Silicon Valley Half Marathon
San Jose, CA
- Half Marathon, 5K
- Road (Paved)
- Official race website
2021 IN-PERSON EVENT CANCELED, offering virtual option (Apr 23–May 2) *** Benefiting the Silicon Valley Education Foundation (SVEF), the Silicon Valley Half is a USATF certified course that is simply flat, fast, and fun. All events finish near Arena Green and the SAP Center. But wait, it gets better. Enjoy … MORE
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It was okay...
The races changed this year from being spread across two days to having them all on one day. I chose the HM with a 5k chaser. The bib pick up … MORE
The races changed this year from being spread across two days to having them all on one day. I chose the HM with a 5k chaser. The bib pick up is fairly smooth, although parking can be a bit challenging if the Sharks are playing games. I find the people of RR I’ve come in contact with to be a bit snooty/misinformed/uninformed. I ran last year as well as well and saved my review on that for this year to give ample time but nothing’s changed. The parking for race day is ample and mostly free. The course runs through town and back to SAP Center which is nice. Not much really sticks out about the on course aid—fairly basic. Back of packers may find this annoying but some stations were closing. Energy at finish line was great. Kinda cool to see Meb. Shirts/bag with HM are neat but you def pay for it in the registration.
5k post the Half Marathon
This year the itinerary was changed a bit. Last year, the races were over two days. This year, all the same day. I chose the half marathon this year with … MORE
This year the itinerary was changed a bit. Last year, the races were over two days. This year, all the same day. I chose the half marathon this year with the 5k soon after. The 5k is a simple 3.1 miles through town near the SAP Center. Parking was easy~as was bib pick up. Easy course but most everything was packed up and vendors left before some were even finished with their race. Wasn’t much left for people to do after the 5k race.
Fast course
This was a well organized race, with some great swag. I loved the tech zip long sleeve shirt. The bag was nice too, though I haven't used it much. Not … MORE
This was a well organized race, with some great swag. I loved the tech zip long sleeve shirt. The bag was nice too, though I haven’t used it much. Not enough porta potties at the start (but when are there ever?) but the rest of the race was well done. It’s a fairly flat course, so you can get a good time here if trained properly. There didn’t seem to be much post race food (that was free), but there were vendors with food for sale.
Awesome Silicon Valley Half
It was great weather for a run. The equipment check was quick. There were not enough porta-potties, there never are, long lines right up to race time. The national anthem … MORE
It was great weather for a run. The equipment check was quick. There were not enough porta-potties, there never are, long lines right up to race time.
The national anthem was magnificent…great singing by someone…
Start was good, pacing good, very little blocking, felt comfortable.
Entertainment along the way was mixed, some good, some ?
The multiple out and back format was not my favorite, would prefer a big loop, but it was ok.
The were sufficient water stops but insufficient food/electrolyte/energy drink stops. I only encountered one electrolyte stop at about 12 miles, not good, need at least 3, else tell me to bring my own. Thank goodness I brought a small Cliff Bare with me, else it would have been worse.
Nice ending at the park. Race Medal great but Medal tent didn’t know about the additional medal for completing both the 408K and the SV half. I had to ask at 3 different RR tents before someone knew what I was talking about and help correct the situation.
Great post race photos though still to expensive….
Highly recommend this race!
Flat and fast course in San Jose. One of the best race productions I have seen. Excellent course support, aid stations and volunteers. Enthusiastic spectators. And the swag is the … MORE
Flat and fast course in San Jose. One of the best race productions I have seen. Excellent course support, aid stations and volunteers. Enthusiastic spectators. And the swag is the best! Huge medals including bonus medals for running the 5k Saturday plus the 10k or Half Marathon on Sunday. Excellent quality t-shirt with nice design for the 5k. And the Half Marathoners got a nice quarter zip. Great quality and design. Finish line festivities were second to none. Beer or wine at the finish, great vendors, good food for finishers in a Lululemon bag. And food trucks! What more could you want?
My first 10K!
This was my very first 10K race so I was a little nervous but it turned out to be great. The course was mostly flat - just a couple of … MORE
This was my very first 10K race so I was a little nervous but it turned out to be great. The course was mostly flat – just a couple of hills on an overpass. The scenery was suprisingly nice considering it was in downtown San Jose. This race was very well organized and the course was lined with volunteers cheering you along and keeping you on course. There was also music at a couple of spots along the way. I enjoyed this much more than the 5K the day before which was in the afternoon so really hot. This was perfect with an 8AM start. I enjoyed this race, and the 10K distance so I will definitely do it again!
A Fun Flat 10k Course.
I was coming off of a trail run to the top of Mt. Diablo the day before, so this was a perfect course for a fun shakeout run. The organization … MORE
I was coming off of a trail run to the top of Mt. Diablo the day before, so this was a perfect course for a fun shakeout run. The organization for bibs and shirts was wonderful, since they had race day pickup! The Medals were amazing with cool multiple race challenges. They also had two good live bands!
Best in Show - Inagural Race
This was the Inagural race and total runners were approx 2K for 5k,10k, 1/2 however you would never no it. Everything was done first class with professional organizers. It starts … MORE
This was the Inagural race and total runners were approx 2K for 5k,10k, 1/2 however you would never no it. Everything was done first class with professional organizers. It starts with the extra swag to get the word out on the race for a reasonable price $70 1/2. You got a long sleeve 1/4 zip up tech shirt and large gym bag to the finish with a free glass of wine/beer. The course blows away the San Jose 1/2 with running down the nicest streets/ neighborhoods in San Jose which ended up being in the shade 80/90% of the time. Volunteers were best than most races when there are no real crowds on Sunday down town you were cheered by almost every volunteer on the course. The course was mostly flat with a few challenges of over/under freeway. Even being out of shape I did well on this course. There wasn’t much of an expo but worth going for the outdoor music and food truck which were also at the end of the race. Bring cash! The had a gear van to drop off your stuff at this pt to put race which had lockers. Also Amazon sponsored free race photos! First time I saw this at a gear van for backpacks etc. I doubt they can do this when the race gets bigger. Since it is a pt to pt you have to walk 1 direct but it is less than a mile and easy to find since it’s straight down 1 street.
Overall, even without the likely special Inagural extras, I would highly recommend the race. I can guess they might expand to a marathon because the city is eager to get more visitors. Meb K is a part owner… Guessing why they were able to do this really right!
Prefer a morning start
This was the inaugural Silicon Valley Food Truck 5K. It was well organized and the festival afterwards was quite large with food trucks, music and vendors. The course was mostly … MORE
This was the inaugural Silicon Valley Food Truck 5K. It was well organized and the festival afterwards was quite large with food trucks, music and vendors. The course was mostly flat along the Guadalupe river trail. The only problem was the afternoon start at 3:00pm – it was HOT in San Jose today. The heat made this race a bit of a struggle for me. If they repeat this event next year, I hope it’s a morning start. Other than that – Represent Running put on a nice event as they always do. I’m looking forward to the 10K tomorrow with the morning start :-).