Wonderful race,
You do feel like you are running a race in Japan but what of it? Everyone added to the spirit of the race. Who could not be moved by the courage of the 11 year blind girl who finished. And lets not forget that JAL is the major sponsor. I had no difficulty entering the seeded coral despite it being unenforced. The sponges were the coldest I ever had and the shower at the finish line unmatched. Be prepared for one of the largest fields and plan ahead. My hat off to anyone that can attack that hill at mile 25!

For starts, many thanks to the countless volunteers that helped make this event happen. Overall I had an enjoyable experience, but there is lots of room for improvement.

This marathon is way overpriced for what you get. I am not expecting a five meal course at the end of any marathon, but the food options for this event were pathetic. The start of the race could be better organized. Leaving seeding on the hands of runners when you have over 22K participants is pretty chaotic. The finish area wasnt all that great either.

My biggest pet peeve was that overly diluted drink they were handing out as Gatorade and the fact that the volunteers were not wearing any gloves. To boot, the water/Gatorade was being dispensed from trash barrels that were not lined with a plastic bag. Pretty gross and very poor hygiene practiced at this race. Moreover, other than water and diluted Gatorade nothing else was provided on the course. Thankfully, there were some spectators handing out peices of bananas and oranges on the course.

Also, for those of you traveling from the mainland be aware that this marathon is catering to Japanese runners. I felt like I was running in Japan and most of the spectators and signage were in Japanese. Not a bad thing, just something to be aware of when considering this race.

I ran Honolulu as my first marathon. I fared well and the course was fantastic. The weather was the only thing which wasn't perfect but I didn't mind a little wind and rain at the start, some rain at the finish when I flew in from snowy Chicago. I am glad I trained indoors to acclimate to the higher temps. There was water every 2.5 miles and fans had occasional snacks. The famous sponges were a nice treat. Watch out for the Diamond Head hill at mile 9, especially at mile 25 on the way back to the finish line.

Don't get me wrong, I really love this race and have looked forward to it every year since moving here. My likes are far to numerous to mention, suffice it to say I love virtually everything about it with two glaring exceptions. 1. Finishers medal and T-shirt. The finish area is very poorly set up with finishers having to traverse quite a distance to recover their shirt and medal. It's been mentioned before, but apparently the race committee doesn't care. They keep doing it. 2. Lack of facilities for locals, specifically parking. Everything about this race is geared towards the tourists. A little concern for local runners, ie; providing some sort of parking would be of benefit. Having all the major parking areas within several miles of the start blocked off by police was a bit of a downer and a definite dissatisfier for this runner. Otherwise enjoyed it.

This was a great race and I would recommend it for anyone. I agree with many of the organization comments especially the post race chaos. The one comment I would add is that organizers should look at a shuttle bus concept to get people to the start line rather than making everyone making their way to the zoo (or the start). The last thing I want to do before a marathon is walk 2+ miles at 3am.

The marathon course in Honolulu was spectacular. There were people cheering on the sidelines the entire way...I felt like a true athlete, which I am not. My husband, Michael Blakely, died six years after running this race with me, and I will always remember the slow pace and sacrifice he made to help me accomplish my dream of running a marathon. His average marathons were just under 3 hours, but for me he slowed down and we finished in 4:40. I could not have done this without Michael, and without the beauty and accommodations of the Honolulu Marathon.

I ran it in 1979 and 2010. I enjoyed the experience for the most part and will return. I did not like walking around the huge finishline area in my crippled, post run condition trying to sort out where the T shirts and medals were. But most of all, I should not have had to almost stop for JOE and his friend who were Marathon volunteer workers actually standing on the crowded finish line cutting up with the MC booth. I know his name because I could here the MC yaking at him in the video. A lot of us out there are giving a great amount of effort to do a marathon and the finish line is not where I expected to have to stop before I crossed.

The good: It's Honolulu for gawd's sake. It starts at 5:00 a.m. Course is relatively flat. Ice cold sponges. Fireworks. Sun doesn't appear until about 7:00 a.m. and by that time you're at least half finished, right? Finish line is visible once you get to about 40 KM.

The bad: Most of the course is not very scenic. Stay away from the Gatorade; stick to the water. Exposition is weak and you'd better speak/read Japanese. Be prepared for the completely disorganized shuttle to/from the expo center. Race photos are really weak.

The ugly: This overall experience is expensive. What happens after you cross the finish line: scavenger, hunt and hike for your medal and finisher shirt - and the measly apple and two stale cookies! You're stranded at the end of Waikiki and have to get back to your abode unless you've pre-planned/arranged this.

Would I enter Honolulu again? Maybe, but only with the mindset that this is completely and utterly for fun. Be aware that for the overall bottom-line price for this (travel, accommodations, food, entry fee) you could enter about 2-3 others, but there definitely is some cachet in saying you actually ran Honolulu!!

The only thing that was not good about the marathon was the way the water and Gatorade was handled. The water and Gatorade were being prepared and served not in the most sanitary way. I had to stop at a convenience store every time I get thirsty to purchase my "CLEAN" drinking water. Thank goodness for Aloha Mini Marts and a 7-11 store along the route.

This was a glorious day for the marathon, from the thundering fireworks show to the sunrise off of Diamond Head, and the long trek out and back on Kalanianaole Highway to the well-cheered finish, after the LONGEST 0.2 miles in the world! Kudos to the whole organization for an event extremely well done. I'll be back next year.