I recommend this race for people who want a challenging marathon. There are quite a few hills that will certainly slow you down, and the most challenging hill comes at mile 18 or 19. The course takes you all over Madison. It's a small enough race that there are no start corrals and we were able to hop up front about one minute before the gun went off. One issue I had with the race support was their use of plastic cups at aid stations. Not only are they nearly impossible to drink out of while running, but they are also bad for the environment. One bright note was the swag: I signed up online and clicked some option for a free dry-fit shirt. In addition to the regular race dry-fit, I received two other different ones in the mail about two weeks before the race. I'm not sure if this was a mistake, but I'll take it!

I did this race its first year, 2003, and again in 2013. They were so different they can't really be compared so my comments are in regard to the 2013 half-marathon.

I should begin by saying my review is from a male's perspective, which normally wouldn't be a problem except this race is very, VERY woman-identified. I know what you're thinking: "Well, it's called the Nike WOMEN'S Marathon and Half-Marathon!" Yes, you're right. However, NIKE had no problem accepting my registration fee, and there were plenty of other men who ran the race. My biggest issue is that, if they allow men to sign up, they should at least acknowledge there are men running the race at the EXPO and on the course, and in their swag, etc. Men were not allowed to start in a corral with an anticipated pace of under 9:00/mile. Despite registering with my goal pace, I was given a corral assignment much slower than what I signed up for and wasn't told this until the day of the EXPO. I was also told it could not be changed because "a woman must win this race". The EXPO had nothing for men. Even the shirt I received was not a shirt cut for a man despite there being a male shirt line at the finish.

Regarding the course, I think it's a beautiful course with challenging hills! I doubt anyone could run a PR on this course, but it's a great challenge and you get to see a lot of San Francisco. Where the race really falls short, however, is in the lack of management of spectators. I cannot even begin to describe the terrible mess of spectators and runners around the 18-mile mark (of the full) and finish line. The only way for people to get to the finish and meet their race friends was to cross the actual course! Runners had to actually jump, swerve, or stop to avoid running into spectators who were not accustomed to watching races. Additionally, they event staff tried to do too little too late to help with the congestion. By the time the marathoners were finishing, there was a funnel of people on the course that really only allowed about two runners to pass through over the last 400 meters, which didn't seem safe to me.

I think this race has the potential to be awesome, but the coordinators have some serious work to do to improve the spectator situation. Additionally, if you're a man, I'd recommend just cheering on your female friends.

I have done this marathon twice before, somewhat recreationally, but the 2013 race was the first one I had truly trained for. It is a great race for anyone wanting to do his/her first marathon because there is a crowd cheering for you throughout all 26.2 miles! It's also very flat so people living anywhere can train appropriately for it. The lack of hills also makes it a great course on which to try and PR. (I should note it's a pretty crowded race! If you don't get a corral with your desired finishing time, running a PR could be challenging.) The EXPO is awesome and the race support and aid stations are wonderful!

This was a wonderful experience. I ran this race on a whim because I was going to be in St. Louis for the weekend and needed a tune-up race for a marathon I was doing a few weeks later. I called to find out if I could register the morning of the race and actually spoke at length with the man who actually created and runs the race and his wife. They even gave me driving directions from my hotel near Busch Stadium. The course consisted of beautiful rolling hills on comfortable blacktop highway through farm country. It was gorgeous! There were aid stations every mile, and there were only about 30-40 people in the entire half-marathon. (They also do a 5K.) The only bad thing about the entire course is the last two miles. They are entirely uphill at a serious incline that caused me to slow down by about 2 minutes per mile. If it weren't for these last two miles, I would wholeheartedly recommend this race to everyone! It would be hard to PR due to the long hill at the end. The post-race party was awesome. It was basically just a bunch of people drinking cans of beer out of a horse tank full of ice. The director runs the race to raise money for local firemen and it's a labor of love for him and his family.