The Santa Rosa Marathon

The water/aid stations were plentiful (especially the wine stop); pacer was good. Lots of enthusiastic and supportive spectators throughout the first half (after which I stopped); a few narrow sections, of course, had few.

They gave us notice and an advisory about the wildfire smoke, which was north of Santa Rosa. The scenery was beautiful. I loved the atmosphere of runners and spectators and running by the vineyards and through the barrel room.

INTRODUCTION: I am a race-walker with a median marathon completion time of 5:21:20. The Santa Rosa Marathon was my fifty-first 26.2-miler accomplished. COURSE: It was a great day for a marathon: weather at the downtown Santa Rosa start line was 52 degrees, 100 percent relative humidity, calm, and overcast. After meandering downtown for a little over a mile, we embarked westward on the 5.7 mile long Prince Memorial + Santa Rosa Creek Trails. Accommodating three runners across, the heavily shaded trail left Santa Rosa at Fulton Road and entered into vineyard properties. Five and a half miles into the course, we left the paved trail and traversed out-and-back alongside Peterson Creek on gravel trails totaling 1.1 miles. At the end of the Santa Rosa Creek Trail at Willowside Road, we began our 12 mile clockwise loop around West Sonoma County, including the highlight of the course, a tour of the DeLoach Vineyard property at mile 10, including going inside their barrel room. Most of this course wound its way through wine country and farmland. We engaged the only significant exception to the largely flat course at mile 12, where we encountered a pair of back-to-back short interval down-and-ups on Oakwild Road before turning on Woolsey Road. Just past mile 20, we retraced our steps on the entire length of the Santa Rosa Creek + Prince Memorial Trails back into downtown, where a half mile later, we crossed the finish line just past where we started at Courthouse Square. Finish line temperature was 58 degrees, 87 percent relative humidity with overcast skies and wind from the south at 5 mph. ORGANIZATION: Well executed event; responsive race staff. Small expo located in the local sporting goods store south of downtown. Excellent swag: for the tenth anniversary, each marathon runner received a hooded windbreaker jacket, and as in previous races, a bottle of DeLoach Runners Red Cabernet Sauvignon distributed only to the marathon participants. Excellent course support, especially the chardonnay shots received upon exiting the DeLoach barrel room. Traffic control started to deteriorate around mile 15. Although we were allotted one lane in the West Sonoma County portion of the course, a few of the residents decided to take both lanes, apparently with the blessing of the local authorities. SPECTATORS: Apart from downtown Santa Rosa, none to speak of. Excellent drum corps upon leaving and re-entering the Santa Rosa Creek trail at mile 8 and 20. One can hear them a mile away. CONCLUSION: Impressive race management, and with the generous support of DeLoach Vineyards, a unique, scenic course. The event is not quite as polished as its marathon neighbor to the east, but definitely more enjoyable. Well done, Sonoma County.