Morgan Hill Marathon & Half

I just ran the half marathon on October 25^th. It was a great experience for a beginner runner like myself. Such beautiful course, very well organized, there were lots of AIDS stations which I liked a lot. The hills were not so bad either. The views made it all worth it.
I love the t-​shirt and medal!!!

I ran the Morgan Hill Marathon with my friend in Oct 2015. The first half is really scenic with rolling hills. The grade ranges from 2−4%. As per the 2015 map located at
(video preview at
), there are uphills at mile 3, mile 6, miles 9 – 12 and miles 14 – 15. There is a steep downhill (grade 5−10%) at miles 15 – 16 (save your knees). The downhill section took a lot out of me and made miles 17 – 26 really hard.
The race was very well organized, lots of aid stations and fantastic support/​cheering from the locals. I highly recommend this Marathon to anyone thinking of running one in the Bay Area.
Warning: Make sure you train for the hills or on the treadmill with 2−4% grade inline.
Hotel Stay: I stayed at the Hampton Inn, Morgan Hill since the sponsor accommodations were full. 5 stars for the hotel too.

Course description:
The Morgan Hill Half Marathon is a loop course that starts and ends in the Morgan Hill, CA Centennial Center. The course takes the racer from city streets, through country roads, and back to city streets. The country roads go past horse corrals and vineyards, through scenic hills, and past a lake west of Morgan Hill. The Marathon course is a similar, but larger, loop. While not as challenging as many hill trail races, there are hills. And they are not trivial. An under-​prepared racer could get their tail kicked by this race! I’d say the degree of challenge of this race is similar to or a little greater than that of the Jungle Run, (also organized by First Wave Events). All in all, while not spectacular, much of the country roads part of the course is beautiful. And the city streets are residential, visually more pleasant than business or industrial.
Organization & Production:
The organization of this race, from online registration through the finish area activities and goodies — and everything in between — was excellent. Particularly noticeable to me was the course management — the aid stations (basic, but well-​stocked, and the volunteers were friendly and encouraging), course monitors, and availability of assistance. There was a hikers start — which I took advantage of — a half hour before the regular marathon and half marathon start. I did not see any of the shortcomings in this race that I had seen in the Jungle Run. Vendors were still all present and busy when I finished (there being a marathon, with many runners not yet finished, could have been part of the reason for this). Similarly, there was ample food in the finish area, but I didn’t stay long enough to see how things were for late finishers of the marathon. The race T-​shirt was given out the day before, at packet pick-​up, avoiding the potential problem handing out T-​shirts at the finish creates for late finishers — running out of popular sizes before everyone who wants one has finished (see below). The 2014 Morgan Hill Half Marathon was an all-​around well done race.
Swag & Goodies:
The race T-​shirt is simple, but VERY nice, and the finishers’ medal is of excellent quality. 2014 was the 5^th running of the Morgan Hill Marathon and Half Marathon, and the T-​shirt and medal both commemorated this. Other than noticing that food was plentiful, I didn’t notice what was available. I do remember seeing bottles of water and sports drinks in tubs of ice water near the finish. I was a bit more focused on not throwing up (I know, charming).
My Results & Opinion of the Race:
Cutting to the chase (race?) … well, it’s not as simple as it was when I first wrote and posted this review. I was planning to do the Morgan Hill Half Marathon again in 2015 as part of the Bay Area Running Series (doing 3 of the 4 races in the series earns a special medal). On its own merits, this race is well done and very nice, worth doing again. Three factors have come together to change my plans for 2015 and the foreseeable future.
The 3 races I planned to do in the series are the Jungle Run (in Los Gatos, which I did in 2014), the Santa Cruz Half Marathon, and the Morgan Hill Half Marathon. At the 2014 Jungle Run, I experienced the «potential» problem with handing out race T-​shirts to runners as they finish. They were down to one T-​shirt in my size, with probably another 10 – 15 runners yet to finish. I chose to receive the next size larger, of which they had several, which worked fine. At the SCHM they were out of my size; they were out of the next size larger; I took one of the next size smaller, which does not fit due to my shoulder breadth and torso length. After that I was still going to do the series races I had planned on, but then my last straw came.
The 2015 Jungle Run — for which I was already registered — was canceled. The venue for the start/​finish area fell through, and First Wave said they were unable to find another suitable venue. They sent the cancellation notice just 40 days before race day, after most alternatives (not a lot, in July) had already raised their registration fees above their early-​registration prices. The 4^th race in the series would work poorly for me — farther from my home than any race I’ve done to date (I’m writing this in late June, 2015), and a point-​to-​point course (making race day even longer in duration).
I’m not going to go for the Series medal, not doing the 2015 MHHM. And, «fair» or not, I will not do First Wave Events-​organized races for at least a couple of years. I’m sure First Wave could tighten up their organizing (assuming they recognize their issues and choose to improve), But there are many good organizers and well-​run events in the SF Bay Area. I choose to reward their fine organization work by giving them my business.

My experience was consistent with those of others. I really enjoyed the course. It was very scenic and the elevation changes were just perfect. Reviews, such as this one, may impact the number of runners, but the number of participants was also just right. Finally, a very well organized race, sufficient porta-​potties, close and sufficient parking, and quick results which were easy to access with the computers that were provided. I’ll be back!

Love this event. Very well organized, beautiful course. I’ve run it since year 2 & it gets better every year!

I chose to do this race as it was close to home and it was on the anniversary of my moms death. I was so happy to running this race. It was a little chilly, but I was good set and ready to run. The expo was small but quaint. The runners were awesome and welcoming. Everyone was talking to each other before the race. The overall environment was amazing. So why the ONE star? As I started my run, all I could think about was how proud I was going to make my mom. I knew I was going to push myself and PR and she was going to be looking down upon me and smile. About .25 miles away from the first aid station I tripped and twisted my ankle. I ran to the aid station in tears as I was unable to continue. I asked if I could still get my medal as I was returned to the beginning. I was told that I would receive my medal once everything was set up as the finish line wasn’t set up yet. I was in too much pain to wait and figured I’d go to urgent care and have my ankle checked out. I was told my medal would be mailed to me. All these months later and guess what? No medal. I even was returning emails to the race people and was told my medal would be mailed it. Still haven’t received it.

Stats:
–About 2200 participants (half+full)
–About 350ft elevation gain (half marathon)
–8 aid stations (half marathon) with water, gatorade and GU
–Start time 7:30am on a Sunday
What I liked:
–Beautiful course
–350ft sounds scary, but was very doable, it’s a gradual climb for 6 miles, steep downhill for 1, then pretty flat the rest of the way
–less participant means less traffic, parking was a breeze
–everyone crossed the starting line within 5 minutes, no waves to worry about
–Pace required to finish the half was 30min/​mile. This welcomes walkers/​hikers
–Finish area had plenty of bananas and food stands
–Cheap registration. $ 55 for the half, but I got a LivingSocial deal for $ 30.
–Bib pick up at Sports Basement in Sunnyvale. Very convenient.
Things to improve upon:
–According to the course map, 3 of the aid stations had GU. None carried GU when I passed by. The first sign of food was at Mile 10 with an open bag of pretzels. I luckily carried 1 GU with me which saved my life during my 2:40 journey. My friend, whom finished in 1:35 said 1 station (not 3) had GU when he ran by. Perhaps they ran out? If they ran out for us half marathoners, then there’s nothing left for the full marathoners, which made me feel glad I didn’t signed up for the full.
–For some reason, the finished grass area (where they had the food stands, result checks, stage, seats, bags check) was very wet and muddy. My feet kept sinking into the mud and I had to constantly lift my legs to walk around. Definitely not very comfortable after running 13 miles.
–The tech shirts were unisex, the XS was a little big on me.
Will I run it again?
Not anytime soon. I did have another opportunity to sign up for the 2012 for half off but didn’t take advantage of it. I live in Dublin and it was a bit of a drive for me. Although I had a good experience at this event, I rather explore other runs in the bay area before coming back to this. I do recommend everyone to run this event at least once though!

I only heard about this race because of a $ 35 livingsocial or groupon deal. I forget which one, but after I registered, I shared the link in hopes that two friends would buy using my link to make my registration free. It worked. I got free registration and a shirt and a bag.
This is the first time running this race so I didn’t know what to expect.
Paced with a group of friends. Two of our group had to port-​a-​potty break so I waited around for them, costing us at least 5 minutes. The uphill was not bad at all, and it seemed that there was more downhill than uphill. It’s all road surface.
I had to port-​a-​potty break around mile 10, but told the group to carryon. I caught back up to them fast, we caught up to the other 2 people from our group and passed them and 3 of us crossed together with the rest of the group not far behind.
The volunteers handing out water were very encouraging and cheerful.
I saw one lady with a dried shart on her inner thighs.
This race, if the course remains the same, could possibly be an easy course for a PR.
They had plenty of FRS, special MIcronutrient water, and Low-​Cal Iced Teas at the finish, along with water-​soaked imitation Sham-​Wows to wipe down. Not even SJ Rock N’ Roll has their towels anymore. Hopefully they keep this up for next year.

My husband and I had a great time despite the horrible blisters on my feet after I finished. (And I only ran the half). The course for this race is awesome. Beautiful scenery, great course, not a lot of hills. The place was also one of the most organized I’ve been too (granted I’ve only been to a few). But there was no lack of gatorade, water and they even had energy packs for the runners towards the end of the race. I liked the early start time, but agree that 7:00 am would have been even better. The heat was not an issue for me because I ran the half. Parking was easy, registration was easy and Morgan Hill is bursting out of the seams with cheap hotels, so it was super easy to find a place to stay overnight.
This would be high on my list for a repeat race.

This was one tough marathon, but I was able to finish this race! I thought the producers did a great job hosting this race. The overall experience was a lot better than the NorCal Marathon/​Half Marathon. The weather was horrendous in the 80s, but Mother Nature is in control of that.
Course: The 7:30am start time was nice, but I feel like the race could have been earlier. Maybe a 6:45am or 7am start time would be better, especially for the marathon runners.
I liked the course and had nice views of Morgan Hill. Who knew how large the houses are in Morgan Hill? In addition, I didn’t realize how hilly it would be! My legs definitely took a beating with the hills. It was nice that there were shaded areas along the course, especially to relieve the runners from the heat. The run from miles 20 – 24 was too long. I didn’t like running in a square especially since there wasn’t much to see.
Communication: We received lots of emails with updates to the race. In addition, the Facebook page was helpful. Most of the answers were within the athlete’s guide.
Water Station & Volunteers: Great volunteers! They were very supportive and cheering everyone! Every 2 miles had a water station, so there was plenty available. One of the complains that I had was that there were supposed to be Gu at every couple stations. However, I only got 1 Gu at mile 18. By that time, i was so delirious that I was so happy to get one. Next year, please stock up with double the amount of Gu.
After Race Expo: I didn’t go to the Expo to pick up my bib, but the post race expo was good. I liked the wet towels, FRS, teas, and cold water bottles. In addition, you could get burritos from Super Taqueria. The burritos were much tastier than what was supplied at NorCal Marathon/​Half Marathon. You could also get your medals engraved.
Swag: The medals are so awesome! Love the design. I also got the CA Marathon Series dual medal finisher which was a nice treat. The technical t-​shirts were good, but the race needs to have women and men specific sizes. I don’t like how there are unisex sizes since the sleeve lengths are too long.
Price: Very reasonable price for a race. Full marathon was $ 75, but we paid $ 35 due to a Livingsocial deal.

I ran the half this year and it was a great event. I thought it was really really well organized. Parking was the easiest of any race I have ever been to. They had a bag check which was really helpful. Even their event website was great. We picked up our packets Saturday afternoon and it was very smooth and easy. I loved one of the restaurants they recommended for pasta dinner the night before (Maurizios), they had GREAT pasta dinner. The town itself isn’t exactly a place I would love to go back and spend time in, (no offense Morgan Hill), but it was a very pretty, scenic course. I was also really impressed with the post race festival– again really well organize, great snacks and drinks.
SVEndurance also did a great job with the results and timing.
Overall it was a great experience and I would recommend it to someone else.

Fantastic marathon — if you’re into marathons you can’t miss this one.
What makes the Morgan Hill Marathon worth doing? Three things: the people, the route, and the superb organization. Let me break it down.
The PEOPLE: This is the friendliest, nicest race event I’ve ever been in. The volunteers were uniformly supportive, friendly, and so welcoming. When you think about the fact that there were 2,000 runners in the race this year (the 2^nd), and I was towards the back of the marathon pack, they must’ve been tired from cheering everyone one, but they weren’t — they were enthusiastic and supportive. It seemed they were having a good time too.
And it really, really helps when you’re on your 23^rd mile, you’re all hot and sweaty, with sunscreen all gloppy on you from reapplying it, and a volunteer says, «You’re looking good! Keep it up!» How could I not keep going to the finish line?
There was one volunteer/​supporter toward the end that held a sign that said, «IF IT WERE EASY, I’D BE DOING IT,» which gave me a surprise laugh when I needed it most.
Morgan Hill is a very welcoming city.
ORGANIZATION:
Extremely well thought-​out and executed organization. The Expo was fast and easy. The pre-​race announcer was personable and one of the better ones I’ve heard.
I liked the innovative «foam» timer rectangle that was attached to the back of our bibs — we checked it at the Expo and it was so sensitive all we had to do was walk *near* the device and our names showed up on the computer. The timers, bibs, and other associated parts were handled by South Valley Endurance and I was impressed with the technology and organization.
During the race, the water aid stations were at every 2 miles, a very welcome interval, and they were well-​staffed. It heated up towards the end of the race and more than one volunteer suggested maybe pouring the water over myself, as well as rehydrating, and this was a good prompt for me to do so (it felt terrific!).
I also saw a convertible driving around slowly and cautiously to check on each water station to see if they needed more supplies (this was in the hills). What a good idea.
The volunteers were fantastic and set a great tone for the Marathon!
The ROUTE:
The Morgan Hill Marathon has a very lovely route, you need to experience this if you enjoy nature runs. While the emphasis is nature, you do get a little bit of everything: running through hills, past horse farms and cattle, some ranches, dams, suburban houses, a few grand houses (there was one particularly grand house at the top of a hill that reminded me of Xanadu from «Citizen Kane»), downtown parts, and even the Morgan Hill public library.
Be forewarned: the square at Miles 20, 21, and 22 are enormously taxing — it becomes a real mental game at that point, at least for me. I was really glad to move out of the square and towards the end of the route. When you conquer the square, you’ll feel great!
The people of the city and volunteers were especially encouraging towards the last few miles of the marathon, and that’s right when you need it the most. I’ll never forget a suburban mom who came out to cheer me (and others) somewhere around Mile 25 or 26, with her kid in front of her Halloween-​decorated house (I assume): «You’re almost there! Straight down and around the corner!» I don’t know why these small moments are important, but they are.
Do the Morgan Hill Marathon for the fantastic route and beautiful scenery, but mostly do it because THE PEOPLE ARE SO NICE IN MORGAN HILL.
And the medals are really beautiful.

A really great event! I ran the half this year, and I was really impressed by the following:
– the event was really well organized. There’s a ton of information available on their website (and they didn’t send a ton of spam before the race), packet pickup went smoothly, there was plenty of parking and informed volunteers, and they started on time!
– as others mentioned, beautiful course with supportive spectators.
– it was cheap! I think if you register early, the full was only $ 60… They didn’t skimp on the swag either (a reusable cinch sack, a technical tee, and a really nice medal)!
Would do it again!

What a great event! Thank you to SV Endurance for putting on such a terrific run! Beautiful course, very well organized & supported. WONDERFUL volunteers! GREAT to have such an event in our hometown! Thank you!

Great event! I was so pleased with the organization of this race. Beautiful course, great expo, excellent aid stations, lots of encouragement. The relay option was awesome and allowed my friends and I to participate even though we weren’t able to train for the half or full this year. Will definitely do it again.

I totally enjoyed the event — scenic course, great organization, cheering crowd and support throughout the course, and above all wonderful people. I highly recommend this to all those you want to have a great experience. I’ll make sure to be there next year as well.

WOW! This was a top shelf event. The course is as beautiful as you can get. Plenty of fall colors, open farm land, greening hills, pristine reservoirs and enthusiastic volunteers. What a pleasant change from the sanitary and all too slick (Rock-​n-​Roll, what city am I in?) corporate managed races that seam to be clogging the race calendars these days. I hope we see more events like this one in the future.
SVE rocks!

This race was very well organized. Sold out event in year 1 as well. Very Impressive. Greg, Debbie and Elliott at
were awesome to work with. My non-​profit
attended and we collected alot shoes we’ll be giving to people in San Jose. I didn’t get to run, but next year, I definitely will. I heard the course was really nice.

This was a wonderful run complemented by cheerful and helpful volunteers. The announcer at the finish line had me laughing as I ran through the chute. The scenery was beautiful and I especially enjoyed running by several curious horses, dogs, sheep, goats and an occasional cat. I will return next year!

My cousin and I were volunteers and we had a great time. It was cold and raining, but it was worth being part of such a wonderful event that clearly had organizers who put forth so much time and dedication.
Count us in for the second annual MH Marathon! :)