Oakland Marathon
Oakland, CA
- Marathon, We Run the Town Challenge (5K + Half), Half Marathon, 10K, 5K, Kids Run
- Road (Paved)
- Official race website
Are you ready for an amazing weekend of movement, with attractions featuring local performers, artists and businesses? Let’s move our bodies together & feel the electricity that powers us all to new heights. Join us in celebrating the inspiration, resilience & history of the Town! … MORE
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Poorly Planned
Others touched on much of this, but overall, this race was poorly put on. I arrived at the race an hour early to sit in traffic at the freeway exit … MORE
Others touched on much of this, but overall, this race was poorly put on. I arrived at the race an hour early to sit in traffic at the freeway exit to park at a garage the organizers recommended, only to find out the garage was closed. I had to park on downtown streets that are notorious for break-ins, thinking I was late. I had to sprint from a parking spot a mile away, Only to find out the race was delayed half an hour.
Packet pick is in a building with closed sidewalks, and we walked through a homeless encampment.
Disappointing
I have ran this race a handful of times and it has always been a personal favorite but this year was incredibly disappointing. The venue and course this year were … MORE
I have ran this race a handful of times and it has always been a personal favorite but this year was incredibly disappointing. The venue and course this year were different. We started 30 min late, I know things happen, but we weren’t really given any reason as to why. The race itself was nice and scenic and there were plenty of water stations, thank you volunteers! The ending was HORRID. After you cross the finish line you are corralled with everyone else slowly moving forward to get you medal, then you can’t even enjoy the vendors because there is no room to move. I generally like to hang out after, check out the festival, mingle, grab my free beer. This time I could not get out of there fast enough. Huge disappointment for how much you pay. I won’t do this again if they keep the same venue setup.
Awful organizers. Never run this race
Listen, I understand s*** happens. Some stuff on race day is not going to be perfect but the lack of care from this organization/race director is just everything that is … MORE
Listen, I understand s*** happens. Some stuff on race day is not going to be perfect but the lack of care from this organization/race director is just everything that is wrong with Oakland. They send an email saying “it’s not our responsibility but the city is opening a lot to park at 6 am Sunday” we drive there NOPE. Running a race in the middle of a place where everyone gets their car windows smashed before public transit starts is legit insane. Also it’s not cute or funny to say “oh Oakland” when you delay the race 30 minutes without telling anyone anything. Like do your jobs. Pathetic never returning to this (nice shirt and medal tho)
Oakland Marathon Running Festival
A nice way to knock Cali off your state list is by visiting Oakland and San Fran. So many iconic sites to see....but on to the Marathon. Put on by … MORE
A nice way to knock Cali off your state list is by visiting Oakland and San Fran. So many iconic sites to see….but on to the Marathon. Put on by ‘Run Local’ in 2023, they did a nice job of accentuating the City and giving a local vibe to the event. The course itself is fairly fast. It’s a double loop, which some folks hate, but I kinda like knowing what’s next. It’s mostly flat, but there are some noticeable inclines. Mile 3 has a nice bump to it. There is a 4 mile out n back on each loop. The two miles ‘out’ are about an average 2 to 2.5% grade incline. Not horrible, but you can see it and feel it. Makes for a nice decent on the 2 miles coming back though. Especially miles 22 to 24 are a nice place to descend. I stayed at the Marriot on Broadway and 11th st. It’s about .8 mile of a walk. Highly recommended.
Late course change but fantastic crowd
The marathon course changed to 2x the half a couple weeks before. This was a bummer- my expectations were low but actually the course was good fun. The support up … MORE
The marathon course changed to 2x the half a couple weeks before. This was a bummer- my expectations were low but actually the course was good fun. The support up Broadway was excellent which is just as well because we ran it 4 times. Timing, expo and after party all well done. Course well marked. Overall production was very good.
Inner City with Bay Bridge Run
Interesting course. Not your average marathon, so if you want a change of pace, try Oakland Running Fest. It is 10 years old and going strong. Running on the Bay … MORE
Interesting course. Not your average marathon, so if you want a change of pace, try Oakland Running Fest. It is 10 years old and going strong. Running on the Bay Bridge is an amazing experience!
Bay Bridge now included
Not your everyday kind of race, which is what I loved about it. Ran through some interesting neighborhoods, but the best part was running on the Bay Bridge. Approx 4 … MORE
Not your everyday kind of race, which is what I loved about it. Ran through some interesting neighborhoods, but the best part was running on the Bay Bridge. Approx 4 miles of pure bliss and plenty of picture perfect opportunities. The course was well marked, with plenty of volunteers at the intersections and aid stations. Super cool race hoodie, beautiful medal and outstanding race organization. Can’t wait to go back next year!
It’s just ok
I ran the Oakland half marathon this year as part of a fundraising team for Oakland Animal Services. The half doesn’t start until 9:30, which was kind of frustrating, since … MORE
I ran the Oakland half marathon this year as part of a fundraising team for Oakland Animal Services. The half doesn’t start until 9:30, which was kind of frustrating, since the full starts at 7. (They start the half later so people can participate in the “run the town” challenge, which is running both the 5k and the half. But the 5k starts at 7:30, so there’s a lot of time between the two races.) Anyway, because it starts later in the day, the heat became an issue. The course is not spectacular – there are some cool parts, like running through Chinatown and around Lake Merritt, but for the most part it’s kind of industrial and not very interesting or pretty. There’s also several spots where you’re running through homeless encampments. There’s decent community support for some parts of the course, but for the most part there aren’t a lot of people out cheering, so if that’s something you need or want in a race, this is not the one for you. The aid stations are pretty evenly spaced, except for near the end when it felt like we went 4 miles without an aid station – and this was when it was starting to get really warm, so that was frustrating. The race shirt is tech fabric and long sleeve but there’s no other “swag” to speak of (this is not a complaint, just an observation! I could not care less about race swag). In general it’s a decent race, but there are better options in the Bay Area.
The Course is always long
This year, I went to just enjoy the run, and was happy to run the 5k a little faster and run the Half at an easy pace. the 5k was … MORE
This year, I went to just enjoy the run, and was happy to run the 5k a little faster and run the Half at an easy pace. the 5k was more like a 5.4 k, not sure why the course gets longer each year. There were some bicyclists out on the course trying to support a runner, but they were blocking the course and being very annoying. the medals were very good this year for the 10th Anniversary, I wish I could have run all the races so I could get the Marathon medal too. It seemed like they are losing crowd support over previous years.
Beyond the miles
First, I want to point out that I’ve run some race distance at every ORF for the past 4 years. In celebration for their 10yr anniversary this year the course … MORE
First, I want to point out that I’ve run some race distance at every ORF for the past 4 years. In celebration for their 10yr anniversary this year the course was altered to cross the SF Bay Bridge, but we’ll get to that later.
Let’s start at the expo: I’m not sure what happened, but the amount of vendors was drastically reduced. I went midday on Saturday and it was 30% ghost town. Not a big problem for me. I’m usually in & out expos in sub-10 minutes anyway.
Getting to the starting line: I left home at 5:30 for a 20 mile drive and didn’t find a park until 6:30 that was about a mile away from the starting line. The amount of street closures and the lack of detour signs had several people stuck, confused and frustrated.
The race itself: I only ran a few miles around Lake Merritt. This part for me was beautiful. Relatively flat and fast course. Only complaint was that my gps as well as several others I spoke with measured the course long. Just something to look into.
Post race: beer lines are short at 8am for some reason. Bag check didn’t lose my stuff (score!). One plus/minus: in prior years there was a massive area for post race photos. It created a crazy line. This year the organizers opted to do a simple 3 backdrop on a fence setup. Functional but a tad cheesy to the vets. If we can meet in the middle somewhere that would be awesome.
Get outta here: after walking a mile back to my vehicle, the true nightmare began. The marathon was still going strong and several streets were still closed. It took me an hour and a half, talking to four police officers and running over two cones to travel about two miles away. I’m sure this will improve over time but the officers and volunteers were catching hell from people just trying to get home or in my case, to work.
Definitely glad I ran and looking forward to returning next year.
Great volunteers and on course support
This was a new course for the 10th anniversary of the Oakland Marathon. It was a good course, the only critique I have is that we did a 1 mile … MORE
This was a new course for the 10th anniversary of the Oakland Marathon. It was a good course, the only critique I have is that we did a 1 mile stretch of a road a total of three times…which was tough. But by the time I did 2 and 3 it was past 20 miles so I was a bit out of it, so I didn’t care too much.
One thing that really bothered me was that the swag this year wasn’t nearly as awesome as in other years. I would have thought for the 10 year anniversary they’d go all out…and they really didn’t. All other years the marathoners got thick half zip pullovers…this year we got a thin long sleeve shirt with a hood, not quite as satisfying. And the sponsors this year didn’t seem as plentiful…I did finish late so it’s possible there were more before I crossed the finish line but my wife reported the same thing (that there were not as many sponsors as the previous years). We also both felt that the sponsors all seemed a bit grumpy…which was odd to us. Not something we’ve experienced before.
A big praise, and I mean HUGE and something that really helps to tip the scale on the positive side is that the on course was AMAZING…one of the best out of the 30+ races I’ve done and the best I’ve seen at Oakland. The volunteers were terrific, cheering us on to the last runner. The people/ volunteers at the aid stops were so sweet and supportive. The police officers helping to direct traffic were awesome and very supportive. The volunteers at each street crossing were fantastic. And everyone was great about directing us in the right direction and keeping the runners safe. Tons of Oaklanders came out to support us runners. Each aid stop for the marathoners was very WELL stocked with Gu chews and gels in a variety of flavors. And the course was very well marked…it was so great and helpful! And made a world of difference!
I love the Oakland races because it is such an amazing showcase of a city that I absolutely love. I love how well it shows the people of Oakland, their strength and courage, all the obstacles they have overcome. I am so proud of Oakland and loved the 10 years I lived in the city, so this race despite any downfalls will always hold a special place in my heart and I’ll keep on doing it year after year!
Fun course, weak production.
Loved the new marathon course with the Bay Bridge addition! This was my first marathon relay and it was a great time for the four of us. We ran for … MORE
Loved the new marathon course with the Bay Bridge addition! This was my first marathon relay and it was a great time for the four of us. We ran for fun and met our time goal.
The race production needs work. The bus drivers who shuttled runners to the relay course were asking the runners for directions! For the final leg they dropped the runners 3 blocks away and commented, “since you don’t know where we need to go, you get off here”. The finish line and exit area was a cluster. Runners need to be encouraged to keep moving nice they cross the finish line. There were no officials in sight and the number of near collisions immediately after the finish were shudder inducing. Same issue with the food bush exit area, there was such a crowd that it was very difficult to exit. Seems as if some cost cutting measures had a big impact on our experience. What was nice a 5 is now a 3.
New PR for this course
It is a great race for anybody. Great cheer stations keep you on track. Very friendly volunteers and the best after race recovery (snacks, drinks, massage) MORE
It is a great race for anybody. Great cheer stations keep you on track. Very friendly volunteers and the best after race recovery (snacks, drinks, massage)
My town race and lots of friends run it.
There was some course changes and it seem course didn't get final until way after registration were going on so check for changes after you register too MORE
There was some course changes and it seem course didn’t get final until way after registration were going on so check for changes after you register too
Oof.
***LOCATION*** Oakland, CA ***DATE*** Late March (March 25, 2018 this year) ***PRICE*** The Oakland Running Festival includes several different events. Depending on when you signed up this year, the price … MORE
***LOCATION***
Oakland, CA
***DATE***
Late March (March 25, 2018 this year)
***PRICE***
The Oakland Running Festival includes several different events. Depending on when you signed up this year, the price range was….
– Marathon: $100-160
– Marathon Relay: $180-280
– Half Marathon: $70-125
– 5K: $30-60
– We Run The Town Challenge (5K & Half): $95-175
– Kid’s Race: $15-20
(For what it’s worth, another slight increase since I ran the half in 2016.)
***DEADLINES/SELL-OUT FACTOR***
This year, there were still spaces in the half and full as of the expo on Saturday. Not sure about the 5K or relay. No race day registration.
***FIELD SIZE***
Again, not sure about the caps, but the results page lists the following numbers of finishers:
Marathon – 611 finishers (slightly down from 2016)
Half Marathon – 2483 (slightly down from 2016)
5K – 3494 (significantly up from 2016)
***THE EXPO***
As in past years that I ran, the expo was at the Marriott City Center right off 12th Street BART in Oakland. I don’t love having to BART to Oakland the day before the race (it’s a solid 2 hours once you walk to BART, take the BART, hit the expo, & get back home) but at least it’s close to BART. As in past years it comprised pretty much what you’d expect–a few running clothes / gear purveyors, a few health / fitness booths, sign-up booths for other races, & a few community groups.
In past years you had to print out an email and show your ID, but this year, all you had to do was tell the volunteers at the bib table your number (emailed about seven times during the previous week). It wasn’t too crowded & I was in & out in 10-15 minutes.
***THE COURSE***
I signed up for this race because of the reputation of the course as a pretty, hilly, cool meandering tour of Oakland, so I was dismayed when the race organizers announced a month before the race that they would be changing the course into a flat, boring route that pretty much just loops downtown and the industrial Oakland port area. They were not straightforward about the reasons for this and in my opinion dealt very unprofessionally with runners who had been training for a very different course and were understandably pissed. (Word is there were permit issues with the usual course.)
To make matters worse, at least one turnaround was misplaced by about three blocks, so most runners were clocking 26.6-27.2 via GPS which is way beyond what can be accounted for by GPS and tangent errors. The race organizers then claimed that this change was necessary ahead of time (so they knew about it) but the online map did not get updated (and the change was not announced in any other way). Again, super unprofessional, and the way they dealt with (again) rightfully disappointed runners was also unprofessional.
Yes, this year’s course was flatter as promised, but it was also really boring with virtually no crowd support until you get back to downtown around maybe mile 14-15. Even then it was sparse, with many areas of downtown sort of empty-feeling (though there were a few standouts, like the Taiko drummers in Ogawa Plaza). It was also definitely NOT fast, including many hairpin turns (and a lot of turns in general) and a stretch of dirt through Shoreline Park with really sketchy footing. However, the volunteers and Oakland Police Officers controlling traffic were all great and I think nearly all of them said something encouraging to me as I ran by. There were also plenty of aid stations for my needs (and again, great volunteers).
One last thing I would say if you run the full is that with only ~600 people, you get really spread out fairly early in the race, so even mid-packers can find themselves running with very few people around them a lot of the time (though the relay runners help with this some).
***STAGING***
The usual Snow Park staging area is super-convenient to the 19th Street BART (although the trains don’t run early enough on Sunday to get you to the marathon start) but because of the new course the start/finish & staging area were at Eastshore Park more or less at 580 and Grand, which made it not at all convenient to BART. On the other hand, if you get there early enough, there is plenty of super close street parking on Grand, quickly accessible off the freeway and free on Sundays. There are also plenty of reasonably priced garages in Oakland.
Gear check was basically right by the start & BYO bag which I think is great. It was cold so I opted to drop my stuff as late as possible and pretty much walked right up. (Now…trying to get my bag back after; THAT took nearly half an hour. A lot of races seem to struggle with having a great system for quickly finding bags by bib number.) Also a billion port-a-potties (YAY)!!
The start area vibe was a bit weird compared to past years. When I’ve run before, there’s always been upbeat music, someone on a loud speaker keeping you updated, the National Anthem, an exciting countdown to the start, etc. But this year it was just the start gate. I didn’t hear any announcements, and the race went off at 7:00am with basically no fanfare. (In fact, I didn’t even realize when the race started!) Not really sure what was up with that.
***SWAG***
This year the marathoners got a pretty nice cotton quarter zip light monogrammed sweatshirt, which was pretty nice, and a hefty medal as usual. I think as usual the half marathoners got a long sleeve tech t and the 5K runners got a regular tech t-shirt. Instead of a giant bag full of samples & coupons you won’t use and fliers for races you won’t run, you can log into your “virtual goody bag” online & see if there are any fliers or coupons you’re interested in, which I appreciated because it didn’t mean a bunch of unnecessary trash & recycling.
***OVERALL ASSESSMENT***
I have really enjoyed the half marathon in the past, but MAN, I was not impressed with a) this year’s new last-minute course, b) how CSE handled the course change, c) the haphazard placement of mile markers, or d) how they handled the very reasonable inquiries about the certification and accuracy of the new course. Things happen with courses, especially last-minute ones in a busy city. But be honest and straightforward with people, in as timely a manner as you can. And frankly there’s no excuse for responding to questions from your customers in such a curt & dismissive way. I’m not totally crossing it off my list of good local races, but I will think very carefully about signing up again and about which distance I run.
Extra Long Course Means Extra Ice Cream
I participated in the Oakland Running Festival in 2012 for my first half marathon and then as my second marathon the following year. I was looking forward to running it … MORE
I participated in the Oakland Running Festival in 2012 for my first half marathon and then as my second marathon the following year. I was looking forward to running it again because it had been so long.
About a month prior to the race, they changed the course and it was a huge disappointment. I’m not sure why they did, but supposedly they couldn’t get permits because of other events happening later in the day.
We started and finished at Eastshore Park by Lake Merritt which was nice because the festival area was huge. The course used to showcase different parts of Oakland, but the new marathon repeated sections of the industrial areas and it was nothing like before. Very boring course and hard to get into a good pace. The roads were also not in the best conditions and had lots of potholes.
The course was also over half a mile long; I spoke to many different paces runners who all finished with a recorded distance of at least 26.8. My Garmin showed 26.86 when I finished. The mile markers were off and inconsistent and it made for a tougher race.
The different races were given different medals which was nice. And the finish line festival had a lot of great booths in addition to Fenton’s Ice Cream giving out free samples. We got a quarter zip shirt as the race shirt, but I haven’t tried it on yet.
Unfortunately, there wasn’t too many positives about this race. I hope next year they can fix the issues from this year and hopefully change the course back. I don’t think I’ll be running it again though.
Pacing The Youth (RBO)
On Sunday April 2, 2017 I ran the half marathon in The Oakland Running Festival. What an amazing experience. This was my second year participating in this event and hands … MORE
On Sunday April 2, 2017 I ran the half marathon in The Oakland Running Festival. What an amazing experience. This was my second year participating in this event and hands down, I have to say that it’s one of the best organized events I’ve been a part of. This year I had the honor of being a volunteer mentor for Running for a Better Oakland (RBO). RBO is a non-profit organization that teaches youth to run long distances. Their training was tested on Sunday as they ran in the 5k and half marathon races of The Oakland Running Festival. I ran with a great group of young half marathon runners who swept the podium for their age group by securing the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place spots. In the early part of the race, we ran as a group trying to keep the kids from burning off too much energy too early and trying to keep them hydrated on a sunny race morning. We told jokes, we laughed and we discussed their race goals. One of the kids was a first time half marathoner. He was reluctant to stop at water stations fearing it would affect his race time. He slowly came around as the temperature escalated and the miles added up. Another talented young man who had run this race before developed some side stitches when the double digit miles began, but after we slowed the pace down by about 15 seconds/mi he was able to finish strong and establish a new PR of 1:35:52 at 13 years old!!! Needless to say, it was an amazing experience and I feel extremely blessed to have been a part of it. My two sons also participated in the RBO program. They each ran in the 5k race and both surprised themselves at what they were capable of accomplishing. They woke up extremely early with me and arrived in Oakland by 6am. One was able to run without walking for entire 5k for the first time. The other ran one of his fastest times. Both sprinted across the finish line in a victorious fashion. As usual, my loving and supportive wife came out to watch all the madness take place. She said our 2 year old son almost jumped out the stroller when the Kids Fun Run began. We’ll have to make sure that he’s participating as well next year.
Best race in the East Bay
Love this race. Very well organized. great course not easy but not difficult either. This year I run on my B-day and made a PR. great after race party. MORE
Love this race. Very well organized. great course not easy but not difficult either. This year I run on my B-day and made a PR. great after race party.
It is harder to run right after a PR
I actually did the "run the Town Challenge, of both the 5k and then the half marathon. I came in 2nd in Age group for the combined time! (Hope the … MORE
I actually did the “run the Town Challenge, of both the 5k and then the half marathon. I came in 2nd in Age group for the combined time! (Hope the combined race can be added as a distance option?)
I ran the Half right after setting a PR in the 5k, and was running a Marathon in a week, so I wanted to not injure myself. I ended up about 6 minutes behind my goal pace, but very happy overall. This is a very friendly half for first timers, because it is so flat. I love the Taiko Drummers, and other crowd support on the course. It is also cool to join the Marathon Runners on the last part of the course.
New Starting Line Gave a Faster Race.
I actually did the "run the Town Challenge, of both the 5k and then the half marathon. I came in 2nd in Age group for the combined time! (Hope the … MORE
I actually did the “run the Town Challenge, of both the 5k and then the half marathon. I came in 2nd in Age group for the combined time! (Hope the combined race can be added as a distance option?)
This 5k was a little long, so according to Garmin it was my PR on an Official 5k Race. Due to construction, the start and finish was moved to the Eastshore Park side of Lake Merritt. This had a fast, very slightly downhill start which allowed for an easier warm up. There was free Erdinger N/A Beer at the end, which I really enjoy as a recovery beverage. (They also had 2 types with alcohol as well.)