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.)

I will start with the positive regarding the marathon.

1. Nice, challenging course with many hills. Although difficult, it was fun.
2. Great city with a lot to do.
3. Staying downtown without a car is easy because the race is at the Ferry Building. Lots of eating places and no car needed. Hotels nice. Be prepared to walk some hills in your time off. Everything is a hill.
4. Marathon medal was great!
5. The Expo was very good.
6. GU was available during the run.
7. The t-shirt was very nice.

Negatives

1. It's unbelievable that the director learned nothing from 2008. Still only one bottle was allowed at the end of the race. What is wrong with these people? Don't they believe in water? To their credit, they did have water set up every two miles - except at the end, when water is needed the most!
2. You stood around on a cobblestone street before the race. Your feet were already worn out before beginning!
3. The Golden Gate Bridge would have been great except that it is foggy on 90% of the mornings in SF. You can't see anything. The bridge is wet because of it and you are herded like cattle along the side. Don't slip or you will be trampled.
4. Little food at the end of the race. I ran it in 5:01:30, which is a respectable time, and only chips were left.
5. Poor half-marathoners only received a keychain medal. It is sooooo small! I'm glad that I ran the full.
6. Goody bag... well, not much.

My recommendation: if you run this, carry a water bottle or you may end up like some of those at the end, needing help to get in. You might bring some food also. They ran out of bananas.

Would I run it again? Yes, because of the challenge of the course; but the director definitely needs to learn something from some of our comments.

Happy running!

I really enjoyed running this race, which had a great course taking in the bay area, Golden Gate Bridge, and the park.

Although it was much hillier than I'm used to, I was well prepared and was pleased to finish another marathon in under 3 hours. The early start suited me, as there was no chance of hot conditions.

The only thing I would improve is handing out bottles or pouches at the drinks stations, or at least larger cups.