Beth Nixon's Staging Area

If you’re looking for a scenic, net downhill race with typically great running weather, then add this event to your itinerary! The Napa Valley Marathon, half marathon, and 5k take place in the heart of wine country in early March each year. The marathon itself draws a few thousand participants and tends to sell out well before race day. The race organizers do a phenomenal job with registration, communication, transportation, and swag! I attended the expo the day before the marathon to pick up my bib. There were several photo opps and freebies even though the expo was small. All participants received a T-shirt and heavy duty backpack which doubled as your drop off gear bag. Merchandise available for purchase was also plentiful at the expo and at the finish line. Race morning, I opted to use the transportation available from Vintage high school (finish line). There was plenty of parking, real restrooms, and no issues at all finding an available bus to hop onto. Arriving at the start line we were allowed to stay warm on the bus for as long as we wanted to. Porto-Johns had about a five minute wait. I dropped off my gear bag about 10 minutes before the start without any stress. The race began on time and was absolutely gorgeous the entire course. Professional pacing teams were on course and aid stations were plentiful and fully stocked. Photos for purchase were taken at several locations on the way back to Napa from Calistoga. The weather was mainly overcast with a few showers later in the race. Temps in the mid forties. The net downhill course made the miles fly by. (My garmin registered 577ft of gain). Crowd support was sporadic but enthusiastic! The finish line festival included photo opportunities, hot soup/roll, snacks, water, fruit, and additional food truck offerings. The finisher’s medal is heavy and beautiful, high quality as with all the other aspects of the race! 5 stars for this fast, scenic course!