For runners in San Francisco’s late summer marathon running event, you’ll have a choice you won’t find at most other races — there are actually two half-marathon events to choose from at this race, as runners may run either the first or the second 13.1 miles of the full marathon course. (There’s also an ultramarathon.) This is your introduction to the San Francisco Marathon!
Both races show off different parts of what makes the city what it is, from the Embarcadero and Fisherman’s Wharf in the first half to the scenery of the second half, including gorgeous Golden Gate Park, Haight Ashbury district and AT&T Park, home of the San Francisco Giants.
The course for the first half marathon starts on the waterfront downtown, at Embarcadero and Washington Street, and takes runners on a point-to-point course that follows a mostly westward route along the waterfront through the city, all the way to Golden Gate Park.
Along the way, runners are treated to sights such as the sea lions barking on the shore along Fisherman’s Wharf to local architectural icons like the Transamerica building and the Coit Tower. The course also takes runners past the gorgeous homes and yachts in the Marina, as well as past the wetlands areas of the Presidio.
La Jolla Half Marathon on May 18, 2024
For the second half marathon, the race picks up near the midpoint of the first half marathon’s course at Crissy Field in the Presidio and takes runners on a southward and eastward route through the city, on the way toward the finish line on the waterfront at Embarcadero and Folsom.
