The Santa Rosa Marathon is a well organized event. The swag is always fantastic and includes a finisher jacket and bottle of wine! The course support is great and the spectators are wonderful. The full marathon course goes through the De Loach vineyard and barrel tasting room which is amazing, and there are plenty of miles with beautiful grapevines along the road. I have done both the half marathon and full marathon distances and they are both great, but if you can do the full, do it as it is fast, flat and scenic.

This has got to be one of my favorite races ever. The course is amazingly beautiful -- starting at Crissy Field and going up through the Presidio and across the Golden Gate Bridge and back. This is a relatively small race and has a small town feel about it. The finish line is AMAZING and the festival includes a pancake breakfast, beer and a Bloody Mary Bar! What more could you want after running 10 miles than to bask in the sunshine with views of the Golden Gate while sipping a Bloody Mary?

The KP San Francisco Half Marathon is always a great way to start the day on Super Bowl Sunday. The course in Golden Gate Park is beautiful and basically flat. The stretch on the Great Highway can be great, or it can be difficult if the weather isn't cooperating. But I'm lucky that it is usually sunny when I've run this race and I always have a great time.