I am an active duty soldier living on the island. Several members of my previous unit ran the 2006 marathon. I thought they were all crazy. After two half-marathons, I decided to give it a try and began training in June (in Kuwait). During the race, I was overwhelmed by the support of the community, the diversity of the other participants, and the enthusiasm of the race volunteers. I am looking forward to completing it again next year. As a novice runner, it was a bit difficult to navigate around walkers and slower runners. I would encourage participants to start in the correct location. Overall, participating in the race was an amazing experience. I am very humbled and proud to be part of such a remarkable community.

- Major Lisa K. Walsh

I feel that the t-shirt pick-up has gotten too far from the end of the course, not to mention the mud!

Light showers at the start of the race and not too much wind to keep things cool. Much better than the deluge from 2007 that drowned everyone.

I always make sure to watch the whole fireworks display at the start of the run; you get a great show, and avoid the craziness at the beginning. Besides, the timing chip will keep track of your personal time.

Make sure to enjoy all of the Christmas lights in the downtown area, and keep watch for the guys cheering you on from the bars - some funny characters. When you run through Waikiki, the crowds will amaze you. What are they doing up at 5:30?

Gatorade was perfect this year, not too sweet.

When you head up Diamond Head, the first wheelchair riders are heading back to the finish line. The yells and clapping of the runners (for the wheelchair guys and gals) gets you pumped up to get to the summit of the Diamond Head Road. In Kahala, you hit the first of several bands set up to keep up your energy. Make sure to take your own GU or similar, but folks along the route hand out snacks and candy bars. There is a McDonald's in Hawaii Kai. Along with the porta-potties, that is also one of my pit stops.

Crowds are good along the run, but when you get back to Diamond Head and hit Kapiolani Park, it really notches up. The cheering will give you an adrenaline kick. You normally will see a balloon rainbow arch about 50 yards before the actual finish. Don't focus on the balloons, but instead on the finish line after that. And take the energy from the crowd to push you to the end.

At the finish you do get a medal with your shirt. You get an apple and cookies too. I've never had problems asking for more. Remember too that you can use your packet pick up bag to store clothes and food. You drop it off the day before the race at Kapiolani Park and pick it up after the run.

I suggest picking up your apples and cookies, shirt and medal, and then getting your bag from the clothing pick up. After that, head for the beach across the street for a quick swim, then a shower before getting something to eat.

I've been doing this for 16 years. I don't know if the Honolulu Marathon is warmer than others, but they always have bags of ice at the water stops, and I have had no problems asking for ice to cool down my legs to prevent cramping.

Also, a big thank you to the thousands of volunteers who make this work every year.

First I should say this was my first marathon. So in all honesty I don't know what all the other big hot shot marathons are like so I can't say if it's amazing or not. I live here so I got to train for 5 months on the course. That being said, I thought it was an awesome experience. Yeah, okay, it was raining; but after all, it is winter and it's just a little Hawaiian snow! And it felt great and I wished it continued for the last 50 minutes of my run.

Positives:
* Dude there was choke spectators cheering when you think about how hard it was raining, you guys are great!

* Sponges with cold water - man, that was best!!!

* Plenty water and Gatorade.

Negatives:
* Getting the finisher's T-shirt was a walk, and I was pissed at first, but I think it was for the better in that I was able to remove more lactic acid, so I guess it's not a negative.

* At the starting line, no one lined up according to finishing time. I got a little lucky; I came around down Kamakee and turned down Queen. I found myself at the front and I squeezed in around where the 3:30 finishers would be.

Aside from that, I had so much fun and I thought the race was a blast!!!

p.s. I read all of the comments before the race and after, and to be honest, most of you sound like bitter, whiny guys. I mean, 15-20 years ago, there was a lot less organization and provisions; but the runners ran the races simply because they loved to run. All of these comparisons to NEW YORK and CHICAGO and so on... get over it! Different locale, different race.

Oh and mile markers were extremely visible; most people look forward when running, so stop looking at your shoelaces!

This was my second consecutive Honolulu Marathon and third marathon overall. I'm an active duty service member stationed on Oahu, so the convenience is great. While running with a huge crowd was interesting the first time around in 2007, the novelty wore off this year. Others commented on runner etiquette and I agree; it was a jungle out there. Walkers were up front, slow runners lined up 4-5 abreast, zig-zaggers galore, and there were people who stopped in the middle of the road everywhere.

It rained hard for several days before the race and I dreaded the finish. Sure enough, it was an absolute swamp again. The meager refreshments must constitute some bizarre form of pride to organizers. Year after year, participants lament two-little-cookies-and-a-tiny-apple and year after year there is no change. It was tough to negotiate the mud to get to the T-shirt and medal tents.

On the plus side, the aid stations were good and the volunteers were enthusiastic. The cold drinks and iced sponges were awesome, especially on the second half of the course when heat management became a priority. Contrary to an earlier comment on the 2008 race, I saw markers at every mile, and KM markers every 5 clicks.

My sense is that this event is what it is - there are too many people willing to travel and pay high prices, so organizers will not address areas of improvement. It's unlikely that I'll run another HM; there are too many people and too much chaos for me.

What follows is pretty much a list of complaints, but there wasn't anything egregiously wrong with the race. I mean, it was more or less 26.2 miles, and there weren't potholes on the course or anything. So I'm giving it two stars (as opposed to the dreaded one). That said, of the six marathons I've run, this was probably the most disorganized and chintzy, which is ironic since it was by far the most expensive. Anyway, here are my grievances:

1) Marathon packet was just full of advertisements. There were no samples, and no giveaways. Compare this to Cincinnati, where you got a nice backpack and a piggy bank jar.

2) Big expo, but it was still pretty lame. Not many booths were giving out samples.

3) It was tough finding transportation to the start. Just about every other marathon I've done has shuttles that go to the major hotels.

4) There was no race etiquette at all, which was surprising since Japanese (about two-thirds of the runners were Japanese) are usually very polite. A lot of walkers and slow joggers bunched up at the starting line and I was dodging people for seven or eight miles.

5) The Gatorade was powdery. Yuck.

6) No GU on the course. I need my GU! That said, they did have sponges, which were refreshing towards the end.

7) The finishing area was muddy (not sure they can do much about that) and I had to do a lot of walking to get my snack (an apple and two cookies?!) and finisher's t-shirt. (Actually, the finisher's shirt is nice.)

All in all, I enjoyed myself since I got another marathon under my belt (only 45 more to go until I've run all the states and DC), but this was the worst-run marathon I've done so far.

I guess I should follow suit and give the positives and then the negatives.

POSITIVES
1) Hey, it's Hawaii. Always beautiful.
2) I had a good time.

NEGATIVES
1) Water and Gatorade were polluted - barely potable.
2) They said, "plenty of toilets." NOT!
3) Course was way too narrow and muddy in many places. Did someone say, "Runners' etiquette?" No way to keep my pace.
4) Finish area was a total mess... lots of MUD.
5) Mile markers? What mile markers?

This was my first marathon ever. Does that mean I don't get to post an opinion? Sure, I had a great time, but I had to ask if everyone is always that unhappy in a marathon. I sure hope not. Nonetheless, it's still paradise and a wonderful place to run (despite the heavy rains). Will I do it again? Maybe, but what do I know about marathons anyway? Finish time: 5:32:xx; not bad for an old guy... and my first time.

The positives:

1. The fan support. Thank you for coming out and supporting us, especially in the rain. Thank you for those living along the route for being gracious and offering nuts/pretzels to those starving runners like me who miscalculated the amount of food support on the route. There was plenty of liquids/sponges to cool ourselves down, but no gel stands that I saw unless you're in one of the Japanese tour support groups.

3. Thanks for all of the volunteers. You were great and gave us plenty of encouragement.

4. The shuttle buses were great from the zoo to the start line.

The Negatives:

1. The bag that we got at package pickup consisted entirely of ads for tourists attractions in Honolulu instead of the usual advertisements for future events and free samples.

2. There was no race etiquette. People were bunched up with their groups/friends rather than there estimated finishing time at the start line. This made for a lot of weaving around runners the first few miles.

4. As I mentioned before, there was no food support that I saw in the whole marathon.

5. The route was OK; it was not very scenic at 5 a.m. in the rain. The back and forth between miles 15-22 was a bit long and tedious.

6. The finish area was so disorganized. You finish in one area, and have to walk for what feels like miles after a marathon to get some food and your medal. You trek around all of those Japanese-sponsored tour tents in the muddy field to get your cookies and one apple. I don't begrudge the fact that the tour groups having support tents for their team, but does it all have to be right behind of the finish line?

I honestly don't know whether I would do this race again, given the cost to fly and stay there for just the race.

This isn't much of a marathon; it is a tourist attraction for the Japanese. If you don't mind paying the $100 entry fee, plus airfare and hotel and expensive meals... and getting up at 2:30 a.m. to catch a shuttle to the start... and waiting in the rain for 2 hours for the race to start at 5 a.m... and running for a couple of hours in the dark while dodging puddles and walkers and being jostled by rude foreigners... and having only water and Gatorade at the aid stations... and getting just two cookies and an apple at the finish... then this is the run for you. Otherwise, pick another marathon in Hawaii.

On the positive side: the shirt and medal were nice; there was plenty to see at the expo; check-in was well-organized; the fireworks at the start were cool; all of the volunteers were cheerful and supportive; you got to keep the chip; and it is in Hawaii.

Eat at Smorgy's buffet on Kuhio - great value!

Honolulu was my first marathon, but I read the comments before the race, so I knew what to expect. It is kind of a drag that the walkers are not separated from the runners, so as a result, for the first few miles, I was behind many walkers who should not have started ahead of me. It poured for my first 10 miles and due to all the rain prior to the race, there were a lot of big puddles and some flooding. The fans and volunteers were fantastic, and there were a ton of porta-potties for those who needed them. The finish area was not very well organized. It was hard to find the finisher t-shirts and I never saw any post-race food. Expo was well organized, but the goody bag was terrible. Two stickers and a bunch of fliers and brochures, maybe a coupon or two. There was good energy throughout the race. Probably not a race if you are trying to run a PR.