The half-marathon begins in Clancy, about (you guessed it) 13 miles away from downtown Helena. As you make your way through the country roads outside Helena, you experience rolling hills and follow a river that seems straight out of a desktop background. The aid stations not only have your typical electrolytes and water, but also energy gels and packets, just in case (HYPOTHETICALLY) you forgot your entire duffel bag at home and ended up running the race in basketball shorts and your wife’s shirt. The race isn’t just named for the governor, he actually runs it with you! The biggest challenge of the race is the aptly-named “Cardiac Hill” which is a tough climb past the city hospital and into the main downtown area. However, you won’t do this alone, as you will have tons of spectators cheering you on through the climb. Once you make it to the top, you can bask in the glory of running through the historic downtown area and past the state capitol building. The downhill stretch that brings you to the finish line will tour you along historic buildings and shops that you definitely want to visit for a post-race meal! I have run this three years in a row, and the medal continues to get better each year. Overall, if you want to experience Montana, this is a fantastic race to take in the beauty of the countryside and the historical aspect of one of its oldest towns!

Positives:
• Weather: misty and cold
• Aid station food: Clif Bloks and Stroopwafels
• Enthusiastic volunteers
• Iconic views
• Unique finish behind AT&T Park
• Both first and second half-marathon offers

Negatives:
• Course Distance Mistake
• Crowded aid stations
• Date change
• Narrow sidewalks on Golden Gate Bridge

I signed up for this race after witnessing the inspirational finish of Jorge Maravilla in 2017. I took advantage of the early-bird pricing and paid $100 to register for my first ever marathon. My original plan was to run the race as first part of a honeymoon with my future wife, but she ended up injuring her knee about three months before the marathon, and she was unable to join me. Don't worry...we still got married.

A few months after signing up for the event, the date of the race changed from July 15th to July 29th. I was upset, as this meant that instead of beginning our honeymoon with a marathon, we would have to wait until the very end. For myself, this did not end up being a deal-breaker, but I can imagine that for other people, this was a major inconvenience and possibly ruined their plans for a marathon weekend.

I also soon learned that instead of all participants running across the Golden Gate Bridge itself, runners would only be able to run the bridge if they participated in the full marathon, and would need to stick to the sidewalks of the bridge instead. This was also disappointing, but nothing that broke my determination to run my first marathon.

I arrived in San Francisco on the day before the race with my wife. We attended the Health and Fitness Expo, which was extremely entertaining and inspired me for the next morning. I was looking to purchase a few shirts and memorabilia since this was my first marathon, but most of the selection was tailored towards women. The race shirt itself is very cool, and has a 26.2 logo on the back that I am particularly proud of wearing.

The race outline and corral details were clearly laid out on the website and information provided at the expo. Additionally, the San Francisco Marathon app was extremely well designed, with course details and athlete tracking available for free.

I was able to reserve a Lyft to the starting line on the morning of the race. The drop-off area was placed far away from the starting line, but for good reason. There were simply too many people for any other setup. I highly recommend reserving Lyft or Uber transportation in advance on race mornings, since that takes care of one more aspect of your race morning that you might forget.

After arriving at the starting area of the marathon, I found my corral and walked across train tracks (guided by a volunteer) into the corral area. As this was my first marathon, I projected a slow finish time for myself, since I was not sure what to expect. This placed me into Corral F, one of the last corrals in the race.

I stood with my fellow racers in nervous anticipation. The trolley car bells (a nice touch for SF) rang out to signal the start of the race for elite athletes and early corrals. We kept waiting. The next group of runners took off, and we continued to wait. This was one of the most difficult aspects of the race, since my adrenaline was flowing but I was forced to keep myself under control as we waited for our turn to start. The reasoning behind this was to stagger our grouping for the run across the Golden Gate Bridge, since there would be much less space than previously available as we could only use the sidewalks. I understood the reasoning, but it did not make waiting any easier.

As we finally started the race, the atmosphere was fantastic. Great enthusiasm from all the volunteers and starters pushed me through the first few miles at a faster pace than I expected. The weather was exactly what you would expect from a San Francisco summer: cold, damp, and misty.

For a San Francisco course, this route was not as hilly as I would expect. However, for a marathon, this course had quite a few tough climbs throughout the race. While not ideal for a BQ time, the course was still breathtaking. The fifth mile brought us out along the beach adjacent to the Golden Gate Bridge, giving runners a scenic shot of the race highlight. Since I was not pursuing any particular time, I was not bothered by the amount of runners slowing down or stopping to take a picture of the bridge, but I am sure that could be frustrating for a more serious runner. Then again, if you’re keeping up with a fast group of runners, you probably aren’t stopping to take a picture of a bridge!

The bridge itself was challenging. The staggered start times definitely helped to prevent overcrowding of the sidewalks, but it still had some narrow spots. Since we could not simply turn around and run back across the bridge by crossing in front of traffic, we took a small dirt path under the bridge and onto the opposite side to return. This dirt path was challenging, and many of the runners around me chose to walk or significantly slow down as a result of the sharp dropoff and bumpy path.

After crossing back from the bridge, we made our way up several steep hills and towards Golden Gate Park. At this point, we joined up with the half-marathoners, who did not cross the bridge with us. The aid stations in this stretch definitely suffered from the influx of runners. They were scrambling to mix Nuun electrolytes and pour them into cups for runners, along with handing them out. I actually had to wait in a line for electrolytes because they had fallen so far behind, and I felt that they were at a significant disadvantage trying to mix and pour the Nuun powder in small pitchers. There were two aid stations on the course that offered Clif Bloks and Stroopwafel Energy Waffles, which I pocketed and utilized throughout my finish.

We ran down 27th Avenue and into the park, where the “First Half-Marathoners” would finish. This race is unique, since it offers a first and a second half-marathon. I will admit, it was a bit challenging to watch the first half marathoners finishing and celebrating while the rest of the full marathoners and I pushed through our 17th mile. However, once we made our way into Golden Gate Park, the tranquil atmosphere and cool air helped make the next three miles fly by.

My longest run before this race was 18 miles, in which I significantly struggled due to overheating. At this point in the race, pushing through my 20th mile, the weather helped keep my temperature under control and I felt better than I had during my training runs. The final 6 miles had many downhill portions, eventually pushing through one last hill in Haight-Ashbury and coasting down past AT&T Park, where fans and players were arriving for a game starting later that day. The finish line atmosphere was incredible, and volunteers were waiting to provide bananas, water, chocolate milk, and foil blankets. I looked at my watch and noticed that I had run 26.5 miles instead of 26.2, and thought little of it. I found out later there was a mistake in the course layout that made runners go further than projected. I was not too upset, since this was just my first attempt at a marathon, and I was not aiming for any particular time. Plus, this means I am an ultra marathoner now, right? For the more serious racer, I could see how this is extremely frustrating, paying $100+ for a course that ends up being inaccurate.

The medal is reminiscent of the San Francisco Giants logo centered around the Golden Gate Bridge, with 26.2 and the date of the marathon engraved on the back. The finish-line area was particularly crowded as we drew nearer to the Giants game coming up at 1:00, so I left quickly to avoid being caught in traffic or facing heavy charges for Lyft and Uber.

I received notification of my finish time, as well as a complimentary finish line picture. I also learned from my wife and friends that they were able to easily follow along through the race app, which provided runner tracking based on several checkpoints throughout the course and averaging pace times to project location.

Overall, this was a great experience and I have no regrets in choosing this as my first marathon. While I likely will not sign up for this same race next year, I could definitely see myself and my wife returning in the future.

My wife and I happened to be in New York on our honeymoon at the same time as this training run. With a marathon coming up, I couldn't resist signing up when I walked into the New York Road Runners Headquarters and saw that they were handing out bibs for a 12 mile training race. On top of that, it wasn't going to just be another running shirt (as great as those can be) that I earned. Instead, they had great looking compression socks with the New York Marathon logo!

As this race took place in Central Park, parking is always going to be a challenge. However, even as a tourist, I discovered that the subway was one of the best ways to get to the race, and found myself a part of a runner's pilgrimage to the starting line. That was actually one of the coolest parts, as I felt a definite sense of community as we rode the subway, got off at the same time, and walked together in silence (or occasional chatter) to the starting line.

Between the music, coaches, and group warm-up, I don't know if I have ever been quite as excited for a run to start. Needless to say, the scenery and atmosphere was incredible. Central Park is one of the Seven Running Wonders of the World, and I was thrilled to be there. My wife suffered a knee injury a few months back, so she was unable to join me in the run. However, that did not stop her from going from mile to mile throughout the course to cheer me on. She ran into quite a few others doing the same, and we were amazed at how friendly everyone was to both of us. After choosing New York as our honeymoon destination, many people often told us that people on the trip were going to be more rude than we were accustomed to. This race definitely proved otherwise, as we both met some unbelievably nice people throughout the race.

The course itself is no mystery. I already knew what to expect after reading so many articles and reviews about Central Park and the infamous Harlem Hill. What I did not expect, though, was the great encouragement of the coaches from the New York Road Runners to continually push me, a random stranger who they certainly didn't know, the entire way through the run. I was also completely spoiled by the level of organization that I experienced in this run, and the bar has definitely been raised for future competitions.

The fact that this run was in preparation for the New York Marathon made me incredibly jealous of the runners who live in New York and can participate in these events regularly. After pushing through my own marathon training, I cannot stress the convenience that a structured long run can be for the purpose of preparing for a marathon. Running big miles without support can be incredibly daunting, and possibly my least favorite aspect of training for a marathon. An event like this, with built-in support and a safe environment, cannot be taken for granted. As an added bonus, the training course is part of the actual New York Marathon, which runners were reminded of at certain landmarks throughout the run by NYRR coaches and staff.

My wife did a great job of documenting the entire race through our running account on Instagram @runbutte if you're interested in seeing any video or pictures of the experience. It is difficult to put the entire atmosphere into words, and each picture is worth 1,000 of them, apparently.

Overall, the experience of Running Central park with 5,000 other runners was beyond expectations, and my expectations were high. I couldn't have asked for a better race experience, and I am excited to eventually find my way back to the Big Apple for another race.

There are always a number of race options for the Saint Patrick’s Day weekend, and with so many great races, it can be hard to decide. My wife and I opted for the Shamrock’n Half-Marathon in Sacramento because we were visiting family in nearby Davis. This turned out to be an excellent decision.

For a Sacramento native, this race will make you proud of your city. The course starts and finishes at Raley Field, home of the Sacramento RiverCats, and traverses several of the iconic spots throughout the city.

The race starts by crossing the beautiful Tower Bridge and a drop into Old Sacramento, a brief tour of the cobblestone-covered riverfront, and back up onto the bike trail along the Sacramento River. There was minimal viewing of the river due to fog, but that ended up being a good thing since it kept us cool throughout the first half of the race. There were plenty of surprises that popped up in the fog, from live bands to enthusiastic volunteers at aid stations. There were also restroom stops every 2-3 miles.

After a brief out-and-back on the Marina View trail, we worked our way into downtown Sacramento near Land Park, eventually running through a crowd of screaming and cheering children as we passed the factory for Blue Diamond, the premier sponsor of the race and a local company in Sacramento. This was around the tenth mile, which was a spectacular boost of energy and inspiration for us to keep up our pace, and easily one of the highlights of the race.

The final part of the race took us back to the Sacramento River and back across the iconic Tower Bridge. A challenging aspect of the race is coming so close to the finish line at Raley Field, then being diverted north to circle the Ziggurat building and return along 3rd Street. However, the finish is worth the wait, as you get to enter the field itself from the outfield fence, run along the warning path of center and right field, and finish along the first-base line to celebrate with your friends and family in the stadium.

There were complimentary pictures (why don’t all races offer this by now?) and video available immediately, and possibly the coolest medal we have ever earned. You can see the medal in the attached picture, and understand why we will definitely be back to run this again!

For more information on this race and other races (of all different lengths) throughout the country you can follow us on Instagram @runbutte and see for yourself!