San Francisco Marathon 2021: Route, Course Map, Times, Road Closures and Details

Jeff Chiu/Associated Press

After the 2020 San Francisco Marathon was canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic, things are back to normal in 2021. Well, closer to normal.

There will be an organized marathon taking place, although it’s a bit later than usual. Normally, the San Francisco Marathon is held in July, but this year’s race was pushed back to September. And not everybody will be running the marathon course, as there is a virtual option for participants.

Also, there will be some areas of the course that will require runners to wear masks because of COVID-19 restrictions on property owned by national parks, which will be marked with signs.

Still, the San Francisco Marathon is back, and that’s better than not having it at all. And it should be a fun and exciting weekend for those who are running and for the spectators who go to cheer them on.

Here’s everything you need to know about this year’s marathon weekend.

2021 San Francisco Marathon Information

When: Sunday, Sept. 19

Start Time: 5:40 a.m. PT

Starting location: The waterfront at Mission Street and The Embarcadero

Course maps: Available on TheSFMarathon.com

While not all participating runners will be going through the streets of San Francisco at the same time on Sunday morning, there will be enough for the event to cause some road closures in the city. The marathon has also put together some suggested detours to help those driving around San Francisco that day.

All of that information can be found at the marathon’s official website.

While the full marathon is the main attraction and will be taking place early Sunday morning, there are plenty of other races and events taking place this weekend. And the festivities will actually get underway Saturday.

There will be a 5K fun run taking place Saturday morning at 9 a.m. PT. The 3.1-mile race takes place within the Presidio and will feature plenty of great sights, including the bay, Alcatraz Island and the Golden Gate Bridge. For those looking to do a shorter race, this is always a fun event.

Everything else will be taking place Sunday. After the full marathon gets underway, there will also be two half marathons, a 10K and a 5K. This gives people of various skill levels the opportunity to get involved in the event and take in everything San Francisco has to offer while on a run.

For those signing up for a virtual race, it can be completed any time between Friday at noon PT and Monday at noon PT. Participants will download the Virtual San Francisco Marathon app to participate.

Those who run the virtual race can then use the app to see how they stack up against other participants.

At the conclusion of the races, there will be some more noticeable differences. There won’t be a beer garden or sponsor activities, and results will only be available online. According to the event’s website, the post-race festival will be “limited to essential elements only: finish chute, medical support, pickup of challenge medals, shirt exchange and race day information.”

The San Francisco Marathon has a long history, as the event was first held in 1977. The course has undergone changes over the years, with the most notable coming in 2002, when the full marathon added a run across the Golden Gate Bridge to the course route.

Since then, the men’s record belongs to Francois Lhuissier of France (2 hours, 25 minutes and 15 seconds) and the women’s mark is owned by Anna Bretan of the United States (2:42:26), both of whom set their records in 2013.

Don’t get too used to the San Francisco Marathon taking place in September, though, as next year’s race has already been announced for July 24, 2022.