The first San Francisco Marathon was organized by the Pamakids Runners Club. Athol Barton, a taxicab driver from Reno, Nevada, won the inaugural on July 10, 1977 in a time of 2:24:59. Fewer than 900 ran this inaugural race. The event's all-time record for marathon finishers came in 1983 with 7,231. 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 WorldcolumnistBart Yasso. In 2005, 356 of the 4,873 finishers qualified for Boston. 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. When Pete Pfitzinger won in 1986, he earned $5,000 and a new car. Although many top runners were attracted to the $35,000 purse that was offered in 1998, 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 edition of the race was postponed to 2020.11.15 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Course
The current marathon course forms a loop that starts and finishes on the Embarcadero near the Ferry Building. The course runs past many notable landmarks in San Francisco including Fisherman's Wharf, Aquatic Park, the Golden Gate Bridge, Golden Gate Park, and AT&T Park. 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. Previous routes have taken the marathon along the Great Highway. In 2002, the start/finish at Golden Gate Park was moved to the Embarcadero.
