Tomorrow, the San Francisco Marathon returns for its 40th anniversary.
The event is expected to attract more than 30,000 runners and 80,000 spectators along its route. Organizers predict significant traffic delays along the 26.2 mile-long course, with detours and closures kicking off the marathon day at midnight on Sunday.
Five different races will take participants to the Mission, Golden Gate Park, Upper Haight, Richmond, Presidio, North Beach, Marina, Dogpatch, as well as the Embarcadero.
With the Marathon also comes Muni's month-long weekend subway closures due to new train testing, which starts today.
Street Closures
Expect northbound lanes on Golden Gate Bridge to close from 6am to 9am, drivers are advised to expect delays from 1am to 10am. Vehicles should use the Bay Bridge and the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge instead.
At the Embarcadero, northbound traffic at Embarcadero and King Street will be blocked off from 3rd Street to Broadway from midnight to 2:45pm. During that time, southbound Embarcadero will be closed from Broadway to Harrison Street.
In the Presidio and Golden Gate National Recreation Area, Lincoln Boulevard and all intersections onto it from the 25th Avenue gate to Lendrum Court will be closed in the morning from 4:30am to 10am.
Market Street will be affected between 6:30am to noon. Westbound and eastbound traffic on, and access to, Market Street at Duboce Avenue and Guerrero Street should expect significant delays.
Northbound and southbound traffic needing to cross over 15th, 16th, and 17th Streets is advised to use Highway 280 or 101.
Baseball fans going to the Giants game on July 23rd, should check out these detour routes.
For a full list of street closures in all neighborhoods, check out the marathon's map.
Public Transit
Starting at 8am, shuttles will operate to substitute Muni Metro service on Market Street.
Bus lines, such as the F-Market, 5-Fulton, 6-Haight/Parnassus, 7-Haight/Noriega, 9-San Bruno, 14-Mission/14R Mission Rapid, 21-Hayes, 31-Balboa or 38-Geary/38R Geary Rapid, will get your close to the starting line.
Some of those lines, as well as the 22-Fillmore, 24-Divisadero, 29-Sunset, 33-Ashbury/18th Street, among others, will be rerouted during the Marathon.
BART doesn’t run early enough to get runners to the start line, but early-morning bus service from six Bay Area BART stations has been established and tickets are available online.
For more details, visit SFMTA's website. Last but not least, don't forget to check for signs on your street to make sure to know when street parking is allowed.
To enjoy the event, SF Marathon organizers suggest checking the weather, getting a good night's sleep and fueling up appropriately during and before race day.
