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.