Oakland Marathon Running Festival

Oakland Marathon Running Festival

Oakland Marathon Running Festival

( 26 reviews )
88% of reviewers recommend this race
  • Oakland,
    California,
    United States
  • March
  • 3 miles/5K, 6 miles/10K, 13.1 miles/Half Marathon, 26.2 miles/Marathon, Relay, Other
  • Road Race
  • Event Website

See more of our race!

There are big things to come for the 2019 Oakland Running Festival! Not only is it the 10th Anniversary of the event, but we will also be the first Marathon to run over the Bay Bridge! Experience Oakland’s diversity and beauty with a race that touches all aspects of Oaktown, and finishes with one hella awesome party. Come help us celebrate 10 years in Oakland!

Fallon C

California, United States
55 50
2019
"Let's Run Oakland"
Overall
T-Shirts/SWAG
Aid Stations
Course Scenery
Expo Quality
Elevation Difficulty
Parking/Access
Race Management
Fallon C's thoughts:

Registration-
Available online until the day before the race and available at the expo.

Communication-
Once I registered, I received 1-2 emails a week detailing race information. One included a very in depth runner’s handbook just for race weekend.

Expo-
The expo was on the smaller side but had plenty of things to do as well as photo ops. The race merchandise was pretty good- I ended up purchasing a shirt. Olympian Alysia Montano was also at one of the booths signing autographs.

Races-
The race offered a full marathon, half marathon, and 5k. There was also a We Run This Town challenge with an extra medal for running the half and 5k on the same day.

Race morning-
The half had a late start of 9:30AM. The only confusion was shuttles and parking. The race website said there were shuttles from the race hotel. The race hotel said there were not. Thankfully the shuttles were right where they were supposed to be.

The race started on time with self seeded corrals. The start led us down past Lake Merritt and then into the streets of downtown Oakland. Oakland has some pretty great street art. The first 8 miles were better than the last 5. Miles 8-12 were a little less than scenic. Mile 13 brought us back towards the lake and the finish line.

Post race-
Once across the finish line, runners were handed a variety of snacks as they made their way through the chute. I would have appreciated a little bag to carry everything in. Once past the food, the runners were handed their medals. I have never received the medal after the food before.

The park had booths set up for the finishers and their families. I was already seriously pushing a late checkout so I just hightailed it to the shuttle to make it back to the hotel.

Aid stations-
There were aid stations with water and Gatorade every few miles. They were always well staffed and organized. I think this was the first race in a long time I’ve run where they were still fully staffed and stocked even in the later miles. And I was slow on race day so I really appreciated that.

Elevation-
In my opinion, this is a flat race. I think my watch showed less than 200 ft elevation gain.

Swag-
Every runner received a race specific long sleeve shirt, and an awesome medal commemorating the 10th anniversary running of the Oakland Marathon. Plus the drop bag given at the expo, food at the finishers line, 2 free beers and FREE race photos!

Overall, I really enjoyed the race. I do wish it had an earlier start time- 9:30 is just so late, it was starting to get a little too warm towards the end. The last few miles are a little bleak but I get that there’s only so long the downtown roads could be closed. The race hotel was amazing, if you run this race, stay at the race hotel.

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