The San Francisco Marathon was a challenging but overall a very satisfying marathon. The organization was very good. The route was interesting though the hills presented a challenge. I trained for rolling hills, but these hills seemed to be short and steep - the kind that really take it out of you after a while. My quads were spent during those last six miles, but at that point you just keep going. Fortunately, the last 3 miles are pretty flat, so that was a relief. The water stops were well organized. Some folks did not like the plastic cups, but they didn't bother me. The starting area was well organized and I loved that they had different UPS trucks for different ranges of bib numbers for your gear dropoff. It made it very efficient for dropoff and pickup. Medal is nice and the afer race food was good.

The expo was croweded and relatively small for a race this large, but it had all the necessities.

Overall, I thought this was well worth the money and I would recommend this marathon. Just be sure to train on hills.

This was my 2nd time running this race and it's still my favorite. The weather and course are absolutely amazing. Love the early start and it stayed cool and overcast throughout the race. The course is fantastic. It covers all the scenic tourist routes. The supporters were also great. They really pumped me up and I actually PR'd this time around. The only thing I think could improve is the expo. Not in the greatest part of town and it's surprisingly very small. Oh and not too happy with the long sleeve shirts this year. The short sleeve ones from 2010 are so much better! Nevertheless, I love this race and want to continue to do it every year. LOVE SFM!

Great course and nice organization as always. The wave start helps with crowding over the bridge, but it helps to be a faster runner. With the early start, you are almost guaranteed to have perfect running weather.

Only real problem I saw was the plastic water cups. While I'm sure they were great for the environment, the were terrible for runners. Lots of choking, spilling and tripping as a result. Acceptable error for a local 5K, but not an established marathon.

The weather was perfect, the scenery amazing, the first half was hilly, the second half was relatively flat. Nice organization and supplies along the route, never noticed lines at the porta-potties. The spectators and music were kinda sparse, but enthusiastic. PR weather, but not a PR course. I wouldn't hesitate to do it again, after I run in about 40 more states.

just got back from the San Francisco marathon and I had a great time. A friend of mine talked me into running this and I am glad he did. Many thanks to the volunteers and people who came out early to cheer us on.

The Good:
- The course is worth price of admission. Absolutely beautiful flat 5 miles along the Embarcadero and then the work begins. It felt like I was running pretty well in the first half, but my time told me otherwise.
- The 2 major hills (before getting on bridge and then getting off bridge) were towards the beginning of the race and would've been much worse towards the end. The hills in the park were pretty gradual and not bad at all.
- The last 6 miles are literally downhill. I was hurting a bit and wish I could've taken advantage of it better.
- The weather was phenomena. I live in the south and was training in 80-90 degree weather. You can't ask for more beautiful weather.
- The start and finish line was very convenient (we stayed at the Embarcadero Center) to our hotel or BART. The early start wasn't too bad, as the weather was great.
- Great volunteers all around help us out.
- The drinks were good. Better than the typical Gatorade they serve.

The Bad:
- More of an indictment of the people and not the race, but the whole purpose of a wave start is to prevent crowding. I was weaving in and out of people on the GG Bridge from who had started 8 minutes ahead of me (who said they were going to run faster than me) at the 6 mile mark. Sign up for your proper wave!
- Cars were getting a little antsy at the intersections. The police and the nice Harley Davidson volunteers kept them in place, but keep your eye out when on the streets.

The Ugly:
- A few interesting outfits on the course. One was wearing black leather, complete with dog collar. It takes a lot of gumption to out in public dressed like that, let alone run for 26 miles in one of those.
- San Francisco is known as a haven for people who are 'not all there' mentally a couple of them seemed very confused when people started running by early in the morning and they got angry/belligerent. Luckily it didn't escalate to anything more I think the Harley Davidson volunteers would've take care of it.

I ran the full 2011 marathon a few days ago. Here are some general thoughts for those considering the race...

COURSE: The course is just gorgeous. I've done some big ones - NYC, Marine Corps, Boston - and this may be my favorite. Running down the Embarcadero, across the Golden Gate, through the Presedio and Haight, by the stadiums - just so many great memories to take away from this race. Even running through Golden Gate park was pleasant and not boring. The hills are not as bad as advertised... and I didn't do any real hill training. (And as far as bridges go, Golden Gate is not as steep as the NYC bridges.)

FAN SUPPORT: Fans are scattered throughout the race, but it's only a 6K marathon, so don't expect huge crowds. They did do a good job with bands, if you're into that.

WATER: Water was every 2 to 2.5 miles or so - I would have preferred water stops a little more frequently in the beginning, but I understand the limitations of a smaller race. Still, the water cups were glorified shot glasses. I've never wished I had run with those bottle belts before. But not a huge deal because...

WEATHER: Holy god - high 50s in late July? Amazing. (And we were blessed with a overcast day with a slight wind.) If you're looking for a late summer race, there's really no better option. Starting at 5:30 is a plus in that regard as well. (Especially if you're coming from DC and on East Coast time!)

PACE GROUP: The race had pace groups for 3:00, 3:10, 3:20, 3:30, etc. - a huge bonus for an erratic course like this. This was my first time running part of a race with a pace group, and I had a great experience.

COURSE ORGANIZATION: Ok, only real bone to pick is here. The corral system is total sh*t-show. There's no order to it. I'm not exactly an elite runner, but I'm consistently at or under 3:10 and they stuck me in Wave 6 for no reason. After much begging they put me in Wave 3, which still started 10 minutes after Wave 2. They gave me no reason for why I was seeded in Wave 6. (That being said, when they change your wave, they put an office supply sticker on your bib and write the new wave in Sharpie, so for those motivated to do so, it's not too hard to find a creative solution.)

PERKS: The metal (that serves as a coaster) is a neat idea. The technical shirt is a little flashy for me. (Why can't races take the clue from Boston that classic design is the way to go?). I didn't partake in any pre- or post-race activities. The expo was a little underwhelming, but not a big deal.

TRACKING: The website is great, and results were posted very, very quickly.

Pros
-The weather in San Fran is cool, starting line temp for the race was mid-50's
-The course includes the Golden Gate Bridge!
-Great tech shirt (longsleeve)and finishers medal
-Food at the finish line was varied and in large supply
-The have a shuttle (for a $25 charge) that takes spectators to mile 4, 12, and 22 so they can cheer you on during the race. My wife rode this on race morning and said it was super easy. It makes all the difference in the world seeing family members cheer for you throughout the course instead of just at the start/finish.

Cons
-The expo is out of the way and small, would be better if it was located somewhere closer to the downtown hotels
-The spectators were few and far between (yes, I realize the race started at 5:30, but even by the time I finished at ~9:30 there were still very few of them) If you need a marathon with lots of crowd support this race is not for you
-I'm glad we got to run the Golden Gate, but it would have been nice if the course also took us by the Palace of Fine Arts, Chinatown, the Painted Ladies, etc... It seemed like there were lots of San Francisco landmarks that we didn't get to see on the course

Overall it's a really good race. I didn't do this race for the longest time because the comments on this website weren't good. Over the years the comments started getting better so I decided to give it a shot.
The marathon didn't disappoint and I'm glad I ran it.

For all the scenery (which was pretty good), this race was disappointing.
First and foremost, only one station had food besides Gu. A full is a long way to go with only two orange slices beyond what you can carry.
Secondly, they start a half at around the 14 mile point, which results in somewhat of a stampede as the front runners of the half collide with the middle of the full.
Very few spectators until the very end.
California has much better courses to offer than this one.

This is hands down one of the best organized and beautiful big city marathons that I have done. Race directors and companies like 'Rock n Roll' should take a page from SF...they put on (2) half marathons and a marathon without it feeling congested, all while respecting the unique spirit of each distance - even down to the size of finisher marathons (yes, a half marathon is very different from a full marathon and should be treated differently). The only word to describe the course (esp. the first half) is stunning. Some other words would be hard and hilly - but you almost forget about that. Definitely train for hills and don't forget, what comes up must come down because the down hill was at times worse than the up. Before the race the organizers did a good job of keeping people excited and informed through emails and Facebook. The one sad thing is that due to timing (it starts at 5:30 am, something I imagine has to do with getting runners off the Golden Gate Bridge quickly), there are hardly any fans watching/cheering the racers. There were cheering stations with great energy but very few people just standing along the course - and who can blame them, I don't want to be up at 6am on a Sunday either....unless I have a long run. All in all...one of my favorites. Good job SF Marathon!

This is a beautiful course. I particularly like the early start and would prefer other marathons start earlier.

My only complaint is the voluntary assignments to start waves is not working. Many 6+ hour marathoners put themselves in the 2nd or 3rd wave. For example, four of the 6 slowest official finishers (all over 7 hours) have less than a 3 minute difference between their gun times and their net times. They must all have been in the 2nd wave, right behind the elite runners. As a <4 hour runner I was in the fourth wave and I had a difficult time passing walkers particularly on the GG bridge. They should follow the example of the Chicago marathon and require some proof of ability to get into any of the <4 hour waves.

Otherwise it is a very well organized race. The hills are not as bad as others have commented. I was only 8 minutes off my best Chicago time.