Laura Johns's Staging Area

Race cons:
Logistics! You have to be up around 2/230am for this race to catch the bus up to the start. We got to the start an hour before the start time, which wasn’t bad and the weather was nice (it’s good to bring a sweater while hanging out). After the race though, you need to take a bus to get back to your car. Why can’t the buses pick us up from somewhere near the finish line to make this part easier??
Little to none crowd support! For the first while, like up until mile 16, there aren’t any crowds cheering you on. Then after mile 16, it goes back to little to none. The last mile there are more crowds due to the parade so that was nice. I don’t mind races without a crowd, but it does help to have people there.
More hills than you might think! This course is majority downhill (which will cause your thighs to be more sore than ever! At least it did for me) but from about mile 6 till 8 if I remember right, there are two decent hills. After that it’s mostly downhill, but then mile 16ish-21ish there are more hills. They aren’t steep, but at that point in the race, it doesn’t need to be steep to be hard! I should have studied the elevation course more because I was not mentally prepared for these later hills and it messed me up.

Race Pros:
Pretty course! The majority of this course is running through the canyon and it’s beautiful!
It’s gonna be hot, but not as bad as you might think! You should be prepared for the heat, however, the first couple hours are really nice with the sun not fully up yet, and the canyons breeze. Make sure your hydrating though because near the end, it’ll be sunny and hot.
Downhill! Yes, there are some hills, but it’s mostly downhill which helps you hit those paces. Don’t get too carried away though, because as I said, there are hills you want to be ready for.
Fun finish line and swag! Nice medals (not amazing, but nice), lots of photo ops, photos from the race are posted online for free, a variety of snacks at the finish. Great volunteers as well, both at the finish and at the aid stations.

Overall, would I run this race again? I don’t think so, mainly due to that 2am wake up! But who knows, maybe I’ll come back for redemption because I really fell apart around mile 19 and missed my time goal which I was very disappointed by.
It was a good race, and who knows, maybe as time passes, I’ll decide the early wake up isn’t a big deal after all and sign up again.

My brother ran this as his first half marathon ever and had a great experience! It had more downhill than he expected, but the course was very scenic and he completed it in his goal time. Read the recap Q&A on my blog!
https://262.run/san-francisco-half-marathon-recap/

I really enjoyed the SLC marathon. Fun course, great spectators, wonderful aid stations, cool medal. The finish line festival didn’t have as much going on as I thought it would, and the expo was small. But I care more about the race itself-and I have no complains with that part! If you’re training at sea level, don’t expect a PR with this race. Read my full race recap here! https://262.run/2019/04/17/salt-lake-city-marathon-april-2019/

I would recommend this race-it’s beautiful (the last couple miles are pretty drab though until you reach the embarcadero) and the weather is great. It’s a challenging course, with 1082 feet elevation gain (according to my watch), but I think hills make the race less monotonous. The expo was cool and the post-race snacks were good. I wasn’t crazy about the shirt or the medal, however the design for this year’s looks like it’ll be way better (I’ll be running again this year with my brother!) So, all in all I had an amazing first marathon experience. I kept telling myself to enjoy the moment and soak it all in, don’t wish for it to be over because you only run your first marathon once!
FULL REVIEW ON THE BLOG https://262.run/2019/04/16/san-francisco-marathon-july-2018/