PATRICK AND ZIMMERMAN WIN THE 2026 SAN FRANCISCO MARATHON

Garrett Patrick of Daly City, California, ran 2:26:25 on Sunday to win the men's race at the 49th running of the Bay Area's summer marathon. Leandra Zimmerman of San Francisco took the women's title at the San Francisco Marathon in 2:45:14. Both champions came from within a few miles of the course, with Daly City sitting on San Francisco's southern edge and Zimmerman winning on her home streets.

Men's Race

Garrett Patrick, 33, finished more than a minute ahead of runner-up Billy Ulrich of Boulder, Colorado. Ian Tibbals of Rye, New York, took third. All three finished inside 2:31.

The result fits the race's long identity. The event has never produced fast times by big-city standards, and its hills reward patience over raw speed. Patrick's winning time sits more than 16 minutes off the course record.

Women's Race

Leandra Zimmerman finished more than six minutes clear of Amanda Frketich of Burnaby, British Columbia. Frketich was the only podium finisher based outside the United States in either race. Zimmerman's 2:45:14 came within three minutes of the course record, the closest either champion came to the event's all-time marks.

The Records Stand

Simeon Kigen's men's course record of 2:10:18 has stood since 1984, and Anna Bretan's women's mark of 2:42:26 has held since 2013. Neither came under threat on Sunday. Kigen's time has now stood for more than four decades.

A Two-Day Weekend

The marathon anchored a race weekend spread across July 25 and 26, with shorter races running alongside the full 26.2 miles. More than 30,000 athletes took part across the weekend's events, according to NBC Bay Area. The program also included a 52.4-mile ultramarathon. The 1983 edition's 7,231 marathon finishers remain the event's all-time high for the full distance.

Start corrals filled on the Embarcadero before dawn, and the course sent runners over the Golden Gate Bridge, the feature that has defined the event since its first running on July 10, 1977. The race remains one of the few marathons with permission to put a mass field on the bridge. That history, from a taxicab driver winning the inaugural edition in 2:24:59 to the modern sold-out summer weekend, is covered in our history of the race.

Next summer brings the 50th running, a milestone for an event that has survived three cancellations since 1977. Organizers have not yet announced the 2027 date.