Nov 8, 2024
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Honolulu Marathon Runner Comments
Back to Honolulu Marathon Information & Reviews
Course 4.0 
Organization 3.7 
Spectators 3.9
Number of comments: 202 [displaying comments 1 to 11]
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B. B. from Pittsburgh, Pa
(12/15/2023)
"A solid race all around" (about: 2023)
50+ previous marathons
| 1 Honolulu Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 From reading comments from past participants I was prepared to dislike this race. Maybe things are better, or maybe my expectations were low, but I have no complaints about this race and generally had a great experience in spite running my PW. The start area was well organized and an easy walk from Waikiki with ample port o potties. The finish line area was literally a quarter mile from most Waikiki hotels and had a great atmosphere. The race was challenging due to the heat and humidity but the 5:00 AM start helped, and it is Hawaii after all. There are two major hills at Diamond Head, otherwise most of the race is flat. I liked that the water stations in the beginning of the race stretched out over a city block, so runners need not hurry to get to the first volunteers or go thirsty. The expo was well done and had enough vendors to make it interesting, but not over whelming. The medal is among my favorites and the shirt is very nice too. There is an excellent brewery district in Honolulu including 5 brewers within easy walking distance of each other. Our favorites were Aloha Brewing and Lokahi Brewing Company. | |
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G. P. from USA
(1/21/2023)
"Lousy Organization" (about: 2022)
50+ previous marathons
| 4-5 Honolulu Marathons
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 2 Expo: - Pros: easy to get to, lots of swag to buy. - Cons: 50% fewer shirt options for women Race - Pros: It's Hawaii. Medal was great this year. Shutters were great. - Cons: Very long walk to start line from Drop off and Port-a-potties. No Gel of any kind on course as advertised. Some 'Einstein' decided it was a good idea to start the 10K runners mixed in with the Marathon Runners. So for the first 10K we were tripping over Stollers, double strollers, small children... all starting at the front of the race and not the back. Water Stations were rather a joke as you had to fill your own on several occasions. And as every year, many people cheating by cutting the course short. BUT THE WORST was the course was 26.49+ miles long... way over the typical 'extra:. Not just my GPS but numerous others when comparing notes after the race. | |
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L. C. from New York
(12/19/2022)
"Great Experience, HORRIBLE on course nutrition" (about: 2022)
50+ previous marathons
| 1 Honolulu Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 4 The Honolulu marathon course is great. Early start in a city, pass by some historic places, a little bit of climbing, some mid size towns, and opportunities for real bathrooms for those who care. Great crowd. The organizers though should be ashamed of themselves - watered down Gatorade, and mostly just water at the stops, first aid offering Vaseline, but not even salt, and I think one gel spot. It's not hard folks - real Gatorade at every stop and about 3 spots for gels. Would have made the course a lot more enjoyable for many people. | |
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R. H. from Milwaukee, WI
(12/18/2022)
"Excuse to visit Hawaii" (about: 2022)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Honolulu Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 2 I brought my wife and two teenage kids to Hawaii and had an extended (9 nights) vacation between Oahu and Maui. Hawaii is amazing and I am glad we planned the trip. This was marathon #19 and state #18. The expo was a joke. A huge convention center where you were handed your paper bib, 4 safety pins, and a 50th anniversary sticker - seriously, that was it. I walked through the official merchandise for sale and found all of it to be garbage. I walked to the start line at 4 am on Sunday for a 5:00 start. There were thousands walking down the street and it took me almost 45 minutes to walk .8 of a mile and find my corral. I was lined up in the first corral after the pro's but there was no security, no corral safety volunteers, and nobody seemed to follow the color-coded corrals. The gun went off at 5 am and off we went....sort of. The fireworks were apparently nothing any adult has ever seen as I had to dodge people who literally stopped 5 feet past the start line to stop and take pictures - COME ON PEOPLE - grow up. The first 3-4 miles were very congested and hot. By mile 4, I was drenched in sweat based on the humidity. At mile 7, you ascend Diamond Head State Park. I underestimated this summit as the race guide said 100' in gain - no way. This was a climb! By mile 8, the course flattened out but you ran into a 30 mph headwind until mile 17. Running 9 miles into a hairdryer is not what anyone needed. Mile 22 goes back up Diamond Head and this is where i saw many people bonking out. Mile 24 is downhill and a nice ocean view to your left. The finish line was strange. I received my medal which was pretty cool and showcases the 50th anniversary of the event. We were then given a small/warm bottle of water. I had to ask where to find our finisher t-shirts. I grabbed my t-shirt and then found food. One banana, one donut, and a coconut water. Summary - Course was marginal. Spectators were sparse compared to other big city marathons. Organization was poor compared to other events. Conditions with wind, heat, humidity, and hills combined for a very difficult event. All in all, I would never run this event again but it's a great excuse to visit Hawaii. | |
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B. L. from Maui, Hawaii
(12/15/2022)
"Shuttle Bus service to starting line was TERRIBLE" (about: 2022)
50+ previous marathons
| 6+ Honolulu Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 5 I have run this marathon 38 times and have run 127 total marathons throughout the US. Honolulu Marathon has always been one of my favorites equal to Boston. This year, its 50th running, was spectacular as it has always been except for one critical function. The early morning shuttle bus service from the finish area to the starting line was terrible. Previous years it has always been flawless. This year it was awful. So few busses for so many people. I barely was able to get on the last bus and barely got to the starting line to start before it closed down. It is unbelievable that this stellar marathon could mess up something so critical. I saw many runners left behind as I got on the last bus. It was sad. I'm sure many of them traveled from far away to run this usually flawlessly organized race. | |
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T. A. from WA
(12/20/2021)
"Disappointing end" (about: 2021)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Honolulu Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 4 After running for years, I enjoyed the course but have a disappointing feel overall. The end was chaotic. I had to ask someone if I could pick up a medal as no one was handing them out! C'mon. That should have been done to honour the runners. For all the money we paid, the good bag was zero to talk about and no bottles of anything but water. Not good. I shall warn others about that. And by the way, my husband never got a medal at all in 2011... did not see them to pick up and I guess no one was giving them out then! Aaagh... still hoping to get one for him. Had I realized he never got one, I would have picked up two finisher medals this year as there was no date on the medal. What's with that? Oh well... | |
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N. D. from Maryland
(12/15/2021)
"Shame on You, Honolulu Marathon" (about: 2021)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Honolulu Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 2 I am sorely disappointed in the CEO of Honolulu Marathon. As a medical doctor, his views should dictate this poorly organized and apathetic Marathon structure.I'm no stranger to marathons, having finished 14 previous marathons in all terrains. This marathon appalls me. Okay, so the pandemic scaled back some of the previously mentioned support systems. Take away the post-marathon party. Got it. The Japanese folks aren't coming. Got it. Absent supports: WHERE WERE YOUR MILE MARKERS?? This critical absence is appalling. And for the record, it doesn't 'add local flavor' to the race. It's HOW WE PACE OURSELVES. Kilometer markers, from time to time. Can you multiply 18 kilometers x .62? Start Line Shuttle: Thousands of runners walked 2 or more miles to Ala Moana from their hotels when organizer canceled all shuttles from the Zoo. 'It was on the website,' said the expo help desk. But not on email, text, or posters. Portapotty: New skill: using a portapotty in pitch dark. Corral: What happened to 'social distance' here? Chaos. Course: Kalanianaole Highway at mile 11, for 11 miles more. Unmonitored out-and-backs, where tired and hot runners simply cut the course. Water and Food: Self-Service ran out of cups... runners drank directly from the spigots. No gels. No food. Sponges, Ice, Misting Hoses: Hyperthermia is a DANGEROUS MEDICAL CONDITION in 83 degrees in direct sun by 10 a.m. Helpful neighbors at MILE 22 sprayed runners with garden hoses. Where were the organizers?? Medal/Lei/Shell Necklace: Quarter of a mile from the finish, pull your medal from an abandoned Self-Service stand like pulling potato chips from a convenience store. No lei. No shell necklace. Shirt: Keep walking. Take your shirt from a cattle pen and go. Expo: A Convention Center ballroom the size of a basketball court held bibs, pins, and one vendor. No goodie bag. In and out in 6 minutes, for $12 parking fee. Not even the garage attendant let me know that it was free to park if you were out in 30 minutes. Fully trained, and with a medical background, I developed hyperthermia and staggered to the finish in 7 hours 10 minutes. Pros: Nice shirt. | |
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K. O. from New York NY
(12/15/2021)
"Significant basic operational issues" (about: 2021)
11-50 previous marathons
| 4-5 Honolulu Marathons
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 3 I grew up in Honolulu and desperately want this to be a world-class race. But it's not. Any race, regardless of size should have the following things right: 1. Consistently supplied fluid stations: it was not clear to me when Gatorade was going to be available (hardly ever) and there were times when water was in both water-labeled and Gatorade-labeled cups (same with Gatorade). 2. Course distances consistently and accurately marked: the distance from '41km' to the end was at least 300m longer than it should have been. There were fewer than five mile markers. I'm ok with km markers but those were very sporadic. 3. Organized start: I knew this is a reality of this race. The majority of runners dutifully stayed in their 'corrals' but hundreds did not. Most runners in this race are slow, so a 4:15 runner who assigns themselves to the second corral would have been behind a ton of walkers. If there's a 10km race happening on the marathon course they should at least release them 30 minutes after the marathon start. 4. Finish area well-signed and with volunteers to direct exhausted finishers to the right locations. If you don't know the drill with this race, there's a very good chance you will forget to pick up your finisher shirt. 5. Immediate removal of course-cutting cheaters from the standings. A good 3% finishers ahead of me are obvious course cutters, missing multiple checkpoints or having an impossible second half split. This should be nipped in the bud big time. It's a travesty. It's clear this race fails on all of these dimensions. I am not asking for 4 waves of runners with 6 corrals each. Or clocks every mile. Or good food at the finish line. I just want to run my best, do so safely, and be timed with other runners on a level playing field. The race director dismisses these comments, saying this is 'a people's race.' This is complete BS. It's abject laziness and incompetence. My expectations are lowered because of COVID but sadly, the Honolulu Marathon falls below that significantly reduced standard. It will be much worse next year with a larger field. If you run this race with rock bottom expectations you may find your experience irritating, but at least you will do so with your eyes wide open. Do not expect a dream race and you will be fine. I would hate for anyone to register with sky high expectations and be heartbroken. | |
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B. K. from Edmonton, AB, Canada
(12/22/2019)
"Tropical run with hills..." (about: 2019)
50+ previous marathons
| 1 Honolulu Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 5 This was my first (and last) Honolulu Marathon. The start of the race was a total chaos. In the darkness the marathon runners, 10-km runners and walkers were allowed to start at the same time. The corrals did not improve anything, my first one hour was a never ending attempts to stay on foot and avoiding slow walkers. The course is not flat, considering the crowd at the start and many hills, you can forget about your PR. Volunteers and spectators deserve a high 5. Some local residents delivered ice cold drinks, fruits and other life supporting items. Thank you! The finish line was below my expectations. Medal, picture and than what? Uncharted territory without many signs where to go, what to do... | |
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N. L. from Michigan
(12/15/2019)
"Great Reason to Plan a Race-cation in Hawaii" (about: 2019)
6-10 previous marathons
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 4 This was my 9th marathon and a wonderful reason to visit Honolulu and stay a week after. For that reason this race was worth doing. Expo was good and it was fun to spectate the day prior for the Merrie Mile event. The course itself was difficult and much more so than anticipated despite viewing the course on Strava and the website. The first hill up Diamond Head Rd (miles 7-9) is a very long gradual grade that is manageable but taxing. After that it felt like a 4-6 mile gradual decline to Hawaii Kai for the turn-around...followed by heading back up that decline. Mile 24-25 back up Diamond Head was the nail in my race coffin - by then the sun was up and my body was done. I ended up finishing about 10 minutes slower than another fall marathon this year about 8 weeks prior. Crowd support was great. My two complaints are echoed by many other reviews I read: 1) the starting line is a disorganized mess. I started near the front and lined up next to people I didn't could finish a 5k much less a marathon. 2) the finish area - dry nasty bagels, bananas and donuts. The donut thing is cute and unique but honestly in 80 degree heat after a marathon I don't want a donut. No drinks other than water, no beer tent and no food...hugely disappointing for a race this size and relative to the high entry fee. Lastly keep in mind while considering this race that the 5am start time means the first 2 hours of the race were completely dark so do not plan on a visual tour of Honolulu during the first half to 2/3rds of the race. Overall, I'd do this race again if it meant another trip to Hawaii but otherwise no reason to do it again. |
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