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Jun 16, 2024

Honolulu Marathon Runner Comments

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Course 4.0

Organization 3.7

Spectators 3.9

Number of comments: 202 [displaying comments 121 to 131]

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K. S. from San Diego (3/21/2006) "Overrated in Every Way" (about: 2005) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Honolulu Marathon COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 2 A couple of years ago I decided to wait until I ran another marathon before posting on this site. Emotional comments, both pro and con, tend to be stronger right after a race. Thus, I'm making this submission three months (and one marathon) after the '05 Honolulu Marathon. The race organization cannot be rated higher than 1 star. There were about 27,000 people lined up at 5:00 a.m. and no starting corrals. As you can imagine, there were hundreds of walkers and charity runners lined up between the 3:00 and 3:30 pacers. That is not excellent organization. It is non-organization. The course was another disappointment. Imagine 27,000 people running through all 4 lanes of a boulevard along Waikiki Beach, and then narrowing to ONE SINGLE LANE. You don't need Chopper Dan in the traffic helicopter to predict a heel clipping jam. This was really bad and dangerous because the sun hadn't yet risen. I was surprised there were actually people out cheering at that hour of the morning. As with the runners, the great majority of spectators came from Japan to support their friends and family. It was pretty cool being cheered along in Japanese. They were great. The post-race amenities were the absolute worst of any race I have ever run.... Anywhere!! That includes 14 state marathons, over 50 half marathons and countless 10K and 5K races. When I finished I went to the food area and was given a bruised apple and two dry cookies. Seriously! It was beyond belief. In fact, it was so unbelievable that I asked where the food/reception area was for the runners. The security person looked at me like I was from another planet. I was positive that I simply didn't find the hospitality area and headed back to the hotel. When back to the US I wrote an email to the race director. I asked if I missed something or if the apple and cookies were all that was offered. The response was, "Yes, that is all that was offered." I also asked if the Japan Airlines keychain was the actual medal. The response was also, "Yes." At 27,000 runners paying roughly $100, you can do the math and come up with a staggering number. Then figure in mega-sponsors like Japan Airlines and Nike. I read that the marathon contributed about $100,000,000.00 to a Honolulu economy that already is one of the most affluent in the US. The appreciation was expressed with a bruised apple, two cookies and a key chain. Fast forward two months to February 5th. Despite being at the center of the largest natural disaster in US history, The Mardi Gras Marathon was scheduled to be the first "big" event after Hurricane Katrina. Even with a crippled city and a devastated economy, the post-race amenities included all the red beans and rice, Subway sandwiches, and cold beer anybody wanted. Also included were a cool medal and a long-sleeve tee shirt. And live music. They didn't have the luxury of the beautiful Kapiolani Park as in Honolulu. It was outside the storm-damaged Superdome! I agree that American runners should not support the Honolulu Marathon unless it is for charity.
A. M. from New York (3/11/2006) "Second-Class Citizen" (about: 2005) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Honolulu Marathon COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 2 I would strongly discourage American runners from doing the Honolulu Marathon. I suppose a few years ago the organizers discovered that Japanese clubs pay more to participate in the Marathon, and the Japanese sponsors are more generous. As a result they literally abandoned the American runners. More than two-thirds of the participants come now from Japan and the rest of us are simply ignored. It shows as soon as you come to the expo. The announcements are in Japanese, the seminars and presentations are in Japanese, the company booths from Japan don't even bother to write an English word or two about the products and services they advertise. I was lucky, my girlfriend is Japanese and I also know the Japanese language a bit, so I was OK. At the starting area in the middle of the night it was already hot and humid. And not a single table with water! No bottles, no cups, no nothing. Those with the organized Japanese clubs had bottles that probably were given to them on their buses. I was so thirsty! A very kind Japanese volunteer gave me her own bottle. God bless her! The course passes through dark downtown Honolulu where the only spectators are those who at 5 a.m. still feel attached to the bars where they spent the night. Then to Waikiki. Here we had the most spectators on the course, probably hundreds or even thousands of them, but almost all of them were from the same clubs as the runners and cheered their club members with chants "Ganbatte" ("Try harder!") and waving the Japanese flags and banners. For the next few miles we were passing some nondescript villages with no spectators. And no mile markers. I guess, the main sponsor - Japan Air Lines - looked at it practically, and most of the runners are familiar with kilometers, not miles, so why to waste the money on the mile markers? I have to admit that every 5 KILOMETERS there was not just a marker but even a clock. I saw my first mile marker (without a clock, of course) at 11 miles. Actually I saw it only because I turned my head and looked back - the marker was facing & the opposite direction. By that time the sun started rising, and we entered the highway. We were lucky, it was Sunday morning, it was still before 7 a.m., and there were very few cars on the road. When I dreamed about the Honolulu Marathon, I couldn't imagine that the organizers and their foreign sponsors wouldn't find in the whole island of Oahu a better course than unremarkable villages and an ordinary highway that we would share with cars and trucks! As for entertainment, there were two small rock bands, and two boom boxes on the course, one of them tuned to the local station playing the music and the news. Three miles before the finish, we finally ran for a few minutes through a pretty and rather affluent community, with not a single spectator. But having not enough water, especially running the last 5-6 miles in the scorching heat, I wouldn't care anymore about the beauty of the course or cheering spectators even if they were there. Once I crossed the finish line, I was given an apple and two small oatmeal cookies, and then with my girlfriend acting as an interpreter, located the tent where I received the finisher t-shirt and the medal. Actually, not a medal but the Japan Air Lines key ring. The Japanese club members proceeded to the huge tents where they were taken care of. Next to us an American runner started vomiting. My girlfriend grabbed my number and pretending that she was one of the members of the club tried to get a cup of water for him. She was caught and thrown away from one tent but in the second tent she was successful - she grabbed water while an attendant looked the other way. Overall, I felt like I paid $105 to sneak into some private event. If you thought of running in Honolulu, you'd better spend a couple more hours on the plane, fly to Japan and run their extremely well organized and very friendly Nagano Marathon or the unique Tokyo Yumemai Marathon.
Richard Hincha from Dayton, Ohio (1/27/2006) "Well-executed, but more scenery needed." (about: 2005) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Honolulu Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 After 32 runs, the Honolulu Marathon is a well-run, efficient machine, but it's not perfect. Normally, I'm not that much into scenery during a marathon but, considering the location, it would have been nice to run closer to the water more of the time. Also, the run up and down Diamond Head is really tight, due to the narrow road and the thousands of runners; maybe consider a different route. Spectators were all over and very enthusiastic. Expo was great with lots to see and experience, although the goody bag was skimpy. The power drink supplied at the water stations was superior to Gatorade, I felt. Overall, an excellent marathon.
Alastair Hood from Oakville, Ontario (1/17/2006) "Great excuse to go to Hawaii" (about: 2005) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Honolulu Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 I had a great experience running this marathon with Team in Training. They did an amazing job connecting us to the real reason we were running it (to cure Leukemia) and they made sure it was an experience we'll never forget, and I definitely won't. The course was as beautiful as Hawaii gets. Great weather, awesome scenery, aloha spirit, and a fireworks display that takes your breath away. The only negatives are the hoplessly choatic start area and the bottlenecks at spots along the course and a less than tasty sport drink that is unkonwn outside of Japan. Leave your aspirations for PB's at home. This is the people's marathon and should be done as a charity run or a 42.2 KM long run in tropical paradise; and lavishly reward yourself after.
L. H. from Honolulu, HI (1/14/2006) "It's Hawaii, what did you expect?" (about: 2005) 3 previous marathons \| 1 Honolulu Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 The comments from the previous runners were all valid. Just from different perspectives and expectations. 1) The race conditions were on the warm side this year according some of runners who ran it in 2004. The temperature was in the low 70s at the start and there was very little wind. It felt good until the sun rose over the mountains and the direct sunlight began to beat down. For us middle-of-the-pack runners, that was when we were coming out of Hawaii Kai. The early start time really makes sense. Maybe they should start the race even earlier but then the elites would finish in the dark - lol. The course was lined by police and at no time did I feel that I had to worry about vehicular traffic (except for a news crew which came barrelling through an aid station no less!). There appeared to be enough medical support personnel for those runners in need of assistance, IVs and all. 2) There were enough port-o-potties at the start and you loop back to the start after ~3 miles. Of course those who are familiar with the rest of the course know about the public parks further along the route. The park restrooms were likely better options than the port-o-potties scattered along the race course. 3) The volunteers serving up the sports drink, water, and icy sponges were cheerful and enthusiastic. A big "mahalo" to all of them. The only sports drink served was Amino Value which is manufactured by Ajinomoto. No Gatorade, no gels. It was the first time I had Amino Value and it seemed benign enough. I drank it throughout the race and didn't suffer from any ill effects. Still, I would have preferred the option of having something more familiar. An official said that Amino Value wasn't sold in the U.S. although the map of the course included in the race packet stated that it was sold in the ABC Stores you see all over Waikiki. As a local, I haven't shopped in Waikiki in years. Amino Value is different from the Amino Vital sports drink that some may have had in other events. 4) About the comments that the race was dominated by Japanese runners in terms of number of runners - Hawaii is a tourist hotspot for the Japanese so it is not surprising that Japan tour groups and running clubs make this one of their signature events and why the major sponsors were Japanese companies. Just look at your bib and medal if you don't believe it. 5) Post-race. Food was as meager as everyone said. I made two passes for apple and cookies (the volunteers manning the booth didn't seem to mind). The race officials should locate the booth to pickup your finisher's t-shirt and medal closer to the finish line. Wandering around Kapiolani Park hunting for the t-shirt-medal booth on rubbery legs does not improve or enhance one's mood or state of mind. It's not like an expo where it makes economic sense to have runners picking up their packets wading past booths selling their wares. One person who saw me walking out with a finisher's shirt pleaded with me to point out the booth. 6) The race packet was very sparse. There were none of the tchotchkes usually available in other large races. Included was the bib, chip, and a sample of something you rub on your legs. That was it unless you count the wad of flyers printed in Japanese promoting this or that activity and a marathon sticker or two. The positives more than outweighed the negatives. Still, they should work on the negatives to make it even better next year, right? Bottom line was it was a decent marathon. Would I run it again? Sure.
Robb Linnemanstons from Mequon, Wisconsin (1/13/2006) "A great "event" marathon - not a PR race" (about: 2005) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Honolulu Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 Honolulu was my 31st marathon and my 4th of 2005. It was only the 2nd really big marathon I've done (Chicago 1999 was the other), so I was concerned about the effect the numbers would have on everything involved. My overall impression was a very well organized event with a few areas for improvement. The expo was well laid out and spacious, and the packet pick-up was very efficient. Making it available for the four days prior to the race certainly helped. The shuttle bus from the zoo parking lot was very well run. I was surprised at first that our bus left the zoo with seats available, but the plan was ingenious when I thought it through - three lines going to three buses, fill them to about 80% and move them all out - bring in the next three immediately and repeat the process. Someone should get a gold star for that. I knew by checking prior year results that I'd finish in the top 500, and so wanted to get near the start. I got close enough - it took me 30 seconds to cross the start line, and by a mile into the race there was reasonable room to run. By three miles there was no congestion at all. However, within those first three miles I passed thousands of runners who had no business starting where they did. The organizers need to do a better job emphasizing starting positions. As another writer said, there were plenty of porta-potties near the starting line. The course: I had read prior reviews, and run Diamond Head a few days earlier, so I knew about what to expect. Some places are really pretty, others are just residential, but even in the residential areas you can't help but realize you're in Hawaii and life is good. And it was a much fun seeing the leaders on their way back as I was heading out towards Hawaii Kai as it was seeing the thousands still heading out as I was returning to Diamond Head. The layout of the tents in Kapiolani Park needs work. It's been stated by others, but I'll say it again - put the food and t-shirt tent near the finish where we can find them. I had just run 26.2 miles - my calves were cramping and my feet hurt - and all I could find were corporate tents. That was annoying. The volunteers were great, as were the fans, even though I couldn't understand the majority of them. The other runners were great - lots of smiles even when there wasn't a common language. It was even better the day or two after when you knew everyone wearing a bright orange finisher's shirt was sharing your pain. Overall, a great event, and one I hope to do again.
Rachel Leier from Columbus, Ohio (1/8/2006) "I was impressed" (about: 2005) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Honolulu Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 This was my 14th marathon and I feel like I ran a different race than several of the previous reviewers. I anticipated the crowding at the beginning because of what I'd read on this site. I lined up 50 feet from the starting line about an hour before the race and never budged. Kind of a pain but necessary. There was only an 8-second difference between my gun time and my chip time. If you run 3:40 or better, you won't encounter much congestion after the first mile or so (if you go to the trouble of lining up early and really close to the front). There are only a handful of people running that pace, so the front of the pack thins out pretty quickly after you get moving. I agree that most of the participants made no effort to line up according to their pace. I didn't come across any dirty port-o-johns. I wonder if everyone stopped at the first little group of port-o-johns about 1/2 way into Kapiolani Park. There were only a couple back there and the lines were outrageous so I kept moving toward the start line and there were tons and tons of port-o-johns up front. There were no lines at all for some of them and people were walking around handing out rolls of toilet paper to the people waiting whether they wanted tp or not. No problem whatsoever. I actually loved the fact that you were supposed to put the medal on the shell lei. What a uniquely Hawaiian feature. Loved all of the freezing cold sponges, the fireworks at the start, glimpses of the ocean along the way. I loved all of the Japanese people - they were so happy to be there. I loved the fact that we could pick up our certificates the very next day! The volunteers were wonderful. The running and non-running celebrities at the expo were very impressive. Of the bad, the post-race food and water should not be set off in a tent that you have to hunt down and kill after the race. Way too far away. In fact, you end up having to walk all over the place to get your medal, shirt, water, etc. after the race. I like the idea but everything was just a bit too spread out for my taste. The course is not a PR course. It's warm and hilly. Drink A LOT of water and sports drink or suffer the consequences. Then go to the beach and reap your reward. Mahalo!
J. A. from Washington, DC (1/4/2006) "Well, it IS in Hawaii...." (about: 2005) 2 previous marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 4 The finisher's medal was a joke - it's a keychain and then we had to hunt for it (along with the T-shirt). After going 26.2 miles we have to keep going to find our medals, which we paid $95 for? Where was the food? Very disappointed in the finish line. The volunteers were cheerful though.
R. N. from Ewa Beach, HI (1/3/2006) "Course Beauty Doesn't Outweigh Disappointments..." (about: 2005) 2 previous marathons \| 1 Honolulu Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 3 The 2005 Honolulu Marathon certainly had its upsides and downsides with more of the latter. Upside: 1. Course Beauty - Absolutely wonderful! Diamond Head coming back for the finish is punishing but builds mental toughness. 2. Volunteers - ALL volunteers were helpful, courteous, and portrayed the 'aloha' spirit! Thanks... you guys were wonderful!!! 3. Cold Sponges - Definitely an enhancer when the sun came up and you tried to tackle Diamond Head coming home. Downside: 1. Expo - Absolutely the worse expo I have seen. If your luggage got lost and you needed a pair of running shoes other than NIKE, good luck! There were more 'vacation' and Japanese tour kiosks than running. Are we running a marathon or a booth on Waikiki? 2. Hawaii in the U.S.? - It was abundantly clear at the starting line on race morning the race was about enrolling the maximum participants from Japanese tour groups. I wasn't quite sure if I was running the Tokyo or Hawaii Marathon! From the start, the race just did not cater to the indiviual runner but to Japanese tour groups (see further comments). 3. Course Layout - Mile-markers were hard to find and in some cases facing the other way. Choke points off of Ala Moana on to Nuuanu Avenue and up Diamond Head should be avoidable, especially up Diamond Head. Only one lane was open going out over Diamond Head and I felt like herded cattle. I found myself walking faster than running. 4. Water Stations - Only water and a Japanese amino drinks were availabe. No Gatorade, fruit, gel packs for a $60 (resident) or $95 (non-res) entry fee. Come on race organizers... you can do better! 5. Finish Line - Shell lei was a nice touch and having water/amino drinks available immediately after the race was great. Finding the food and shirt/medal tent was horrible. I just ran 26.2 miles and had to walk another 1/2 mile to get the goods and find food. In the process, I was kicked out of 3-4 Japanese tour group tents with 'real' food because I wasn't a member. Finisher t-shirt was o.k. but the medal was a key chain that looked like something you would get at the Aloha Stadium Swap Meet - very disappointing. Food tent had apple slices (not avaialable) and oatmeal cookies - are you serious? I got better food support from residents on Kahala Ave. MPRRC had better food, t-shirts, and medals for the race series finishers at 1/4 of the cost. Bus service back to Waikiki hotels was not published well. I ended up walking back to my hotel - 2 miles. Overall - The course is wonderful but a runner does not get the big bang for their dollars spent to register for the race. The race is catered towards Japanese tour groups to include post-race support, food support along the route was non-existent, and the finisher t-shirt and medal are not what one would expect with the race fees collected. I have checked this marathon block, and as a resident of HI, will not run this race again.
J. A. from Washington DC (12/31/2005) "Beautiful course - don't count on a personal best" (about: 2005) 2 previous marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 4 Beautiful scenery. Good organization for so many people - mostly folks from Japan. Very crowded and had to be careful not to run into someone who stops suddenly to take a picture. My biggest peeve was the finsher's medal - IT WAS NOT A MEDAL BUT A LIGHT-WEIGHT METAL KEYCHAIN. And then I had to search for the tent (it was the one farthest from the finish line). For $95 you'd think you could get a medal around your neck at the end - not a shell necklace and then have to search for your finisher's keychain. Folks were attaching the keychain to the puka shell necklace to wear but I wasn't sure how strong the necklace was. This was a huge disappointment because I'm now embarrassed to show it compared to other race medals. They must have made a ton of money on this race and at the end I got an apple and two cookies - no bagels? The volunteers were great and enthusiastic, could have used more porta-johns along the route and the ones at the beginning were in the wrong location, but Hawaii was nice as usual - that you can count on!

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