I actually was in the 2003 Marathon but this won't let me enter that. I loved this event because it was my first marathon and because there were a lot of people on the track going at different paces so you are never alone on the track. Also, the spectators are everywhere cheering you on. Also the scenery and the route can not be beat. It' Hawaii for heaven's sakes!!

INTRODUCTION: I am a race-walker with a median marathon completion time of 5:14:54. The Honolulu Marathon was my twenty-seventh 26.2-miler accomplished.

COURSE: It was already 73 degrees at the 5 a.m. start, a few clouds, 76 percent relative humidity with a 9 mph wind from the northeast. The long, entertaining fireworks display temporarily distracted us from remembering we were to embark on a marathon.

Beginning on Ala Moana Boulevard at Queen Street, we headed off to the edge of Chinatown before circling back eastward toward downtown, passing mile 2, Iolani Palace, King Kamehameha Statue, and City Hall, fronted by a non-traditionally attired Santa Claus displaying the shaka sign to all who passed by. Continuing eastward, we later returned to the place where we started just short of four miles earlier, this time heading in the opposite direction toward Waikiki. With shops and hotels lining the boulevard, Kalakaua Avenue was Waikikis answer to the Las Vegas Strip, but with far less wattage.
Things began to quiet down at mile 6, where we entered Kapiolani Park, the site of our finish line festivities. A mile later, we began our ascent on Diamond Head Road. The course narrowed down to one lane, making it difficult for those of us who prefer to charge up a hill rather than hang loose, easily adding a half minute to our pace at this point. The congestion cleared a bit upon reaching the summit, and as the sun rose, we rounded Diamond Head and faced our second ascent as we approached 22nd Avenue at mile 9.

Entering the Waialae district, we soon encountered the Kalanianaole Highway at mile 11, which was to be our home for most of the next eleven miles. As we headed away from the city center out to Hawaii Kai, we had access to two of the three eastbound lanes, and the moderate headwind gave us relief from an otherwise difficult weather situation. The flat, asphalt artery afforded us views of Koko Crater as we approached Maunalua Bay Beach Park, where we headed inland and circled the Hawaii Kai marina and returned to Kalanianaole Highway now heading back toward Waikiki, where we would have only the far right eastbound lane at our disposal.

By the time we reached the Waialae Country Club boundary at mile 22, the weather started to get warm, and the scant cloud cover did little to help. After two miles of flat terrain in one of Honolulus pricier neighborhoods, we began the ascent of our final hill as we soon came to retrace our steps on Diamond Head Road, which gave us one last spectacular view of the Pacific. After reaching the peak just before mile 25, it was all downhill as we returned to Kapiolani Park and the finish line, which we had a clear view of from 4/10 mile back. A shell lei was waiting for each one of us as we completed this years second largest U.S. marathon. Weather conditions at the finish: approximately 81 degrees, partly cloudy, 60 percent relative humidity, and 13 mph wind from the east, with gusts up to 26 mph.

ORGANIZATION: While the spacious Kamehameha Hall in the Hawaii Convention Center would allow for otherwise, the expo was small for a marathon of this stature. (On the flip side, one had plenty of elbow room at this venue.) But size of the expo should not be confused for the quality of service provided by the volunteer staff that went out of their way to accommodate the marathon visitor. Also of interest at this expo were the enlarged photographs of some of the more famous (not necessarily elite) runners who have participated in this race over the prior 39 years.

No problem with the 2:00 a.m. bus service that shuttled us from the Honolulu Zoo parking lot to the start at Ala Moana Park. All 26 mile and 42 kilometer markers were visible and in the right place. And while it was unusual to be required to venture far from the finish line to obtain ones finisher medal and tech tee, there were a sufficient number of signs to lead the runner to the right location. The next day finisher certificate pick-up in Kapiolani Park started on time and was efficiently executed.

FANS: Some observers showed up early to see us tens of thousands at the start and travelling down Kalakaua Avenue in Waikiki, and there were some associated with the Japanese tour groups on hand to cheer us on every now and then. The greatest concentration was reserved for the final stretch on Kalakaua Avenue in Kapiolani Park, to the point where the enthusiastic crowd took much of the course away from the participants.

CONCLUSION: Given the 6 hour 9 minute average completion time, one would surmise that this marathon was for the everyman. No other city would have celebrated the 24117th place 14:21:41 finisher with the same amount of enthusiasm as the 2:12:31 winner. And just about every everyman from Japan and the United States showed up to be a part of it. This race clearly demonstrated the aloha spirit, where everyone can just hang loose and enjoy. Mahalo nui loa, Honolulu.

I read all of the comments that so many runners posted over the last many years about this race. Quite honestly, I was so worried about all of the horrible things that were going to take place, that I was about to cancel my trip. But I decided not to and I am glad I didn't.

Let me discuss the good and bad.

Expo. This was not up to par for a large race such as this. Not many vendors and the main vendor, Addidas Japan pretty much monopolized the entire expo. Why not invite all of the major running and athletic companies and let them compete? It would have been great to have seen Nike, Mizuno, Brooks, Garmin... I could go on and on. Please consider this for next year as it would really help the runners! Go visit Chicago if you want to see a first class expo!

The start. Even though there were no corrals, I thought it was fine. Plenty of toilets were appreciated. Good announcers. Everyone was nice and in good spirits. Yes, it was a bit of a cluster f_ _ _ at the beginning but show me a marathon with over 25,000 people that is not. Good job here!

Runner etiquette. I am a mid-packer, so my comments should be taken as such. I thought the etiquette was on par with any other race. The Japanese people were extremely polite, great spirited, and I did not experience ANY problems with them lined up blocking the course. The race would not be the same without them so please don't complain!

The course. It was nice. Started out through downtown. Fireworks were fantastic. Some areas very scenic, some were not so. Much of it (I think from about mile 11 to 20) was run on an out and back highway. Still was nice and saw some cool residential areas. Mostly flat. Anyone who thinks this is a hilly course has never really experienced HILLS! I was waiting for the big hill at the end coming up Diamond Head and it was tame! Be careful when sun comes out. Be prepared with hat/sunscreen/neck protection. It does get hot.

Fans. I must admit, I was prepared for the worst. I read that the Japanese who line the course will ONLY cheer for Japanese runners. That is SO untrue. Whenever I passed a large group of Japanese cheering on the side I would give them a thumbs up and they LOVED IT and gave me even more energy back. They were great. Don't let anyone else fool you... this would not be such a cool race had it not been for all of the energy on the sidelines!

Water stations. Not bad. Sometimes got a little clustered up, but again... there were 25,000 people running so give them a break, they were all working HARD! And the water was CLEAN! People in previous threads said the water was from trash cans. Simply not true. It was held in large industrial sized water containers made for this purpose. It was cold and refreshing. I do not drink Gatorade so I could not comment on this other than it looked like there was plenty!

Volunteers. They were awesome. What else can I say other than the race would not go on without them!

Porta-potties on course. Could have used more. The last thing anyone wants to do is to wait in a ten minute line. I didn't wait in the lines. Yes, I was the one stealth peeing when I could! One time I peed behind a clothing donation trailer only to find that I wet a few articles of clothing. Sorry!

Food on course. I carry my food and gels. There was gel distributed by official race volunteers as well as occasional pretzels, candy, etc by residents. Thanks.

Finish area. TOTALLY FINE! When you cross the finish line, yes... you do have to walk a little bit to get your shirt and medal. But it was not a mile like many said previously. Give the race directors a break, this finishers area was actually set up very nicely. Maybe a few more signs would have helped but come on, there was NO WAY to miss the tent that was giving out the shirts/medals. And yes there were real medals.

There was plenty of food this year at the finish. I saw bagels, bananas, and these really cool looking deep fried donuts and you could take as many as you wanted. So please don't complain about an apple and cookie. Just not true.

Summary. This was an incredible race. I will DEFINITELY do it again. Will skip a year due to the long travel and expense but I will be back in 2014. Hawaii is a beautiful place and I want to give my thanks to the local residents, the race directors and everyone else that made this marathon happen. Sorry about all of the negativity on this forum about the race. In my opinion, it just doesn't seem to add up. See you back in Honolulu.

Course rating is low as it is filled with throngs of runners who are busy stopping to take pictures, talking or texting on their phones. It's also narrow in places at the start so with 20,000+ runners it becomes a slow slog. I never fought so hard for road real estate in the fifty plus marathons I have run. If there was ever a race that needed a wave start for runners who needed to prove their split times, this is the one.

The race organization is fantastic. Great volunteers at the water stops and traffic control. Thank you volunteers. You always make the day! They had ice at many water stops and a fill system for your water bottle that was terrific. Transportation to the race start was efficient and very well-run. Take a light with you to use the port a potties as they're very dark at 4 am and there's no cover in the park. The park bathroom is lit but you're going to wait a very long time to use it so that leaves the plastic box. Everybody is 'in-tune' with the racing tourists and so nice and accomodating. This year was hot and humid so enjoy the destination. It's Hawaii.

OK, it was Hot, Humid and Hilly and the start was crowded. And we enjoyed it anyway.

Amazingly well organized expo. The ice and sponges at the water stops were very much appreciated. Beautiful weather, lovely scenery, enthusiastic volunteers and spectators and many other activities in the area for friends and family.

Highly recommended.

I wanted to say that choosing the Honolulu Marathon as my first marathon was a great choice! I was scared not knowing, because I never ran one! However, because of the support of Mom who did the marathon before gave me great advice. Also, doing the Marathon readiness series helped me a lot! I enjoyed doing this marathon. I think others should as well.

Dec. 11, 2011-This was my first marathon. The course was fantastic. The Honolulu Marathon is clearly loved and supported by so many residents of this island who could not have been nicer or more accomodating. Finishing in Kapiolani Park was an awesome experience! It was a priviledge to be there and be part of such an amazing event.

This was a brilliant experience for a first time marathoner as organisation is very good and has a very relaxed atmosphere. For a 5am start the spectators were amazing in number and noise, and an impressive fireworks display sets the runners off. Only slight negative for organisation is the number of walkers who managed to start at the front and subsequent requirement to dodge them for the first couple of miles.

The course itself it pretty flat with the exception of Diamond Head at miles 9 and the 23 on the way back (the latter being a near killer for me). Temperature also not too bad, but I would advise traveling at least a week beforehand if you are not used to running in an average close to 25 degrees.

The humidity is actually worse for the first few hours - i.e. if you will be around 4hrs race time then it will affect you worse than the temperature will. This being my first I set a PB, but I wouldn't expect to ever do so again at this race.

Lots of water, (diluted) Gatorade and sponge stations after the first few miles - crucially these were nearly always ice cold.

And remember, even if everything is horrible you still get to go to Hawai'i.

I really enjoyed this marathon! In spite of the climate, it was a succesfull experience for me!!! I would like to participate in it again!!

After reading previous comments regarding the marathon, my friends and I were expecting to be elbowed off the course, lack for aide along the way and have little support after the race. What we did find was that the expo was well organized - we didn't need to speak Japanese - and there was a decent selection of clothing. The fireworks at the start of the race was impressive and the 5am start in the dark was fun. We didn't have any trouble with making our way under the street lights. Every water station served up icy cold water in large cups which was very refreshing. There were no gels but we were prepared for that. The course was mostly flat and Diamond Head was not a huge challenge. It seems that the organizers listened to previous suggestions because along with a seashell necklace, we also received a medal for our efforts. We also got more that a piece of fruit at the end. A big, warm donut awaited us at the finish. In our group there were 4 first-time marathoners and they all enjoyed their first marathon experience. No complaints in this group.