San Francisco Marathon 2012 Results: Male and Female Winners of Difficult Course

The San Francisco Marathon is one of the toughest in the world, but that did not stop a couple of Americans from toughing it out and winning the race.

Nathan Krah was the first to finish with a time of 2:26. In the female race, Devon Crosby-Helms from nearby San Anselmo crossed the line first in a time of 2:44:10. 

While all marathons are the same 26.2 miles, the hills of San Francisco provide a tougher challenge than the average race.  

According to Jenny Schmitt, spokeswoman for the San Francisco Marathon (via Wall Street Journal), "To put it tactfully, this course is not for the casual runner."

This difficulty causes many elite runners to stay away, choosing more traditional runs like the Boston or New York marathons.

Fortunately, this track also allows runners to shine that otherwise would not be in the conversation. Krah had finished 36th and 29th in his last two runs at the Boston Marathon. Although these are very respectable marks, winning is always better.

He accomplished this goal by winning the San Francisco Marathon, despite losing over four minutes from his mark in Boston. The rest of the smaller field simply could not keep up with the Utah native.

As for the rest of the field, simply finishing this grueling event is an accomplishment in itself. All of the runners that participated should be proud of what they have done.