Overall: 5/10, not recommend.

Course

- Oakland's full marathon course runs the half marathon loop twice. During the race, I thought running the second half with a fresh first-hand experience of the course is pretty helpful.
- 568 ft+ according to my Garmin, it feels flat except for a very gradual incline on Broadway (twice).
- The course loops around Lake Merritt and went through downtown Oakland, but the majority of the course isn't very scenic.
- Race day condition: 11°C-14°C, light rain throughout, a little windy.

Logistics

- Marathon and 10K start at 7am, Half Marathon start at 9am. No strict corrals but pace groups available (including 3:00 for marathon). The problem of this set-up and the double loop marathon course is that fast marathoners will run into slow 10K runners , and fast half marathoners will run into slow marathoners. Not a great experience.
- The start/finish area is at Snow Park, like the Expo. Great downtown location though BART (subway) doesn't run until 8am on Sundays! The park is muddy on race day.
- 13 aid stations along the course.
- Minimal crowd support, especially on a rainy day.
- Road closure is good, with controlled through traffic at some intersections.

Expo & Swag

The expo is held at Snow Park in downtown Oakland, which is easy to get by public transit. It's completely outdoor and pretty small. There is one big tent for bib/shirt pickup (but no gear/goodie bag), and several small tents hosting some local exhibitors.
- T-shirt: long sleeve cotton/souvenir shirt
- Medal: designed by a local artist, quite special but it doesn't look regal.