is spectacular and the race staff was incredibly helpful. I loved the T-shirt, magnets, posters and greatly detailed course maps. Everything was so easy. The expo is beautiful, right on the Bay under palm trees and steps away from the star/finish. The course has some hills but they were no more difficult than any other marathon. The temperature was perfect, and even the sunny finish was not too hot. This was my third marathon, and I will definitely be back.

This was a great marathon, my 4th marathon so far, and I set a PR! I agree with everyone else's comments about the hills... they were no different than normal, short hills most people do in their training. I would have to say that running in cool, foggy weather has got to be the IDEAL running weather for anybody. I loved the scenery, even though I grew up not too far away and have spent a lot of time in the city. The only complaint would be the lack of Gu and water stations... there was no food for the first 15 miles and that is bad news for anyone trying to keep a steady pace. (Luckliy I brought my own Gu and that saved me. I feel sorry for those who didn't... that should never happen). More water and watered-down Gatorade would've been nice, too. The bananas at mile 20 really helped though (and sort of made up for it). Overall, this is a great marathon, definitely one to add to the list! Mellow, not too big, and awesome weather.

Best way to see SF is this marathon. Excellent tour through many great areas. Be prepared for hills, although not as many as expected (I found the long, steep descents worse).

Organization was good. I easily picked up my race packet, t-shirt (nice logo) and finishers medal. Changes in course to ease traffic were handled well.

Only negative comment: the electrolyte replacement drink GU20 is not available in Canada, so I was not able to train with it.

Overall, I thought it was very well done. Not a lot of fans, but a highly recommended course.

(Comments from a 6-time, 4:00 marathoner)

I was expecting a much worse race based on the comments from last year. I was pleasantly surprised.

Traffic control seemed great throughout the race. The organizers use a clever system of parallel routes a block or two apart in certain areas. Every 5-10 minutes, runners are directed to the other route, creating a sort of 'airlock' that allows cars to cross the course without disrupting the runners. From a runner's standpoint, the system works seamlessly, even though the effect is somewhat disconcerting - you suddenly notice that no one is in front of you for a half-mile or so, only to turn a corner and find a stream of people merging back in with you. I'm not confident that all the routes come out to precisely 26.2 miles, but it seems fairly close from the map, and should only be of concern to sticklers.

The course itself is quite nice, and in theory, offers a nice mini-tour of the north end of the city. Most of the real sights - Coit Tower, Fisherman's Wharf, Ghirardelli Square, Alcatraz, the Presidio, Golden Gate Bridge, and the Palace of Fine Arts - are all within the first 6 miles. (Unfortunately, nearly all were covered in fog - I saw only the bottom 20' of the Golden Gate Bridge towers.) Much of the rest of the course goes through Golden Gate Park and along the ocean. Miles 22-25 go through a more industrial district, but the last mile snakes around the back of the ballpark and ends under the Bay Bridge. Unlike some of the commenters here, I didn't think the hills were too bad, especially when you consider some of the *real* hills in S.F. The climb through the Presidio and into the park happens early in the race, and the hills in Golden Gate park around miles 15-18 are not particularly steep and level out frequently, allowing you to catch some breath. I particularly liked the fact that there were large orange helium balloons at each mile marker - being able to look down the street to see the next marker is a great motivator.

Yes, spectator support stinks. Miles 19-21 along Haight Street had some small crowds and the last mile had some spectators (although most were fans on their way to the baseball game that afternoon). The rest of the race was pretty barren. If spectator support is important to you, this isn't your race.

The finish line was ok, but the walks and waits to get food and a finisher's medal were exasperating. Food suppliers were clearly running low when I finished at 4:00, and were probably out of everything before 4:30 finshers arrived. The available food was a little odd - no bagels at the finish (!); instead, one table was handing out boxes of vacuum packed Indian food (!?) from Tasty Bites. (In fact, my recollection is that the entire food line, from front to back, was: bottled water, bananas, boxed Indian food, bagged potato chips, yogurt smoothies, and samples of Starbucks' frappucinos. Not your typical marathon fare, and fairly disappointing, given that highbrow grocery store Whole Foods was catering the finish.) And, as others have said, finisher medals were a couple of blocks and another wait in line away.

Miscellaneous pros: free parking in garages near the start line; expo goodies included not only a t-shirt (which I, personally, like), but also a fridge magnet and small poster with the same image of the Golden Gate bridge; lots of well-identified pace groups; enthusiastic support station volunteers; one of those police 'Your speed' radar signs parked in the middle of the course, showing runners going 6 and 7 miles an hour; half-marathoners can choose which half of the course they want to run; weather was quite pleasant for a July marathon - the fog kept things moist but cool for most of the race.

Miscellaneous cons: the half-marathoners for the second half started 1:45 after the official start of the full marathon, meaning that a large clump of people start at mile 13 just as us 4:00 marathoners are getting there; final .75 miles run alongside traffic blocked off only by cones; mile 5 marker was misplaced by as much as 200 meters (after three 8:30 splits, my mile 5 was 7:30, and my mile 6 was almost 10:00).

Overall, other than the lack of fan support and the post-finish mess, it was a very enjoyable, well-run race from a 4:00 runner's perspective.

Lots of hills and few spectators, but I had a good run. I was nervous about running this course as my first marathon, and signed up with a SF Road Runners Club pace group. This made a big difference and made my marathon a positive experence.