San Francisco Marathon course & pace calculator
From the Embarcadero along the bay, across the Golden Gate Bridge and back, then through the Presidio and Golden Gate Park before returning to the waterfront. One of the hilliest big-city marathons. This profile uses a third-party GPX for the 2026 edition.
- Climb
- 370 m
- Descent
- 370 m
- Low – high
- 3 m – 88 m
- Terrain at 3:00
- +3:38
- Typical start
- 14°C
- Sub-3 needs
- 2:55:35 flat
Course time calculator
Type h:mm:ss or use the step buttons.
14°C at your start → 16°C at the finish · dew point 11°C
Heat is scored with shade WBGT from temperature and humidity, starting to cost time above about 15°C (59°F) WBGT. Slower runners lose more because they are out longer. Wind, sun and rain are not modelled.
Certified distance only. Switch on to count the metres lost to corners, crowds and aid stations.
Same effort all the way: slower up the climbs, faster down the descents.
- Flat course
- 2:55:35
- Terrain
- +3:32
- Weather
- +0:53
- San Francisco finish
- 3:00:00
Average 4:16 /km on course · 4:10 /km flat
Elevation profile
370 m up, 370 m down. Hover or tap the chart for the grade and your clock time at any point.
- Climb 2%+
- Climb 0.8–2%
- Flat
- Descent 0.8–2%
- Descent 2%+
- 1The Embarcadero · 0.0 km
- 2The Embarcadero finish · 42.2 km
Course splits for 3:00:00
Even-effort splits with the selected weather. Climbing and descent are per split, from the smoothed profile.
| Split | Pace | Split time | Clock | Up / down |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 km | 4:11 | 4:11 | 4:11 | +0 m / −0 m |
| 2 km | 4:11 | 4:11 | 8:22 | +1 m / −0 m |
| 3 km | 4:11 | 4:11 | 12:33 | +0 m / −0 m |
| 4 km | 4:27 | 4:27 | 17:00 | +19 m / −1 m |
| 5 km | 4:04 | 4:04 | 21:04 | +0 m / −19 m |
| 6 km | 4:11 | 4:11 | 25:15 | +1 m / −0 m |
| 7 km | 4:11 | 4:11 | 29:26 | +0 m / −0 m |
| 8 km | 4:11 | 4:11 | 33:37 | +0 m / −1 m |
| 9 km | 4:18 | 4:18 | 37:54 | +12 m / −5 m |
| 10 km | 4:41 | 4:41 | 42:36 | +33 m / −3 m |
| 11 km | 4:21 | 4:21 | 46:57 | +13 m / −3 m |
| 12 km | 4:08 | 4:08 | 51:05 | +0 m / −5 m |
| 13 km | 4:29 | 4:29 | 55:35 | +20 m / −4 m |
| 14 km | 4:29 | 4:29 | 1:00:03 | +21 m / −6 m |
| 15 km | 4:03 | 4:03 | 1:04:07 | +4 m / −34 m |
| 16 km | 4:08 | 4:08 | 1:08:15 | +4 m / −16 m |
| 17 km | 4:01 | 4:01 | 1:12:16 | +0 m / −30 m |
| 18 km | 5:14 | 5:14 | 1:17:30 | +62 m / −0 m |
| 19 km | 4:10 | 4:10 | 1:21:40 | +8 m / −24 m |
| 20 km | 4:13 | 4:13 | 1:25:53 | +3 m / −0 m |
| 21 km | 4:14 | 4:14 | 1:30:07 | +4 m / −0 m |
| 22 km | 4:37 | 4:37 | 1:34:44 | +29 m / −2 m |
| 23 km | 3:56 | 3:56 | 1:38:40 | +0 m / −57 m |
| 24 km | 4:30 | 4:30 | 1:43:10 | +25 m / −6 m |
| 25 km | 4:24 | 4:24 | 1:47:34 | +16 m / −2 m |
| 26 km | 4:23 | 4:23 | 1:51:57 | +17 m / −11 m |
| 27 km | 4:27 | 4:27 | 1:56:24 | +19 m / −1 m |
| 28 km | 4:14 | 4:14 | 2:00:38 | +7 m / −4 m |
| 29 km | 4:07 | 4:07 | 2:04:45 | +1 m / −15 m |
| 30 km | 4:12 | 4:12 | 2:08:57 | +4 m / −3 m |
| 31 km | 4:13 | 4:13 | 2:13:10 | +2 m / −1 m |
| 32 km | 4:19 | 4:19 | 2:17:29 | +10 m / −1 m |
| 33 km | 4:03 | 4:03 | 2:21:31 | +2 m / −39 m |
| 34 km | 4:08 | 4:08 | 2:25:39 | +6 m / −25 m |
| 35 km | 4:05 | 4:05 | 2:29:44 | +1 m / −20 m |
| 36 km | 4:21 | 4:21 | 2:34:05 | +14 m / −7 m |
| 37 km | 4:09 | 4:09 | 2:38:13 | +2 m / −11 m |
| 38 km | 4:16 | 4:16 | 2:42:29 | +8 m / −2 m |
| 39 km | 4:08 | 4:08 | 2:46:37 | +0 m / −10 m |
| 40 km | 4:11 | 4:11 | 2:50:48 | +1 m / −1 m |
| 41 km | 4:11 | 4:11 | 2:55:00 | +1 m / −1 m |
| 42 km | 4:11 | 4:11 | 2:59:11 | +1 m / −1 m |
| Finish | 4:11 | 0:49 | 3:00:00 | +0 m / −0 m |
Race-morning weather
Air temperature and relative humidity by hour from the first wave’s 05:30 start, from 105 mornings within three days of the race date since 2011 at SAN FRANCISCO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, CA US. Cool and warm are about the 10th and 90th percentile mornings by heat stress. Median wind 15 km/h.
| Local time | Cool | Typical | Warm |
|---|---|---|---|
| 05:30 | 13°C · 84% | 14°C · 84% | 16°C · 84% |
| 06:30 | 13°C · 83% | 14°C · 88% | 16°C · 86% |
| 07:30 | 13°C · 83% | 15°C · 80% | 17°C · 78% |
| 08:30 | 15°C · 78% | 16°C · 75% | 19°C · 71% |
| 09:30 | 16°C · 73% | 17°C · 73% | 20°C · 69% |
| 10:30 | 17°C · 68% | 18°C · 66% | 21°C · 66% |
| 11:30 | 17°C · 66% | 19°C · 63% | 22°C · 62% |
| Date | Start | +3 hours | Peak WBGT |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-07-27 | 14°C · 93% | 15°C · 87% | 19°C |
| 2024-07-28 | 13°C · 89% | 14°C · 87% | 18°C |
| 2023-07-30 | 13°C · 90% | 17°C · 75% | 20°C |
Data & method
- Route: Third-party 2026 reference GPX from GoAndRace (https://www.goandrace.com/en/map/2026/07/san-francisco-marathon-2026-course-map-1.php); not verified against the organizer's current-edition route. Measured at 42.74 km and scaled to 42.195 km.
- Elevation: USGS 3DEP 1/3 arc-second (10 m) bare-earth DEM. Sampled every 25–50 m, with bridges set to deck height and smoothed over 200–400 m.
- Weather: hourly observations from NOAA’s Integrated Surface Database (station 72494023234).
- Small climbs on flat courses can be terrain-model noise; they add only seconds to the estimates.
- This reference GPX has not been verified against the current edition. Check the organizer's latest course map before using its pacing plan.
Frequently asked questions
Is the San Francisco Marathon hilly?
The course climbs about 370 m (1214 ft) and descends about 370 m in total, which is hilly by big-city standards. At even effort the terrain alone changes a 3:00 flat-course marathon by +3:38 and a 4:00 by +4:50.
What flat-course time do I need to break 3 hours at the San Francisco Marathon?
About 2:55:35 on a flat course, assuming a typical race morning. For a sub-4 you need about 3:53:33. Switch the weather off in the calculator to see the terrain-only figure.
What is the weather usually like at the San Francisco Marathon?
On a typical race morning it is about 14°C (57°F) at the first wave’s start and 16°C (61°F) three hours later, with a dew point near 11°C. That costs a 3-hour runner about 0:56 and a 4-hour runner about 1:51. Figures come from airport observations within three days of the race date since 2011.
How is the course-adjusted time calculated?
The course is cut into 100 m pieces. Each piece is run at your flat-course pace times a grade factor (about +3.3% per 1% uphill and −1.8% per 1% downhill) and a heat factor from shade WBGT at the time you reach it. Adding the pieces gives the course time, and the calculator works backwards from a goal the same way.