Silicon Valley Marathon Official Website

JT S.
San Francisco, CA

  (06-02-2010)

"The Silicon Valley Marathon is a simple, generally flat, marathon in San Jose, CA. The low registration costs leave the crazy bands to Rock N Roll marathons and runners are left with a convenient and fast marathon.

It's an official Boston qualifier and hosts a 5k, half marathon, and a full marathon. The weather in late October was perfect last year.

Best part was probably the free Wahoos Fish Tacos plates that all finishers received. Free fish tacos and I'm happy. They have also done a very "tech" medal complete with actual motherboard and computer chip.

Great first marathon. "

Reviewed by a: Repeat Participant for 2009

Linda D. M.
Sunnyvale, CA

  (03-14-2010)

"This was my first marathon, It took me 6 hours 22 minutes, I trained all year for it and it was worth it. It was part a community effort, we ran thru neighborhoods with people cheering offering us coffee, donuts water. The half way point was Los Gatos High, the trail was clearly posted and the aid stations were super.

Being a first time marathoner , i think the first time you should run with friends who can encourage you to keep going, the last 4 miles was the hardest for me.
but when I saw the cattle shoot I got a burst of energy,

could use more potty stations "

Reviewed by a: First Time Participant for 2009

Pete D.
Portland, OR

  (10-29-2009)

"I really don't want to criticize the Dean Karnazes Silicon Valley Marathon, because it was a fun run (I did the half; there was also a 5K). The course was an interesting mix of urban (downtown), neighborhood (Willow Glen) and semi-natural (the paved Los Gatos Trail). It was also 13.1 miles, just like it was supposed to be, and the weather was beautiful, a clear and crisp as the race got under way at sunrise, and sunny for the post-race goings-on. And the goings-on weren't bad, with a free fish taco, a nice change of pace.

What the hell more do I really need than all that?

That said, there were a few issues with the race that others might find helpful to know about as they ponder which events deserve their hard-earned entry fee. Some things that didn't bother me *too much* but might be a concern to you:

1) Weak Web site with "coming soon" pages (for course elevation, for instance) that never came and confusing or non-existent instructions on race logistics.
2) Almost non-existent crowd support. The marathoners, who did an out-and-back, probably had it better as they neared the finish line, but for the halfies it was a pretty lonely affair.
3) I enjoyed the several miles on the bike trail but from time to time was almost frustrated having to deal with a fair number of non-racers out for their Sunday more run, walk, ride or blade. Hey, I'm glad they were out there gettin' it done, but in a race it's nice not to have to zig and zag to avoid baby strollers and stuff.
4) The volunteers were all super nice, but they didn't always have answers to questions and didn't appear to have strong leadership guiding them. At the finish they ran out of water (which was handed out in paper cups). And none of the volunteers knew were bathrooms were or where we were supposed to pick up the bus to get back to the start. And when we did figure out where to get the bus, we had to stand in line for well over a half-hour.
5) Back at the finish, as I mentioned they had some Mexican food, fish or chicken tacos, rice, beans, good stuff. But again there was no water to be found. In fact, to get anything to drink, we had to reach inside the ropes to where the marathoners were finishing and grab a Gatorade.
6) The on-course sport drink was Ultima, which is OK for a 5K but for a half marathon or marathon? The drink has no carbs. You need carbs to do a marathon, and could certainly benefit from some in a half marathon.
7) There was no effort made to seed the runners at the start. So I'm starting out intending to run 6:35 miles having to dodge people who are running 9:00 miles. Not a big deal, but kind of frustrating and, moreover, quite avoidable.
8) There were no results posted until the next day, and the results included no split times. This is another thing that's not a huge deal but you'd think the SILICON VALLEY MARATHON would be as technologically with-it as other marathons, many of which now offer 5K splits, real-time tracking and results immediately upon completion. SVM had none of this.

To wrap things up I'd say that overall, the race had a kind of sleepy, relaxed feel. Which makes sense. It's a bit of a forgotten race in Northern California in October, following fast on the heels of the Rock ‘n’ Roll San Jose 1/2, a typically flashy Competitor Group Inc. franchised event with big-name pros — Meb Keflezighi among them this year — and a field nudging five-figures, as well as the Nike Women’s Marathon in San Francisco, which is actually much more a half-marathon (12,730 finishers) than a marathon (4351), but is any case large. So there's a virtual guarantee, coming amid that glittery clutter, that the Silicon Valley is going to be small. And perhaps the organizers know that, and it leads them to be too casual and unambitious in their staging of the event.

In sum: A good race that I quite enjoyed, but that could be better."

Reviewed by a: First Time Participant for 2009

shelly c.
redwood city, CA

  (07-11-2009)

"First marathon EVER...can't believe I did another after this one! The course is an out and back. You run on a bike trail into Los Gatos and then thru the high school and back. Looking back it wasn't entirely bad..BUT running in San Jose isn't enjoyable for me...just saying!"

Reviewed by a: First Time Participant for 2004

shelly c.
redwood city, CA

  (07-11-2009)

"Not my favorite race...and pretty ugly course! Flat...and seemed like it went on forever..My first half...It was well organized and the post race food was the best..YES, it's all about the food. It's San Jose...what more can I say."

Reviewed by a: First Time Participant for 2003