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Silicon Valley Marathon Runner Comments
Back to Silicon Valley Marathon Information & Reviews
Course 3.7 
Organization 3.9 
Spectators 3.1
Number of comments: 54 [displaying comments 31 to 41]
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v. s. from california
(10/31/2005)
 "Perfect Marathon" (about: 2005)
First Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This was my first marathon. Lot of water breaks, course well marked and lots and lots of support (definitely needed it). I ran the San Francisco Half Marathon this year and there were hardly any people for support. The event was very well organized and we all had a terrific blast; and it feels great to have completed a marathon! The weather was perfect. Overall my first marathon finished on a pefect note. | |
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J. D. from USA
(7/14/2005)
 "Okay for a small marathon" (General Comments)
6-10 previous marathons
| 3 Silicon Valley Marathons
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 1 The course is too windy and is on a shared trail with other pedestrians, dogs, cyclists - you spend much of your effort dodging others, so if you plan to run fast, expect traffic. Also, there aren't really any spectators to speak of along this course. | |
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M. W. from Palo Alto, California
(4/11/2005)
 "nice small marathon" (about: 2004)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Silicon Valley Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 This is a nice small marathon. The course is just okay. If they changed the course a little it could be greatly improved. The course is out to Los Gatos and back. It gets a little lonely on the way back and there aren't that many spectators for a while until you get close to the finish. The race volunteers were great though and it is still a nice race. Weather is usually ideal as well. | |
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s. j. from usa
(11/23/2004)
"would not repeat." (about: 2004)
6-10 previous marathons
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 1 It appeared as if the organizers put together a bunch of streets to make up a marathon. Please take more time and effort next time. There is so much scenery in the San Jose and Los Gatos areas to have a marathon. Also, there is essentially no crowd support. I guess either people don't care, or they are not aware. | |
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Byron Han from Honolulu, HI
(11/11/2004)
 "very nice small marathon" (about: 2004)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Silicon Valley Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 It was really a joy to run this marathon. The race was well-organized - with the exception of a little bit of fumbling at the very first water station - with plenty of water breaks and snacks towards the end. The course was beautiful through some nice neighborhoods in San Jose and then on the trail out to Los Gatos. This was my first 'cold weather' marathon (coming from Hawaii) and I managed to shave over 19 minutes off of my PR at this race. Definitely a race I'd do again. | |
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J. S. from san jose, ca
(10/31/2004)
 "A low-key marathon" (about: 2004)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Silicon Valley Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 2 The course this year was through downtown to the Los Gatos Trail, turning around at mile 13 where the half marathoners split off, then back on essentially the same course. The minuses were no water at the start and a couple of places I saw people almost miss turns, as there were markings but no guards. This is a pretty fast course and aside from the start and end it is mostly off street, so it is a pleasant run. This year wasn't crowded, and congestion was really minimal; the start was also easy to get to, reducing pre-race stress. | |
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D. D. from Pacific Grove, California
(10/23/2004)
"I enjoyed the experience and will do it again." (about: 2003)
11-50 previous marathons
| 4-5 Silicon Valley Marathons
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 Course was an improvement over the boring years when you would run out toward the bay. I liked the creekside vegetation that created shade, wind blockage, and more peaceful setting than streets. | |
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T. S. from San Francisco, CA
(6/3/2003)
"Under construction" (about: 2002)
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 2 After running a half-marathon in 2001, I promised myself that I would never return to the SVM again - because of the horible course. Since they changed it in '02, I gave it a chance for my first marathon. Liked the course, and the fact that it was close to my hometown, not to mention the fact that it was a small race. Had no trouble with the trail being too narrow, but if the crowds get thicker, this might get to be a big problem indeed. Cool medal btw. They actually canceled the '03 edition (they call it 'postpone to '04'), claiming that they can't find a new course and a new sponsor, and that the police want a course where less assistance is needed. | |
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A Runner from San Francisco, CA
(12/11/2002)
"A 26.2 mile training run; nice Tshirt; great medal" (General Comments)
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 This was my third marathon. I heard that before they changed the course this year, the race used to go through a series of office parks. Yawn. This year, they introduced an out and back from San Jose to Los Gatos with much of it on the Los Gatos Creek Trail. I'm sure this was a big improvement. However, while it's not a boring course, it's not exactly scenic in the sense that you'll get a feeling for the San Jose area. I came away feeling that I just did a very long training run. As other's have mentioned, there were congestion problems along the Los Gatos Creek Trail, which is the width of a two-lane bike path. That's already a bit narrow for one direction let alone two. At 1,900 runners or so, it's not too big of a deal. The website gives the impression that this is a fairly flat course. Not. The trail portion isn't that easy even without the congestion. The twists and turns are a little hard on the knees and the ups and downs traversing the little dams are hard on the quads. The big hill after the High School (half-way point) is no joy either. Take it easy along the trail portion so that you can enjoy the flats on the return through San Jose. I didn't think the course was very well marked. The mile markers were relatively small and easy to miss on the non-trail segments. Many of the early aid stations were ill prepared (and probably weren't well trained) as they didn't have cups filled and ready for the runners. Traffic control was pretty good and I agree that the officers were pretty friendly and offered encouragement. Spectators were pretty light and didn't seem too experienced at cheering on marathoners. That's okay, but please don't say, 'you're almost there.' A motorcycle cop towards the end made the faux-pas of announcing on his PA, 'only one more mile!' Unfortunately, he was mistaken. We were still 2.2 miles away. It was a little weird to run on grass through the finisher's chute, but there were some good volunteers waiting for me to hand over the very nice (yet very heavy) medal and an ice cold bottle of water. The t-shirt is nice too and is actually something you can wear with jeans to the coffee shop when you're not running. | |
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A Runner from Gardnerville, NV
(11/5/2002)
"This was a beautiful course." (about: 2002)
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 1 I am a firm believer in staying at the host hotel. It was literally 1 block from the start and about 2 blocks from the finish. This is especially helpful for those folks who choose not to stand in line pre-race waiting for the porta-potties! I am glad I ran this marathon this year rather than in years past as this course was quite lovely along the trail. However, there was a lot of twists and turns, and ups and downs that were difficult to predict from the elevation map. The first two water stations had no water available for me so I wasn't able to get hydration until after mile 3. From there on, water, Ultima, Gu and bananas were aplenty. I required some medical attention post-race and will say that the tent was fully equipped with awesome doc's. The finishers medal was beautiful and quite a showpiece. It is the best I've seen next to the DisneyWorld one. Since I am still new to 'marathoning' (this was my third in 11 months), I will keep trying others, but I would gladly recommend this marathon. |
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