US Half Marathon 2 The Other Half Official Website

The "Nitty Gritty" Details (User Opinions)

Nash R.
San Francisco, CA

  (12-22-2010)

"It is probably a tough year to judge this one. It was pouring rain all morning which caused some disorganization issues. The course itself is pretty typical for SF. You begin at Fort Mason the up to, across the GG bridge and back.

The water stations were positioned and I don't remember even seeing one the last 2 miles. The crowd turnout was minimal with the weather, but it was great to see people out there cheering you on regardless.

The expo was solid - good free food and drinks - and the finishing medals were well done.

One last note, they did a great job of communication and info delivery prior to the race. The website was well done. Everything was straight forward, great FAQ sheet and pre-race reminders via email. The event was also paperless which was a nice touch. "

Reviewed by a: First Time Participant for 2010

Sandra .
San Francisco, CA

  (04-14-2010)

"First off, pet peeve -- no gender specific shirts and they even ran out of size smalls. Since about 50% of women would want a unisex size small, you'd think they'd have planned better.

The good: Scenic course. You get to run over the bridge which is always a plus. Lots of room since it seemed to be closed to pedestrian/bike traffic during the race.

The water bottle souvenir was something nice and different.

The bad:

Very bad water stops. At one stop I actually stopped and stood still for almost two minutes waiting for a cup of water.

Mile markers were off. At one point I was over 0.1 miles ahead of the marker. The the next marker I was right on point. Then the next 0.1 miles off again.

Oh, and the course is definitely short. I came up with 13.05 miles. My garmin always runs long on certified courses since I don't run all the tangents.

Overall, I'd run it again for fun or a training run but would never race it for time since the course is short. The course does have lots of hills. But that is part of the SF charm, I guess."

Reviewed by a: First Time Participant for 2010

Kelly e.
campbell, CA

  (03-24-2010)

"The best thing about this race is the course. I woke up on a gorgeous cool fall morning in San Francisco meaning it was crystal clear and scenic. This half marathon showcases some of the most beautiful sights of San Francisco. You go through the presidio, over and back across the Golden Gate bridge, up the Marina Green and back over Fort Mason to a nice down hill finish. Oh, did I mention the entire race is hilly? It's not an easy course but it is pretty.

This is a fairly small race, only about 2500 participants and as such tends not to have an elite field or a lot of spectators. If you need a large crowd cheering you on, this is not your race. If you want beautiful scenery and a challenging course with plenty of space to run, this is a great race.

I would definitely do this again. Nice finisher medals as well and technical T-shirts. My only complaint is that they did not have five year age groups. For a half marathon, more awards the better :-)"

Reviewed by a: First Time Participant for 2009

Heather H.
San Francisco, CA

  (03-10-2010)

"I ran this race in 2008 as my first half marathon. The course is so gorgeous that you easily forgive the lack of crowd support and sporadic mile markers. I returned in 2009, ready to make a go at a sub-2 PR. Despite a string of injuries leaving me out of shape and the difficulty of the course, I came in at 1:58! Celebration ensued, until I looked at my Garmin... 12.84 miles. What the heck? I knew they had changed a part of the race due to construction, so I got in touch with the race organizers, who never responded to my concerns. Others on Facebook started posting questions about the length discrepancy, which they promptly deleted from the page, never giving racers an answer as to the course being short.

I got in touch with the local course certifier from the USATF and we went out to the course together... turns out we had not run on a USATF-certified course in either 2008 OR 2009, despite it being advertised as such. He remeasured the differences in the new course and did find it to be a little over a quarter mile short. Most notably- not only are the race folks not getting back to the people who paid them a lot of money to run a certified course, they aren't even getting back to the USATF rep!

Fast forward to 2010, they have added another race in the spring and upped the price. And the USATF has asked them if they will be running the exact certified course and-- no surprise-- they aren't responding. (I don't think it's logistically possible for them to run the certified course for the next 3 years with the Doyle Drive construction project, so they need to recertify a new course and it looks like they just don't want to do that. It's not an expensive process.)

Net-Net: If you want a certified-length course, the US Half Marathon is not one. If you want to give your money to race organizers that respect the effort you are putting into training for their race, don't give it to the US Half/Project Sport.
"

Reviewed by a: Repeat Participant for 2009

Christine A.
Redwood City, CA

  (11-05-2009)

"This was the first time for me running the US Half Marathon San Francisco, Women's 10K. It was recommended to me by my running gal who loves getting the medal at the end of the race. Because I wasn't going to be running it by myself, I was looking forward to it. Medals really aren't my thing but a run is a run.

It was a gorgeous morning in San Francisco. There was a fog bank that locked in the city but the city itself was clear and sunny, but cold! Luckily with the packet pick up at Road Runner Sports the Friday before the race, I had purchased new running pants. Due to the cold, I was so happy that I had worn those pants!

The start is Aquatic Park, up Van Ness until Bay Street. Starting a race going uphill is not my cup of tea but I made it.

After Bay, the course turns into the same route as the Bridge to Bridge. I just ran the Bridge to Bridge and I run it every year so I LOVE that course. Along the marina, along the bay, watching people play with their dogs off leash!

This run was a great one for me because I ran it in 55:26, a 10K at that pace is my personal best. It's probably much slower for others but as my personal best, I really did deserve that colorful medal at the end of the race!

Looking forward to 2010! Maybe one day I'll actually run the half and get to run across the Golden Gate Bridge. "

Reviewed by a: First Time Participant for 2009