[ SF Run - The Tour ]  Lately the race has been on my mind, more importantly the course itself. Getting nervous, I am.

I found a video of the course. This is the course I'll be running in San Francisco for my very first marathon.

Here are a couple excerpts from the race FAQ;

The course is an exciting tour of San Francisco. It takes you through the most famous, scenic, and exciting parts of our great city. You start at the Ferry Building running along the waterfront of The Embarcadero. From The Embarcadero you can see famous sites like Coit Tower, Alcatraz Island, Treasure Island, The Bay Bridge, The Golden Gate Bridge, and so much more. You run through the heart of Fisherman’s Wharf, past Fort Mason and through the Presidio. You will tour over the Golden Gate Bridge, running along the roadbed, and back onto the Cliffs over the Pacific Ocean. You run past Baker Beach with gorgeous ocean side views, and in through the Richmond District. You will tour through Golden Gate Park, seeing everything from Buffalo, to the Japanese Tea Gardens, Spreckel’s Lake, Stow Lake and its breath taking waterfalls, past the Conservatory of Flowers, and come up into the infamous Haight-Ashbury District. You will run right down (not up!) Haight St. and find out what brought the flower children flocking to its cool, calm, mystical neighborhood. It’s a fun and funky part of the course that will leave you ready to rock the finish! You then cross Market St., an SF lifeline, which brings you into the Mission. You’ll run just blocks from old Mission Dolores and hear the church bells ringing on the hour. After touring through the Mission, one of SF’s most up and coming neighborhoods, you will run through the newest addition to SF, Mission Bay. Enjoy views of the bay and see some of SF’s more industrial side. After a quick jog through Mission Bay you will run right past SBC Park where the Giants play! After whizzing by SBC Park, your tour is almost complete. You will then finish by running between the palm trees of The Embarcadero...

The San Francisco Marathon course is moderately difficult. Surprising but yes, we do have a lot of flat areas on our course. Along the Embarcadero, through Mission Bay and the Mission District, as well as other marathon course areas, it remains nearly flat. We have stuck to the waterfront to avoid most hills and stayed clear of areas like, Lombard St. (site of the curviest street), and Broadway to reduce elevation changes. The biggest hill you will encounter is about a 200’ climb, that takes place over 6/10 of a mile. There are three short, fairly steep hills (1/10 of a mile and a 48’ climb at Mile 2.5, or 1/10 of a mile 25’ climb, at miles 22 and 23) and there are some gradual hills (Golden Gate Park- 2 miles of 200’ incline and decline). Since our course is a loop course, you have to remember that what goes up, also comes down.