Сан-Франциско марафоны: 1977 жылдан бергі жылдық жарыс

Annual race in the United States held since 1977

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.

The first San Francisco Marathon was organized by the Pamakids Runners Club. Athol Barton, a taxicab driver who at the time lived in Reno, Nevada won the inaugural on July 10, 1977 in a time of 2:24:59. Athol was born in Aotearoa, New Zealand and was of NZ Maori and Scottish descent. Fewer than 900 ran this inaugural race. 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. 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. 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.

The current marathon course forms a loop that starts and finishes on the Embarcadero near the Ferry Building. 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. 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.