The flat and fast course runs through downtown Santa Rosa and along the Santa Rosa Creek Trail and Prince Memorial Greenway. The marathon course also extends into west Sonoma County passing by scenic vineyards and even running through the barrel room of DeLoach Vineyards!
If temperatures stay lower than normal for this summer event, the Santa Rosa Marathon course will give up many PRs and Boston Qualifying times (BQs).
The Santa Rosa Marathon was the 71st largest marathon in the U.S. last year and was the 76th largest in 2023.
Last year 20.1% of finishers qualified for the Boston Marathon and 22.1% of runners qualified for Boston in 2023.
This gives the Santa Rosa Marathon the 53rd highest percentage of Boston Marathon qualifiers in the U.S. last year and the 41st highest percentage in 2023.
Its Course Score of 99.16 ranks it as the 171st fastest marathon course in the U.S. and the 13th fastest course in California.
The typical race time temperature and humidity levels are slightly above the ideal range for optimal marathon performance. This, coupled with the Course Score, gives the Santa Rosa Marathon a PR Score of 98.47. This PR Score ranks it as the 219th fastest marathon in the U.S. and the 17th fastest in California.
Learn more about PR Scores and Course Scores on the FAQ page.
Santa Rosa Marathon Elevation Chart
Max Elevation: 174 feet (53m) Min Elevation: 69 feet (21m)
Race starts at 6:30 and I drove up from Menlo Park at 4. Very doable day of race from anywhere in Bay Area provided you have bib mailed to you ahead of time.
Bryan's review of 2021 Santa Rosa Marathon.
4 /
5 Stars
Review
I can't speak for those looking at qualifying for Boston, but I had a great experience. The volunteers were good about saying what they had this year and the course was well marked. I was running in the 3:55 group and at every turn they had someone directing racers so they didn't miss the turns. I hope this happened for the earlier racers too, but I can't speak for them. My pacer was dead on in his time (15 seconds ahead), and told me to go ahead because he saw that I had the energy to go ahead. This was my first marathon and I finished in 3:51:53. I will definitely be back and hope to run in a faster pacing group next time.
Race Tips
There are 2 points where you are running on gravel roads. One is the winery and one is a loop before that. The road also has some noticable hills. they are very short, but they are fairly steep.
Didn't like lack of organization. Lack of resources from porta potties to knowledgeable people shows. They got my chip time wrong, which probably not their fault but had no real interest in helping me fix. In the end didn't matter since I had already BQ.
Race Tips
Some parts of the course around park / bike path b came tight hard to get around people causing a waste of valuable energy towards the end of race.
4 Stars from 10 Reviews
