I last ran TSFM in 2010 on sub-par training (and pregnant), so I was really excited to see what I could do on the course this year with significantly better training (and not pregnant). Folks can run 26.2, the first 13.1 of the marathon, the back 13.1 of the marathon, a 5k, or 52.4 (the marathon twice, beginning at midnight). It's a tough course, especially the front half, but you get some terrific views of the city, the opportunity to run on the Golden Gate Bridge, and some vehicle-free running in Golden Gate Park. Just like with any urban marathon, there are some sections of the city that are perhaps more industrial than others, but it's minimal; also, with a 5:30 start time, you're usually guaranteed cool weather but, depending on your pace, fairly minimal spectators... in case that's important to you.

This year's aid stations had water and nuun, and while I didn't have any problems at all with the stations' frequency or fluid availability, I'd recommend that the race use bigger cups next year, instead of the little Dixie-sized cups, just so runners can ingest more fluids, more quickly (and on the go, no less).

New this year, too, were free race pictures, courtesy of Gameface Media (provided you 'liked' their TSFM facebook page), and of the 24 marathons I've run--and many of them use major service providers like MarathonFoto--my 26.2 pics from TSFM '14 are unquestionably my best.

Aside from the small fluid cups, my only other suggestion for the future is to ensure that there are mile markers at every single mile in the 26.2. It's highly likely I missed some, but I feel like some weren't around.

The swag was great this year--nice, gender-specific LS tech tees; the medals are enormous (coaster-sized); they had a lot of neat sponsors for a marathon (NUUN, Boxed Water, Pebble); and I really think that this race will just keep improving over time. Definitely plan for and prepare for some hills, and you'll have a great race. (My garmin indicated nearly 1,500' elevation).

TSFM is a blast and is totally worth the pricetag. Sign up early! (and for more details about my actual race, check out my entry at runningruminations.com) :)

I was a social media ambassador for ZOOMA Napa Valley and chose to run the inaugural race, specifically the half marathon distance. In the months leading up to race weekend, I was impressed by how seamless everything seemed to be, and the same held true for race weekend. They had a Thursday packet pick-up in SF and a Friday one at the host hotel, the Marriott, in Napa, but no race day pick-up--something that would be nice in the future. The race was organized and run just like any other HM I've done that has been around for several years, which I think speaks to the race's strong organization. It started on time, had pace groups, had frequent and well-managed water/Cytomax stops, and the course's out-and-back nature made for some potentially fast running, had it not been as warmish and sunny as it were (but again, Napa in late June... comes with the territory). I thought it peculiar that we ran with traffic on both the out and back portions of the course--not sure if that was due to some city mandate or something--but luckily, there was little vehicular traffic during the race, and law enforcement officials were on the course, blocking intersections and keeping everything in line. The course was beautiful--vineyards on both sides of the road--and was definitely more scenic than many other races I've done. The post-race party at the Marriott was nice, too, and all the swag (Feetures socks, a running hat, and a tech t-shirt, along with a medal with a detachable charm) made this HM stand out from many others I've done. That said, it is pricier than most HMs (no doubt because of the swag and because of the race locations), so if you do decide to ZOOMA, I'd recommend registering early and/or getting hooked up with a discount code from their social media presence or from a race expo. Anyway, total blast! Definitely recommended. (and, if you want a more personal account of my own race experience: http://www.runningruminations.com/?p=1783)

Moved to the Bay Area in 12/13, so naturally, with a heavy training calendar for 2014, I needed to run the world's oldest --103 years in 2014-- road race, B2B, in San Francisco. Everything you've heard about the race is true, such as crazy costumes, wildly inebriated and/or high spectators, a sea of humanity running it officially (28,000+ this year), and the Google Images can speak for themselves.

I ran the race as an actual race, a tune-up for a goal marathon two weeks later, and starting in the sub-seeded/seeded/elite corral made things a lot easier for me, in terms of dodging crazy spectators and other runners. I think that's the most important take-away from this race. You can self-seed when you register (though you might have to provide proof of a qualifying time for the first corral; I don't remember), and if you want to actually race it, then that's where you want to start. If you're down for just a training run, irrespective of time and pace, then it doesn't matter.

Logistics can be kinda a crapshoot with the point-to-point course, but you can get around afterward on public transit, Uber, and the like, but the city gets kinda locked down a bit between all the spectator madness and post-run parade that B2B spawns (and this year at least, a baseball game).

All told, I'd recommend doing B2B at least once. It was fun and despite the crazy spectators who made their way onto the course, the race was actually seemingly well-managed for the most part.

More details about my race: http://www.runningruminations.com/?p=1667

I had the pleasure to run Brazen Racing's Western Pacific half marathon as the 1:45 pace group leader. Brazen puts on a ton (20+) races in the Bay Area, all of which I've heard are excellent, and this was my first time running/pacing one of theirs since moving to CA. I had been warned that the course typically measured long (though the marathon was USATF certified and thus, a Boston qualifier), and it was, by about .1 or .2, +/-. That made it a bit tough to properly pace my group of runners because the discrepancies between my watch and the mile markers on course were significant at times, but in the end, it all seemed to work out, and I was over by only about .1 mile and still got us in sub-1:45.

Brazen is also known for their aid stations, which were nothing short of small buffets. I didn't partake so much in them (but definitely would have, had I been running the full), but the volunteers at the stations were lovely and upbeat.

The course was almost exclusively on loose gravel/fire roads and pretty flat, though it seemed harder to get to the appropriate speed on the fire roads than on the few pieces of pavement we had--might be just an issue with my internal metronome though. As a trail run, the course was open to the public, but on a Saturday morning, somewhat early, it wasn't very crowded. This also might be tough for you, as a racer, if you're relying on crowds of spectators lining the course because that was definitely not the case here; things were pretty quiet.

I can't speak to the shirt quality because we got pacer-specific ones, but the medals and post-race fanfare was all pretty ample and seemingly well-managed. I'd definitely do another Brazen run and am looking forward to exploring other trails in the Bay Area.