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Honolulu Marathon Review – That was different

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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. 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.

Honolulu Marathon Review

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

The Not So Great Moments

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.

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.

Honolulu Marathon Review

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.

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.

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!

Honolulu Marathon Review

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!

No elevation map
Which would have dispelled their description of only 1 hill.

Honolulu Marathon Review

The Unique Moments

This is the stuff that we will really remember and what fun it was!

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.

Honolulu Marathon Review

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!

Honolulu Marathon Review

Honolulu Marathon Review

The Good Stuff

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

Honolulu Marathon Review

  • 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.

Honolulu Marathon Review

  • ROTC holding a diving 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 Review

Things Beyond Our Control

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!!!

Honolulu Marathon Review

Race day report here
Jodi’s thoughts leading up to race day
More about 26 Strong here

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.

Honolulu Marathon Review

 

What’s the most unique race experience you’ve had?

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Posted by amanda Categories: Hawaii, race report

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SHARE THE ONE that resonates most with you. 🏃‍♀️🏃🏾🏃🏽‍♂️
 
It’s true, I’ll never stop talking about the warm up 😂. But right now the idea that running is HOPEFUL really strikes a chord.💜
 
We show up mile after mile always looking to what’s ahead and what’s possible.
 
Which one hits home for you?
.
.
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#runningmotivation #runninginspiration #medalmonday #fitnessmemes #runningmemes #runningquotes #runnerslife #runnerlife
AVOID HITTING THE WALL (save this and review befor AVOID HITTING THE WALL (save this and review before races) -AKA  Bonking. UK friends giggle at that, but it’s a term just like fartlek.
.
It’s that painful moment when your mind tells your legs to stop and it feels like there’s nothing you can do to turn the tides. It leaves emotional scars!🥵
 
WHAT TO DO!
1️⃣Train differently - seems obvious, but consistent training that follows a plan which progressively and smartly builds your miles and strength and speed...ya it works.
 
2️⃣Fuel, fuel, fuel - force yourself to eat before races and long runs even if not hungry.
.
Starting fueling sooner than you think you need to and keep doing it. During races your body is running on more carbs and needs that steady flow of energy. 
.
🧠 Your brain functions on CARBS, stop depriving it or it will tell you to stop running. If food while running is an issue for you, checkout something like @genucan.
 
3️⃣Pacing - Stop going out too fast because you’re excited, it absolutely catches up to you. Ideal is even pacing start to finish.
 
4️⃣Pay attention to your brain. @fitzgerald.matt in How Bad Do You Want it does a great job of showing how the brain can limit performance if you don’t know what’s happening up there.
 
5️⃣Recover better - Stop over training and give your body tools to help it destress from all the work...the best one is SLEEP. I also love @resiliencecbd to help with nerves prior to a race and quality sleep during training.
 
❓❓Helpful?? Have more race day questions?? Or an epic story of hitting the wall?? I wanna know.❓❓
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Thanks to @moxie82co for capturing this weird moment, it worked great for this post.
HIT THOSE HIPS!!! I’ve given you a couple hip mo HIT THOSE HIPS!!! I’ve given you a couple hip mobility workouts, now we add strength!
//
🥳For the next 30 days in the Virtual Run Club we’ll be going hard on all the pre-hab work for hips, glutes and abs. Because running isn’t just about the miles.
//
That’s one of the reasons I’ve been consistently doing @insidetracker bloodwork since 2015.
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It’s helped me identify low Vitamin D causing fatigue or catch my wayyy high cortisol to embrace easy runs as key part of the process.
📌 (Save this post because the last screen has a 25% off discount code and you can get free access to the 30 Day March Challenge.)
👉LINK IN BIO FOR BOTH
✅✅✅✅
3 CORE MOVES
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You can use these as a progression or do all three, they’ll target the hips, glutes and core in different ways with each variation.
 
Aim for 15 reps prior to a run or do multiple rounds as part of a workout!
 
1️⃣Side Plank Kneeling Hip Raise - Really focus on your core engaging to raise up and keeping your elbow under your shoulder.
 
2️⃣Side Plank Kneeling Leg Raise - Again core should be tight to keep hips lifted, not sagging towards the ground. Then focus on your hip and glute to raise the top leg.
 
3️⃣Straight Leg Side Plank Leg Raise - Engage the core to keep hips high and press the bottom foot in to the ground to really engage your glutes. Slow and steady to remain stable while raising and lowering top leg.
❓❓❓❓
Talk to me!!!
Who’s in for 10 min a day in March?
Who’s gotten blood work to improve their health?
Who’s excited it’s almost spring?
👉👉Me to all 3! And more info in stories!
 
 
 
#runtothefinish #insidetrackerpartner
RUN DAYS ARE THE BEST DAYS😊 I had training tips RUN DAYS ARE THE BEST DAYS😊 I had training tips planned to share today, but really just wanted to say I hope you get in some miles today and they make you smile.
 
Let go of the pace.
Let go of the distance.
Let go of HR for a day.
Just run.
We GET to.
 
Where in the world are you running today?
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I’ll be embracing one warm day before snow here in Boulder, CO.
EMOJI POLL: Round or no? ⏰ give me whole numbers EMOJI POLL: Round or no?
⏰ give me whole numbers
👍wherever I stop, it stops
🙃I don’t use no stinking watch
||
THAT’S A LIE 😂. I can’t do it. I need the round number and when I get that close to a whole number...I need it!
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