What's traffic like the morning of the San Francisco Marathon?

February 18, 2008 6:27 PM

What's travel like on the morning of the San Francisco Marathon?

I'm going to a conference in San Francisco and will be traveling back home on August 3rd, which is the morning of the Marathon. One flight I have my eye on leaves SF at 1.30p, meaning I'll need to be at the airport at 11.30a. I am going to take the BART back and forth between my hotel and the airport. My hotel is on 4th Street, if it matters, and according to google maps the nearest BART stop is Powell Street. Am I going to be able to make this schedule with the marathon traffic, or should I look for another flight?

And for a small bonus question: am I looking for a flight too early? I haven't been on a plane for years and I kind of want to get all of this planning out of the way, but if it behooves me to wait a few weeks for a better price I will.

Thanks!

posted by sugarfish to travel & transportation (7 comments total)

According to the marathon site, the marathon is on August 3, not the 2nd.

Anyway, you'd be fine on marathon day, especially since you're BARTing. The course (.pdf) doesn't go down Market street, where the BART station is.

Small bonus answer: yes, you're probably looking for flights too early.
posted by rtha at 6:42 PM on February 18

Ack, I mean I'm leaving on the third! The conference ends on Saturday and I'll be flying out Sunday.

When should I book a flight?
posted by sugarfish at 7:07 PM on February 18

[fixed the date, it's correct in the post now]
posted by jessamyn at 7:20 PM on February 18

The marathon makes it a royal pain to drive across the city (and if you live next to the route itself you will be awoken early in the morning by the honks of frustrated drivers waiting to run over careless joggers) but BART is fairly immune to the problems. There will be early morning marathoners, but they'll probably be well on their way before you get up. BART will very definitely be a better bet than a cab to the airport, though, especially if you're staying downtown.

Book the flight whenever you want. If it fits your budget and you want to get the planning done, heck, do it now.
posted by gingerbeer at 7:24 PM on February 18

I have (somehow) found myself headed to the airport the day of the marathon a few times in recent years, and even though I was traveling by car or cab and the route goes through my neighborhood, I've never had any trouble. BART should be just fine.
posted by jjg at 7:55 PM on February 18

A general BART type - buy your roundtrip tickets before the day of the marathon if you can. There may be long lines at the BART ticket dispensers. If you can't do this, buy a roundtrip rather than a one-way ticket the morning of, as the dispensers in SF on the return will certainly have long lines because everyone from the marathon will head to the nearest SF station on the return.
posted by zippy at 8:34 PM on February 18

Awesome, thanks everyone.
posted by sugarfish at 7:28 PM on February 19