The Surgical Artistry Marathon takes place in central Modesto. This year is my first time here and am doing the Half after Running Livermore Half the day before. There are 3 distances available: Marathon, Half Marathon and 5k. This year also see's the addition of the Half Marathon relay. Sign up: Super easy. It stated that the first 3,000 people to sign up for the Full and Half get extra goodies: Running sleeves, bottle of Wine and recovery jacket but in the final emails leading up to the day it appears everybody gets them. Score! I believe I was one of the first 500 to sign up anyhow. Bib pick up: At the expo the day before. Things seemed a little disorganized to start but I got what I needed. They had ran out of XS Arm sleeves so I'm having to get them mailed to me therefore won't have them to wear on the day. T-shirts are nice and colored depending on your distance. I also managed to get an XS! Yay. This wasn't an option on the website but they had some made up. The goodie bag contained some cool samples including KT Tape! Something every Runner needs at some point. The bottle of wine is also pretty cool. Saving that to have with some "recovery" Steak. The Course: Somewhat scenic and flat for the most part with a couple of little inclines. I love incline Running so those we not a problem but that 0.25 decline at mile 11 was killer!! Lot's of aid stations filled with water and electrolyte drinks. The course for me I found to be pretty boring, as there was nothing but road running and all you could see for miles ahead was road. A trail Runners nightmare!! The Half Marathon markings could have been a little better as I didn't see anything for quite some time and spent 6 miles of Running thinking that I was Running the Full (Epic fail) Volunteers: Very encouraging and great at keeping the Water available for Runners as we passed the stations which was great. Post Run: Lot's of drinks and snacks foods - Water, Sports drink, Coffee, Hot Chocolate, Coconut Water, Chocolate Milk, Banana's, Chips, Candies, Granola Bars and we were also given a coupon for both a free Beer and Wine which I didn't use. Food trucks were also on site as well as live Bands, Massage area and merchandise vendors. Being the second Half Marathon I done in one weekend I probably didn't get the full enjoyment out of this event as I would have done I just done the one but it was definitely a great event. Pretty much ran as it should and I love that you also get free pictures which you can download. I would consider doing the event again. read more

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I did the half marathon for the first time here in 2019. Nice flat course for the most part (a side from "mt. Modesto" which goes up 9th street to briggsmore overpass. Starts very early but it worked out good because weather was perfect. Draws a good crowd and lots of good people. Parking is confusing bc street closures but they do provide maps on website so just study that well ahead of time. The pot holes on the country road were an extra obstacle (I have no idea how people with strollers navigated these). Seeing the cows at mile 10 at MJC was an awesome experience. I would do this race again for sure. read more

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+++review #2000+++ ***4.5 stars*** nearly 4 yrs ago, i wrote review #1000, which was an extra special review for a local business/event, that holds special meaning in my life. today, i get to pen my review for something that actually tops that one... exactly 1 month ago, on march 11, 2018, i ran the modesto marathon, and not only ran a personal best marathon time, 3:34:00, but ended up qualifying for the boston marathon next year (boston 2019)! after the months of hard training & early morning wake up calls, running in the cold, heat, wind, rain, on pavement, on gravel, in mud (when it rained), all of my efforts paid off in modesto. note that the modesto marathon isn't just a marathon, it offers several distances, something for everyone: 1. full marathon 2. half marathon 3. half marathon relay 4. 5k what i liked about this race: -reasonable race entry fee, i paid $112 (incl. taxes) for the full marathon, and this was just 11 days before race day (late entry fee) -pre race expo the day before, allowing runners to pick up their bibs, shirts, etc and figure out where to eat pre-race & post-race meals -weather was perfect, about 43 & foggy at the start, no wind, and somewhere in the mid 50s & sunny when i finished (much warmer for others who finished later) -dedicated pacers for most boston qualifying times (marathon), and common goal times (half marathon) -mid-sized event, with ~600 marathoners & ~1200 half marathoners toeing the start line together -course was pancake flat, with just 1 uphill & downhill ramp (which we had to cross twice, near mile 4 and again at mile 24) -very accurate distance, according to my garmin, i ran 26.26mi which is pretty much spot on for the official marathon distance -plenty of aid stations along the way -friendly volunteers -quite a few cheer stations, folks dressed up in costume, spectators cheering their loved ones, and even farmers who came out and shook their cow bells at us! -a bright red, technical fiber short-sleeve t and a black fleece-lined zip hoodie -the finisher medal was about 5 1/2" long, which was the largest medal i'd ever received for completing a race! -for those who bq'd (qualified for boston), we earned a fluorescent yellow tshirt with "I BQ'd at the Modesto Marathon" on the back and a bumper sticker -since i placed 2nd in my age group, i was also awarded an insulated coffee cup...this was a complete surprise since i never expected to place at a large event! what i did not like about this race: -the course was not very scenic, and near the turnaround point (mile 14), it was actually quite boring, just looking at farm after farm -would have liked more music along the course, especially after the full & half marathon split and the course emptied out a bit...there were a couple of music stations, but not many, and i would only hear the music for 5-10 seconds at a time -average post-race food spread. i saw only some bars, mini-boxes of raisins, chocolate milk, clementines, and water (which was given out right after the finish arch). would have liked some heavier carbs, especially for the full marathon finishers...maybe bagels and bananas? -there was electrolyte fluid (powerade/gatorade) available at the medical tent, which was inside and shaded, but i didn't see any electrolytes at the finisher food area...this would have been helpful especially given the rising temps and hot sun despite the minor shortcomings, i really enjoyed this event, and it will always hold a special place in my heart and my running career b/c i will remember modesto as the place where i qualified for the boston marathon, also known as the holy grail of marathons, the biggest/grandest of the world major marathons. if you're looking for a race to run a personal best or qualify for boston, look no further....sign up for the modesto marathon! 2019 is their 10yr anniversary which is sure to be the best yet! read more

Modesto Marathon - marathon medal, hoodie, ag coffee cup, race tee, full marathon bib, and bq shirt - Gas Stations Near Me - Modesto, California

The people organizing this run are very nice and the volunteers were great. So why am I giving this marathon 1 star?? Well, the course is horrible. The first three miles are fine running through neighborhoods with interesting homes. However, the next 23 miles are FLAT and never ending and hot and with very little shade. You can see straight ahead the long hot run and it is mind blowing boring. Just long stretches of hot flat streets with nothing interesting to get your mind off of the long, hot, boring run ahead of you. After a while I just stopped running and questioned why I was even doing this run. I have run for 44 years and am an experienced long distance runner so have done my share of long runs. This run was the first run that made me question why I even like running! It was just that boring!! read more