This was my first marathon, and I chose San Francisco because I thought if I was going to run 26.2 miles, I would choose a city I've never been to. What a great way to see the city!

Weather - The weather was perfect! At the start of the race it was in the low-mid 50s and then warmed up to the low 60s.

Course - The course was very scenic, and running over the Golden Gate bridge was really cool. I also loved running along the Embarcadero in the beginning of the race and then spending a lot of time in Golden Gate Park. They also had trivia questions and answers posted along the course, which provided some entertainment along the way.

Hills - Yes, there are hills. But to be honest, I didn't do much hill training at all prior to the race and I thought they were manageable. Don't let the hills keep you from doing this race!

Organization - I thought the race was well organized. I especially liked how there was a bus that took spectators to different viewing spots along the course, which allowed my friends to see me about 5 different times throughout the race.

Fans/Spectators - This was something I was worried about based on other reviews I had read. Recognizing that this was my first marathon, I was really pleased with the crowds. There were parts of the course without anyone cheering, but it made the areas where they were that much better.

Overall, I highly recommend this marathon for running veterans as well as first-time marathoners. I would absolutely run this race again if I were to back to the West Coast.

I've run several marathons before this one, and have never encountered a wave start quite like this. There are about seven waves, and about eight minutes apart. The most annoying thing to me was that people don't know their pace, and they get into one of the first waves. I spent most of the first half of the race trying to run around walkers who started before me. It became especially annoying on the GG Bridge where we had just two lanes: one for each direction.

I carried my own water bottle, so the small Dixie cups were not a problem. But the Cytomax is awful - get something better!

The good things were the course monitors who always headed us in the right direction at every corner, and having the start and finish right on the waterfront.

There is also an option to run just the first half (including the GG Bridge) or the second half (mostly downhill). The race provides shuttles for those participants.

I'm new to marathons. My first was in May of this year in Vancouver, BC. So where to for the next race? San Francisco seemed like a great destination with race day less than three months away. We packed up our little Jack Russell and drove to California, camping along the way. The Golden Gate Bridge was our entry into San Francisco. What a beautiful city! The anticipation of running over this bridge was exciting. We settled into the Westin, which was within 10 blocks of the race start. We then walked to the race expo to pick up my race package. The expo was busy and a lot of fun, with several well known race veterans present. It was unfortunate that the expo wasn't held at the host hotel. I didn't see any advertising for the race around the city, which surprised me.

The race stated at 5:30 (way too early!). I was in Wave Two at the start. I think there were far too many slow runners in Wave One who shouldn't have been there. The course was scenic, and challenging with the hills. Crowd support was very light, probably because of the early start. The back half was interesting, but lonely. What a great way to see the city. The finish line, at last! There was lots of support from everyone and good snacks. Great race (a PB), a beautiful city, and a memorable experience. We really enjoyed our visit. Thanks.

Running the Golden Gate is surreal. The course allows you to see all of SF in a matter of hours - the best "tourist package" I've bought. A very organized event with wave starts, and perfect weather for July (who knew SF had such great weather in the summer?).

As others have adequately reported, the course is beautiful and challenging. On the down side, I wished there were mile markers at every mile because after 20 miles or so, it was a bit frustrating not knowing how much farther I had to go. The medal is huge and the race shirt is the best one I've ever gotten... color, design, and fit. Overall, I loved this marathon and should probably invest in a Garmin.

Calling all Pittsburgh runners: This beautiful course is like running the Pittsburgh Marathon without the humidity. Temps at the beginning of the race were in the mid 50's, and 4 hours later, they were in the mid 60's, in July!

Check out the elevation chart; it's like Pittsburgh - not bad for a hilly town.

My advice is to train in the high humidity and then fly out on the Thursday before the race. It's like cutting hot butter with a knife. It could be a potential PR course.

The organization, expo, course and spectators are all great. I've run S.F. each of the last three years, and I will continue to run this one every year!

I have run this marathon three times. First, it is more challenging then advertised. There are significant hills and the footing on the bridge can be wet and slippery. Second, there is no food whatsoever on the course. I carry my own because I know this. Many, I expect, hit the finish line quite hungry. Lastly, the finish area is the worst. I was greeted by one water bottle and access to a bag of chips. There was no other food available, as it was all gone. Once I finished my water, I was not allowed to return to the finish area to get another. Luckily I had some cash on me and was able to purchase food at a nearby store.

I'll run it again because I live across the bay. I would not recommend this race to a first-time marathoner.

I have to say, this is the most beautiful marathon I have run yet. I ran with my brother, and we had a great experience. The full marathon route was a bit more challenging than other races I've run, but if you train for hills, it is manageable. :) The race t-shirts were great tech t-shirts, a major upgrade from other events I've participated in. There were great speakers at the expo pre-race, including Dean and Bart, which really helped add to the weekend. Overall, SF was a great running city and we are already planning to register again next year.

The only good thing: The course is beautiful.

Bad: Tiny Dixie cups of water. Thank God I wore a fuel belt in case of emergency. Also, there are no spectators, so wear an iPod for entertainment. You will want to get your mind off of how hilly the course is. The tech shirts are too small.

The WORST: The finish line food was the cheapest ever. I could not believe that San Francisco would offer one bottle of water, a tiny bag of chips, a granola bar, bananas, and a tiny bag of granola. Thanks; that really hit the spot!

I also want to say kudos to all who ran either the full or the half.

This was an amazing race experience.

The course is pretty hilly and you have to be ready for that since, duh, it is San Francisco. (If the race management describes its course as difficult, listen.) BUT, if you're trained and ready, the course will inspire awe and joy, along with a few epithets once the going gets tough and the tough start crying. Amazing views, perfect weather for running (breezy, cool and misty with not a speck of humidity in sight); what more could a runner want?

I had 2 problems with this race and I'm admitting right now that only one of them is a real problem, so feel free to skip ahead.

This was more or less my fault but since this is my review, I'm going to whine about it anyway: I tried to switch to the half-marathon on the first day of the expo (when there was still room in both races), only to be told that a switch was possible but that I wouldn't get a medal and it wouldn't really be official. After an involuntary "Whatchu talking bout, Willis" to the very nice volunteer at the Solutions desk, she told me that so many people wussed out of the full race that there weren't any spare medals for changers and they order medals WAY in advance, so bottom line: no medal for me. As I'm something of a medal whore, I chose to stick with the full marathon, but I think the race website should have said something about that in advance.

Enough with my pseudo problem. Real problem: the water stops. Yes, the tiny Dixie cups full of water and Cyto-yucky stuff (and what the heck was that stuff - I can still taste it in my nightmares) every 2 or so miles were not adequate. Worse than that was the fact that none of the water stops after the first one seemed to have cups left. I am something of a slow runner, but I'm not THAT slow. Seriously, how does a race run out of cups?!? The volunteers finally started putting out the bottles of the pseudo-Gatorade stuff because they didn't have anything to pour them into. Oh, but then runners would just take a few gulps out of a bottle, put the cap back on and then put it right back on the table for other people to drink out of, to which I say, "Eeeeeeeewwwwwwwwww!" All of this could have been avoided by just buying some more cups. And maybe some real-sized cups next time? Please?

I only saw GU at the stop after the first bridge pass-over, but I bring my own so it didn't really bother me. Likewise, there aren't lots of spectators, but then I'm not Paula Radcliffe or Kara Goucher or Madonna, and I don't really count on people standing around to cheer.

Otherwise, great race! Great volunteers, beautiful course, perfectly fine expo in one of the most picturesque cities in the world. How can you beat that? (Answer: cups.)