# San Francisco Marathon

The San Francisco Marathon is an annual USATF-certified road running event held in San Francisco, California, that includes a full marathon, two half marathons, an ultramarathon, a 10k, and a 5K. With the exceptions of 1988, 1993, and 2020, the marathon has been held annually since 1977. The marathon starts and finishes on the Embarcadero near the Ferry Building and crosses the Golden Gate Bridge. It is a qualifying race for the Boston Marathon.

## History

The first San Francisco Marathon was organized by the Pamakids Runners Club, and was held on July 10, 1977. The inaugural was won by Athol Barton, a taxicab driver from New Zealand who at the time lived in Reno, Nevada in a time of 2:24:59. Fewer than 900 ran this inaugural race. The event's all-time record for marathon finishers came in 1983 with 7,231. An estimated 7,800 runners participated in the various events in 2004 and 11,290 in 2005. This number had increased to approximately 19,000 in 2008 and 21,000 in 2009 The 2009 event was hosted by ultramarathoner Dean Karnazes and Runner's World columnist Bart Yasso.
In 2005, 356 of the 4,873 finishers qualified for Boston. Of the 4,021 finishers in 2006, 277 qualified. 2010's race produced 462 qualifiers, 468 runners qualified in 2011, 377 qualified in 2012, and 2016's race produced 296 qualifiers. 2018's race produced 324 Boston Marathon qualifiers.
The purse has also varied from year to year. In 1977, Barton took home a t-shirt for his efforts. When Pete Pfitzinger won in 1986, he earned $5,000 and a new car. Although many top runners were attracted to the $35,000 purse that was offered in 1998 ($10,000 for first place, $5,000 for second place, $2,500 for third place), no prize money was offered from 1999 through 2001. From 2002 to 2004, $10,000 was divided among the winners. Prize money has not been offered since 2005, primarily due to lack of large sponsors.
The 2020 in-person edition of the race was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with all registrants given the option of running the race virtually, or transferring their entry to 2021 for a US$39 fee. The 2021 race was held on September 18-19th, 2021.

## Controversies

In 2024, organizers admitted to miscalculating the race distance for one of the half marathon races. Participants found out two days after the race that the course had only been 12.6 miles instead of 13.1. There are two half marathon races offered, a "city half" and a "bridge half"; the "city half" half-marathon was the course that was short.

## Course

The current marathon course forms a loop that starts and finishes on the Embarcadero near the Ferry Building. The course runs past many notable landmarks in San Francisco including Fisherman's Wharf, Aquatic Park, the Golden Gate Bridge, Golden Gate Park, and Oracle Park. The course briefly enters Marin County at the northern end of the Golden Gate Bridge.
The marathon course has undergone a number of changes since its inception. In the late 1980s, the start was moved from Marin County to San Francisco. In 1999, race organizers made a number of changes to make the course faster. That year the course was altered to start and end near the Polo Fields in Golden Gate Park and the run across the Golden Gate Bridge was eliminated. Previous routes have taken the marathon along the Great Highway. In 2002, the start/finish at Golden Gate Park was moved to the Embarcadero with a run across the Golden Gate Bridge.
The first half marathon originally crossed the Golden Gate Bridge along the full marathon, but was eliminated in 2018 due to security and safety concerns. Previously, the full marathon and first half marathon ran on the roadbed of the bridge, shutting down automobile traffic for two lanes.
There are two half-marathon races offered, a "Bridge Half", which ends near the Golden Gate Bridge, and a "City Half", which begins in Golden Gate Park.

## In popular culture

In 2002, the San Francisco Marathon was the fictionalized backdrop for an episode of Monk entitled "Mr. Monk and the Marathon Man."

## Winners

| Date | Men | Country | Time | Women | Country | Time | Finishers |
| July 27, 2024 | Charlie Lawrence | United States | 2:22:30 | Jenna Wolfrum | United States | 2:52:10 | 5770 |
| July 23, 2023 | Brice Daubord | France | 2:26:17 | Leandra Zimmermann | United States | 2:45:59 | 4979 |
| July 24, 2022 | Simon Ricci | United States | 2:31:42 | Brooke Starn | United States | 2:44:38 | 4080 |
| September 19, 2021 | Gregory Billington | United States | 2:20:42 | Judith Corachán Vaquera | Spain | 2:55:33 | 3189 |
| July 28, 2019 | Gregory Billington | United States | 2:25:25 | Nina Zarina | Authorised Neutral Athletes | 2:47:01 | 5226 |
| July 29, 2018 | Jorge Maravilla | United States | 2:27:56 | Bonnie Tran | United States | 2:54:09 | 5242 |
| July 23, 2017 | Jorge Maravilla | United States | 2:28:23 | Devin McMahon | United States | 2:52:49 | 6510 |
| July 31, 2016 | Max Haines-Stiles | United States | 2:30:42 | Tori Tyler | United States | 2:49:51 | 6270 |
| July 26, 2015 | Chris Mocko | United States | 2:26:22 | Anna Bretan | United States | 2:49:42 | 6026 |
| July 27, 2014 | August Brautigam | United States | 2:32:17 | Anna Bretan | United States | 2:47:51 | 6580 |
| June 16, 2013 | Francois Lhuissier | France | 2:25:15 CR | Anna Bretan | United States | 2:42:26 CR | 5827 |
| July 29, 2012 | Nathan Krah | United States | 2:26:44 | Devon Crosby-Helms | United States | 2:44:02 | 6494 |
| July 31, 2011 | Michael Wardian | United States | 2:27:06 | Emily Field | United States | 2:50:24 | 6020 |
| July 25, 2010 | Keith Bechtol | United States | 2:23:28 | Emily Hardin | United States | 2:51:54 | 5992 |
| July 26, 2009 | Andrew Cook | United States | 2:26:32 | Yoko Shibui | Japan | 2:46:34 | 5101 |
| August 3, 2008 | Chad Worthen | United States | 2:31:52 | Lauren Gustafson | United States | 2:52:33 | 4,354 4,447 |
| July 29, 2007 | Andrew Cook | United States | 2:25:57 | Yolanda Flamino | United States | 2:43:41 | 4,250 4,275 |
| July 30, 2006 | Andrew Cook | United States | 2:26:46 | Julia Stamps | United States | 2:54:55 | 4,021 4,062 |
| July 31, 2005 | Tony Torres | United States | 2:31:57 | Sarah Hallas | United States | 2:56:55 | 4,869 4,873 4,918 |
| August 1, 2004 | John Weru | Kenya | 2:33:41 | Susan Loken | United States | 2:50:21 | 2,665 |
| July 27, 2003 | Patrick Kamau | Kenya | 2:35:11 | Lucy Carr | United States | 3:02:00 | 1,891 |
| July 28, 2002 | Nate Bowen | United States | 2:31:46 | Magdalena Lewy | United States | 2:50:11 | 1,920 |
| July 8, 2001 | Vytautas Ezerskis | Lithuania | 2:30:53 | Micha Lowe | United States | 3:12:10 | 2,249 |
| July 9, 2000 | Michael Buchanan | United States | 2:32:49 | Lisa Murphy | United States | 3:08:15 | 2,345 |
| July 11, 1999 | Brad Hawthorne | United States | 2:24:36 | Patti Smith | United States | 3:09:44 | |
| July 12, 1998 | Hamid Oubadriss | France | 2:23:54 | Salina Chirchir | Kenya | 2:45:36 | |
| July 13, 1997 | Hamid Miloudi | Algeria | 2:26:49 | Kristen Orre | United States | 3:02:33 | |
| July 14, 1996 | Brad Lael | United States | 2:37:27 | Margee Brown | United States | 2:57:45 | |
| July 9, 1995 | Hector Lopez | Mexico | 2:23:38 | Lisa Kelp | United States | 2:51:12 | |
| July 31, 1994 | Patrick Muturi | Kenya | 2:17:34 | Karolina Szabo | Hungary | 2:44:34 | |
| July 18, 1993 | Driss Dacha | Morocco | 2:20:02 | Tatiana Titova | Russia | 2:40:32 | |
| August 30, 1992 | Sergio Jimenez | Mexico | 2:16:44 | Irina Bogachova | Kyrgyzstan | 2:36:54 | |
| June 23, 1991 | Daniel Martinez | United States | 2:15:31 | Lesley Ann Lehane | United States | 2:35:33 | |
| July 1, 1990 | Antonio Niemczak | Poland | 2:13:48 | Janis Klecker | United States | 2:39:52 | |
| July 9, 1989 | Ernest Tjela | Lesotho | 2:15:01 | Stephanie Robertson | United States | 3:09:08 | |
| 1988 | not held | not held | not held | not held | not held | not held | |
| July 19, 1987 | Mehmet Terzi | Turkey | 2:14:07 | Eileen Claugus | United States | 2:39:02 | |
| July 20, 1986 | Pete Pfitzinger | United States | 2:13:29 | Maria Trujillo | United States | 2:37:58 | |
| July 21, 1985 | Ric Sayre | United States | 2:15:07 | Kersti Jakobsen | Denmark | 2:38:04 | |
| August 19, 1984 | Simeon Kigen | Kenya | 2:10:18 | Katy Laetsch | United States | 2:35:56 | |
| July 24, 1983 | Pete Pfitzinger | United States | 2:14:45 | Janis Klecker | United States | 2:35:44 | 7,231 |
| July 11, 1982 | Miguel Tibaduiza | Colombia | 2:14:32 | Nancy Ditz | United States | 2:44:05 | |
| July 12, 1981 | Harold Schulz | United States | 2:15:17 | Laurie Binder | United States | 2:38:04 | |
| July 13, 1980 | Antonio Ramirez | United States | 2:18:15 | Joann Dahlkoetter | United States | 2:43:20 | |
| July 8, 1979 | John Moreno | United States | 2:18:54 | Carol Young | United States | 2:49:46 | |
| July 9, 1978 | Steven Palladino | United States | 2:21:15 | Sue Petersen | United States | 2:50:15 | |
| July 10, 1977 | Athol Barton | New Zealand | 2:24:59 | Tena Harms | United States | 2:53:20 | |
* CR = course record since the addition of the Golden Gate Bridge out and back
Countries Winners Represented :
| Country | Male | Female | Total |
| United States | 26 | 36 | 62 |
| Kenya | 4 | 1 | 5 |
| Mexico | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Algeria | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Colombia | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Denmark | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| France | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Hungary | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Japan | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Kyrgyzstan | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Lesotho | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Lithuania | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Morocco | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| New Zealand | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Poland | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Turkey | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Russia | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Authorised Neutral Athletes | 0 | 1 | 1 |
NOTE: Due to World Athletics policies, the 2019 win by Zarina is legally listed as an Authorised Neutral Athlete because of policies related to Doping in Russia.