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May 3, 2024

Maui Oceanfront Marathon Runner Comments

Back to Maui Oceanfront Marathon Information & Reviews

Course 4.0

Organization 3.9

Spectators 3.1

Number of comments: 65 [displaying comments 41 to 51]

More Comments: [ < 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 > ]

L. B. from California (2/13/2010) "Will probably not do again" (about: 2010) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Maui Oceanfront Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 2 I have run many marathons as well as ultras, and I was very disappointed in the organization of this race. The location can't be beat and the course truly was beautiful... but the "good" ends there. The packet pickup was a disorganized mess. For starters, I felt some of the volunteers at registration/pick-up were downright rude. It was the first time in my life that I had to pay for a race poster. They are usually given out in your goody bag (which was non-existent, by the way) or given out free. Tech shirts for the race were unisex and HUGE! There was no mention of shirts running large. I felt so ripped off. I flew all the way to Hawaii to run a marathon and got a shirt that I can never wear, other than maybe as a nightshirt! Ok... the race itself was beautiful and it was a nice touch at the start line to have the traditional Hawaiian sendoff, complete with a Hawaiian blessing and the blowing of a conch shell. Very nice. The course itself was billed as fairly flat and at sea level. This was not the case, as there are some pretty significant hills on this course for sure. Aid stations were friendly and good, and I have no complaints with that. My biggest gripe lies at the finish and awards. The race director has a very strange attitude about age group placings. Either he is not aware or hasn't done much running himself. I am a 57-year-old runner, and not a super fast one at that... but nevertheless, I do often place in my age group and this time would have been no exception had he done the awards as other race directors do. Turns out when I checked, I was in a 40-60 age group (not 55-59). In all my years of running I have never seen this or even heard about it. At 57 years-old, how can I possibly compete with someone in their 40's who is still running a 3:15 marathon??? Placing in your age group is one of the advantages of getting older, as I could never score some hardware when I was young. I just was never fast enough. Now that I am older and placing, my medals have become important to me and I have become competitive within my division. I thought a 20-year age span for awards was very unfair. After the race, I took this up with the race director and his response was, "Well, we do things a little differently over here," meaning in Maui. Well, once again, it was a rude comment. This would be a wonderful race and a beautiful course if it were well organized, but I felt it was not. I even ran into a woman doing her very first marathon, yet when she crossed the line, they were out of medals and had to mail her one. Doesn't everyone remember getting their very first medal and how that felt, and how important it was to you??? This is wrong. I would definitely not run this again and would certainally not recommend this race to anyone. I would also never run any other of this RD's races again.
K. S. from Cheyenne, Wyoming (2/11/2010) "Nice run for the prepared" (about: 2010) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Maui Oceanfront Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 2 My wife and I ran the marathon and chose this one for the scenery, and we were not disappointed. The course was beautiful and the chance to watch whales while running was amazing. The hills in the middle were long, but not outrageous. The heat did start to bother us near the end, but we're training in 20-degree (F) weather, so we expected it. We took Endurolyte pills and carried a water bottle, so the watery sport drinks and distances between the aid stations were not a problem. Pros: The scenery - especially the whales. The course - even along the highway - though it should be mandatory for people in convertibles to smile and cheer a little. The pre-run ceremony. The other runners - we chatted with runners from all over. The folks at the aid stations (and the cookies). The tech shirts and the local design. The marathon medals were nice. Soaking in the ocean after the run. Cons: Bring a water bottle or plan to stop and drink lots of the little Dixie cups of water so you can make it to the next aid station. For slow runners (over 5 hours) the finish is anticlimactic - with the ceremonies over and fresh food gone. Other than the announcer as we crossed the finish and picked up our finisher medals, we had better post-run celebrations during training. I would do the run again and recommend it to a friend with the caveat that they be prepared.
L. F. from Kent Washington (2/6/2010) "Bring your own water and medal" (about: 2010) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Maui Oceanfront Marathon COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 2 My comments are for the half. The course is along a busy highway with spectacular views of the ocean. Very few water stops, and if you are slow, no medals at the finish. Being Hawaii, it does get hot, so you will need to bring your own hydration because you can't count on enough water tables. The race director was very unfriendly when asked about the medals that they ran out of. Several of us don't know if we will ever receive one.
N. S. from Franklin, Tennessee (2/5/2010) "Wonderful small run in paradise" (about: 2010) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Maui Oceanfront Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 I enjoyed this marathon from bib pick up to the finish. The scenery was awesome. The course was flat with a small hill in the middle (and an elevated ocean view). Water stations were well stocked with water and sports drink. I always read the event's website closely before entering a marathon. The race director delivered on all points. I will recommend this marathon to my running friends.
K. A. from Denver, Colorado (2/4/2010) "Beautiful Maui, Unorganized Race, Dangerous!" (about: 2010) 4-5 previous marathons \| 1 Maui Oceanfront Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 2 As my 5th Marathon, I found this race to be the most disorganized. I realize that it was only year two, but there were no perks for the racers, no chip timing, and dangerous stretches of highway and road that were not marked well enough for drivers or monitored by police or race volunteers. I did not see one medical stop, or a first aid tent. I was almost hit by vehicles three times along the portion of the course where there is an overlook. The scenery was fabulous of course, but the distraction of poor drivers left you on the defensive. No crowd support except for the kids at the aid stations. Hardly any locals knew that there was a race that weekend! I saw several family members looking for racers who had not finished; they had no assistance, and there was little concern for them.
S. H. from Minnesota (2/2/2010) "Enjoy Maui" (about: 2010) 50+ previous marathons \| 1 Maui Oceanfront Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 I have run Hawaii marathons a couple of times and this one is by far the most enjoyable. Although it would have been nice to have an additional water stop between mile 20 and 23, runners have to understand the conditions. You need to do homework when you do marathons in Hawaii; it will get hot no matter what time of year. I did not expect any spectators, but the ones who did show up were enthusiastic and the aid stations provided friendly faces. I thought they did a great job. Pros: Course is beautiful - I saw a number of whales. Other than a couple of minor hills, the course is fairly flat. Packet pickup was simple and efficient. Nice tech shirt. Very nice medal. Cons: No real negative comments. I knew it would get hot and paced myself accordingly and felt great at the finish. My suggestion for anyone running this race is to get to the island a couple of days before the race to get used to the heat and reduce the effects of jetlag. Run the race at the beginning of your vacation so you can enjoy the sun and the beaches afterwards. I plan to come back next year. It is a vacation with a nice, small marathon as a bonus.
J. W. from Midwest (2/2/2010) "Needs much better organization!" (about: 2010) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Maui Oceanfront Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 2 There was not nearly enough water or sports drink. Also, they dumped the 5K runners right into the middle of the half marathon, making the already-small shoulder of the road very crowded. The lack of chip timing is unacceptable - they have chip timing at small-town 5Ks - and there were absolutely no goody bags whatsoever, and not even a gel. I think this race could be a great race - obviously the location is gorgeous - but it needs a lot of work to make it!
R. C. from Canada (2/1/2010) "Had a great, hot, hot time" (about: 2010) 3 previous marathons \| 1 Maui Oceanfront Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 Loved, loved the course, but the heat by mid-race caught up to a lot of people I think. It was 70 degrees (F) when I got out of the car at 4:15 a.m. to catch a shuttle bus to the start and 81 F when I got back into the car at the end, so it was probably 85 or more on the pavement in the last hour or so. Just too hot. Loved the refreshments and upbeat encouragement along the way, but would agree with a previous review that they were light on eats at the finish line. Great shirt; great medal. Not sure what they can do about the boiling temperatures, but the course is certainly memorable. Just don't expect to run your best time if the heat is the same every year. Really loved the experience all around, and thanks to the lovely Hawaiian lady - Big Mama (her words) - at the finish line for the huge hug after giving me the medal. I needed that.
M. K. from GA (2/1/2010) "At least in was in Hawaii!" (about: 2010) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Maui Oceanfront Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 2 This marathon could use a little help. The course is difficult, but no more so than I expected it to be, and I also expected it to be warm (hot) and it was. The scenery is beautiful, with whales and waves; after all, it is Hawaii. The Hawaiian prayer ceremony at the start was a wonderful touch. What I didn't expect was the lack of organization associated with the race. I don't need fancy expos and stuff like that, but some water stops along the real hot stretch would have been nice and a bit of "undiluted" sports drink. How about some "food" at the end of the race besides airline pretzels and stale donuts? I guess the real stuff was gobbled up by the 5K, 10K, 15K, and half runners. It also would have been nice to have some sports drink at the finish besides incredibly diluted Endurox. I think they used one of the 20-ounce bottle packs for an entire cooler. The free massage, however, was a bonus. Kudos for that. Upon leaving the race, a police officer stopped us (I guess he thought we looked like runners) to ask what to do about a runner who was just approaching mile 17 on the course since the water stops were shutting down. Were they supposed to tell him he couldn't finish or what? Hmm, organization - no one in town even knew there was a race(s) going on. At the start, the police didn't even know which way to send the lead runners. Needless to say, it was Hawaii, and it was beautiful - it could just use some work.
H. M. from Western united states (1/29/2010) "No water, no running!!" (about: 2010) 2 previous marathons \| 1 Maui Oceanfront Marathon COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 2 The reviews from the first year did not help in the planning of the second annual race. Packet pickup was uneventful and frankly a disappointment. I get better goody bags at our local fun runs in a town of 3,000 people that cost us $15.00. Marathon t-shirts should be different from the shirts for other racers! I felt very misled as far as the elevation went for this race. After mile 13, you pretty much run over a mountain pass. After mile 20 I believe they put a lot of people at risk by not having water available at least every mile during that hard, long stretch (even if the elevation gets a little easier). They probably found it difficult to get a volunteer to stand on a hot, dry road without shade on a winding, uphill, heavy-traffic highway. Lesson learned... you cannot rely on the aid stations they say are available for this race; 17 of the 19 are before mile 20. Bring your own water! Like the last review, there was no fruit at our finish, which was around 4 hours (they must have given it all to the 5K runners who evidently needed it more than us). No, I would not do this race again, even if it is in Maui!

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