San Francisco Half Marathon, 10K & 5K

If you’ve ever traveled to San Francisco and driven through or just walked past the gorgeous landscape that is Golden Gate Park, then you know why Runner’s World magazine ranked San Francisco’s Kaiser Permanente Half Marathon & 5K one of the country’s most scenic half marathon races. From the long, expansive meadows on the eastern end of the park to the beachfront areas along its coastline areas, Golden Gate Park is one of those can’t-miss San Francisco places to see, and forms a gorgeous backdrop for the race. Runners start the half marathon within the park on Strawberry Hill near John F. Kennedy Drive & Stow Lake Drive, just a block or so down from Park Presidio Boulevard. From there, the out-and-back course for the race takes runners eastward toward the edge of the park along Kennedy Drive, and then outside the park through the adjoining neighborhoods for a quick out-and-back along Fell Street, with a turn on Baker and then Oak Street back toward the park. After re-entering the park on Stanyan Street, runners then proceed west along Kezar Drive for a brief stretch before turning onto Bowling Green Drive, then Middle Drive and then South Drive before joining back up with Kennedy Drive along Teagarden. Through the park, the course is paved and mostly flat and fast, and once runners make it back onto Kennedy Drive, they follow a long stretch along this same road, all the way to the beachfront areas of the park along the Upper Great Highway.