Honolulu Marathon Review and Course Tips

Let me start by saying, I wouldn’t have changed a thing about our entire Hawaii trip…but the truth is I would have gone in with my eyes a little more wide-open in terms of what to expect from the Honolulu Marathon.

We had an amazing time, but part of a marathon is being mentally prepared and so that’s why I’m sharing what I wish we’d have known.

Everything about this race was unique; I think that’s a fair word to use.

This was the 42nd running of the Honolulu Marathon which is often billed as one of the top 10 marathons in the world…thus my expectations of organization and finisher swag was pretty high.

Let’s go through the not so great, the totally unique and the great points of this race.

Honolulu Marathon Review

Listen I had a fabulous day at the race. But I wish we’d had some information going in to it. So I’m going to give it you you straight from our experience.

Pro – The Expo

The expo was by far and away the most interesting that I have ever seen!! Japanese signage and companies abounded, creating a totally unique atmosphere…but just when you thought you’d seen it all, you encountered an area that felt more like a flea market with quilts and purses. Very cool.

Pro – The Costumes

The race was also filled with tons of unique costumes, in fact I recall Jodi asking me at one point “Is there something I’m missing, why are all these guys dressed like women?!”

Of course it wasn’t just the runners, it was many of the cheer stations too!

Con: No corrals for 30,000 runners

Having heard horror stories the night before, Jodi and I lined up in the 10 feet dedicated to 4 hour marathoners and were far from being the one’s who were being passed.

Instead, we spent at least 3 miles dodging walkers and then squished in to one lane roads which caused numerous bottlenecks slowing everyone down. Waves or corrals would easily fix this.

Con: No pacers

We also noticed later that even with the tiny space allotted at the start for different times, there weren’t actually any pacers. I didn’t realize how frequently during a race I look for those to have an idea of where I am or when we were looking for fellow 26 Strong runners on the out and back course.

Con – Cotton finisher t-shirt

Turns out they were very late getting an apparel sponsor and I’m guessing these shirts were all that Under Armour had enough in stock to supply. Which makes me wonder, why would such a great race have issues getting any sponsor??

I haven’t gotten a cotton finisher shirt for anything over a 5K in ages.

Con – No info to help coordinate meeting family

After the race it’s nice to have a pre-planned meeting point to find your family and friends so you don’t have to worry about searching for them. Truly the map of the finisher area was awful and didn’t have any kind of signs to really help facilitate that pre-planned meeting point.

Con -Post race food

A cup of water, no bottles, a banana, a mini bagel and a big ol’ donut hole {malasada}. Yup that’s it. I spent the 1.5 mile walk back to the hotel saying “man I’m thirsty” and seriously I was!

Con – Water stop confusion

For a race of this size, I was confused to find water stops on only one side of the road.

In fact, another racer asked me about this post race “is that normal for a race this size??” Uh no, the flock of people criss crossing the road definitely would have slowed down most runners. BUT they were all cheerful and out in the rain for hours, so I fully appreciate them!

Pro – Easy Start and Finish

We were close enough to walk to both the start and from the finish, which is a major win to me. If I don’t have to get up extra early for a shuttle and can quickly get back to my hotel after, life is good.

Massive Pro – The Course

Really I think what makes this race a Top 10 must be the views. There are other good things, but other races just can’t manufacture a view of the mountains and ocean.

Luckily it wasn’t my first marathon, so I was able to spend plenty of time looking up at the mountains, soaking in the rainbows and pointing them out to Jodi when she was focused on her feet as we all do when it gets hard.

• The views
• Tons of course photogs
• Start line fireworks

• The views (worth mentioning twice)
• Tons of water stations
• Good spectators– many offering slices of fruit and great signs! You never know what you will get through neighborhoods, but here they were fully on board and ready to cheer

• ROTC holding a dividing rope all the way up the biggest hill and cheering like crazy every few feet.
• Great fellow runners – I talked to a number of people during the race and after. Everyone was so kind and even with grumbles of the start happy as we were to be there.
• TONS of support crew – every water station was manned by a slew of happy cheering people. I don’t know that I’ve ever seen more volunteers on a course.
• 2 minute walk from the finish line to the beach…ahhhh ocean water therapy.

Honolulu Marathon Course Tips

Some would call this course flat, I would call it lightly rolling hills.

There are also a few large climbs which you’ll encounter at mile 8, 9 and of course 24 because what race doesn’t seem to finish uphill.

Early Miles

As noted it is really crowded, so you either need to be patient or get to the front. We definitely spent time walking when I would have preferred to be running.

After 3 or so miles it seems to loosen up a bit, but this is a really large race so you will always be around a lot of people.

Miles 4-7

Listen a lot of this course is going through neighborhoods, so maybe not the vistas you expected. But we still found it beautiful because of the palm trees and the spectators. There are also plenty of aid stations, so take advantage of them.

Miles 8 -10

You’re going to hit a couple of big hills here. Remember that your focus is on maintaining your effort level on the uphill, not your pace! By focusing on effort, you’ll pick time back up on the downhill without burning yourself out.

It’s also great to take in some carbs right before you hit the hills for a boost of energy.

Miles 11- 23

A great deal of this race is out and back which means you’ll be passing runners going each direction.

Take advantage of the excitment when seeing the early runners to cheer them on and when seeing anyone behind you to cheer them on! There is a lot of data around how these little things can boost your mood and thus improve your performance.

Mile 24

This is going to be your longest climb of the day and it’s late in the race, which means you need to be on top of all that hydration and fueling. Remember that even if you don’t feel like fueling, this is where it’s going to pay off!

Read how to fuel a marathon if you need tips!

Honolulu Marathon Training Tips

As noted, I wasn’t the experienced coach I am now, nor was there as much information online about this race…so if I’d known then…

• You’ll be training through cold months, which is going to make the heat/humidity feel harder. Checkout all of my tips on running in the heat and humidity so you can be prepared on race day with all the tricks.
• Try getting in some sauna sessions or taking more workouts to the treadmill
• Get in some rolling hills during your long runs
• Line up near the front to avoid getting stuck if you’re going for a PR kind of race
• ENJOY! I mean you are in paradise.
• Remember it’s a long flight, so wear compression socks going and coming to prevent blood clots.
• Save your sightseeing for post race.
• Plan ahead for your pre-race dinner and morning of breakfast. You’ll want to know what’s available.

Our Honolulu Marathon Day

Beyond the control of the race coordinators was our race day weather. It maintained a light mist from start to finish which I didn’t complain about one tiny bit because it kept Jodi from getting too hot and ensured cloud cover the whole race.

Unfortunately, we had a few points of downpours combined with 30 mile an hour wind gusts which were a little bit less pleasant, mostly from rain pelting the face to that moment when you step in a puddle and realize your entire foot is now squishy.

Yet without that rain, I’d never have captured Jodi running under a rainbow!!!

All of that being said, would I recommend this race?

Mmmm maybe…if you wanted a Hawaiian vacation with a race then yes go have some fun. If you are looking for any sort of PR or even a first marathon, no this isn’t the race I’d select.

Truly what a great adventure to spend this weekend running with 8 other teams from the Saucony 26 Strong program. It was such fun to hear everyone talk about their training, see them on the course and then share in the post marathon shuffle as we all began heading home.

I’m not sure if this Honolulu marathon review will sway you one way or another, but I hope it helped!

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