Napa Half Marathon
Napa, CA
- Half Marathon, Quarter Marathon
- Road (Paved), Trail (Unpaved)
- Official race website
The Half Marathon and Quarter Marathon is nestled up in the rolling hills of east Napa. Scenic, rustic and winding roads will take you from the start at Skyline Park through the vineyard lined neighborhoods in a charming countryside setting. Locals come out to cheer you on while curious deer … MORE
Local Historical Weather (Oct 04):
| 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | |
| H (°F) | 75 | 86 | 94 | 74 | 88 |
| L (°F) | 47 | 53 | 54 | 53 | 50 |
Find Nearby Lodging (hotel, rental, etc.):
Downhill, pretty, and well-planned race
Well-planned, great shirt and bag, cool expo. Water and electrolytes at every station, and the course being downhill made for a huge PR :). Also great scenery running past vineyards MORE
Well-planned, great shirt and bag, cool expo. Water and electrolytes at every station, and the course being downhill made for a huge PR :). Also great scenery running past vineyards
Nice course, nice swag
The scenery is nice, the course is more challenging than I thought. The bottle of wine each runner receives at the end is a nice way to conclude the race. … MORE
The scenery is nice, the course is more challenging than I thought. The bottle of wine each runner receives at the end is a nice way to conclude the race.
But the logistics can be improved. For example, the volume of the PA is so low at the beginning of the race was so low that I can’t hear what the DJ was saying. The portable toilets are just not enough and people are still waiting in line seconds before the race started.
First time
Great pick up experience. Transportation was great. Nice course! I am a walker and this was my first big race and I can't wait to come back next year and … MORE
Great pick up experience. Transportation was great. Nice course! I am a walker and this was my first big race and I can’t wait to come back next year and improve my time.
Nice smaller race through Scenic Napa
I ran the half marathon version of this race as a first-timer (they also offer a quarter marathon distance of 6.55 miles). This is a smaller race with around ~600 … MORE
I ran the half marathon version of this race as a first-timer (they also offer a quarter marathon distance of 6.55 miles). This is a smaller race with around ~600 total runners in 2019. Here are my thoughts:
NEGATIVES:
-Website and Facebook ads for the race states that all participants will receive a tech short sleeve shirt. However, the shirt we received was NOT technical, it was just a cotton t-shirt. I was really sad about the lack of tech shirt 🙁
-Announcer to kick start the race did not have a microphone, so most people weren’t able to hear her (a bit of a confusing start). Note: they did have a microphone for the finish.
-Wish there was some distinction between the half marathon and quarter marathon medals, or at least the medal ribbons. Though I understand this would be logistically more complicated and a lot more expensive for a race of this size.
-Wish they had staggered starts/some kind of corral system to spread out the crowds.
-Everyone got the same start time. Not TOO huge of a deal with this being a smaller race, but probably added ~1min to my overall time.
NEUTRAL (happy this was provided, but some feedback for improvement):
-Loved the tickets for 2 free tacos from a food truck per runner. However, wish that they had 2 food truck options to avoid one really, really long line. Also, should have had a sign letting people know which flavors from the menu runners could get complimentary.
-Plenty of volunteers and they were all very friendly and wanted to help. However, many of them did not have answers to questions asked of them and just generally seemed uneducated about logistical details (absolutely not the volunteer’s fault, and they did look for the answers when they did not know). The race organizers maybe should have spent more time communicating these details to the volunteers.
-Free photos taken of runners and uploaded to Facebook. Love that they do this! However for me personally, the two times I encountered the camera woman on the course, she was not taking any photos and helping to direct runners on the path / stopping oncoming cars.
-Finish line was a bit chaotic. the most confusing was figuring out where to get our taco tickets.
-The roads were not closed for runners during the race (though the race organizers did a great job of communicating this in advance). Had volunteers and Police helping to direct car traffic where needed.
-Took a day or two for results to be published on line, but overall, not a bad turnaround time for both results + all (free!!) photos!
POSITIVES:
-Beautiful, scenic course (there is some looping in the course), but I didn’t mind.
-Bib pick up process was efficient. They allow both day before AND morning of bib pick up (morning of pick up at no extra charge too!!)
-Course support – I think 3 water stations for the first 6 miles, and 2 water stations for the remainder of the course for the half marathoners. Stations had water and nuun electrolytes. I noticed pretzels and bananas at the later stations as well. Would’ve appreciated one more water station for the half marathon distance, maybe at around mile 12.
-Potties. I saw a good number of port o potties along the course and they were spaced apart well.
-Finish line refreshments. Bananas, tangerines, tons of water bottles, rose wine!, bagels, crackers, and 2 free tacos from a food truck. Long line for food truck though.
-Loved the design of the medal for the half marathon.
-Beringer bottle of wine for finishers (choice of white or red)
Loved this half marathon course!
The first aid station was 3 miles into the race and then 6 miles. Not nearly enough aid stations. Volunteers were great. Despite the lack of aid stations in the … MORE
The first aid station was 3 miles into the race and then 6 miles. Not nearly enough aid stations. Volunteers were great. Despite the lack of aid stations in the half, I would definitely do this race again. The course was great and scenic!
Flat course
Flat course, small race, but great scenery...peaceful. Difficult to see your runner as a spectator. Good small race and would run again if in the area. MORE
Flat course, small race, but great scenery…peaceful. Difficult to see your runner as a spectator. Good small race and would run again if in the area.
Awesome Vacation Race w/Girlfriends
Part of the swag was a bottle of wine! #winning I traveled to this race with three friends and we had the best time together. The scenes during the run … MORE
Part of the swag was a bottle of wine! #winning I traveled to this race with three friends and we had the best time together. The scenes during the run were fantastics- lots of stopping for photos. It wasn’t very hilly, but just enough to change things up.