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Apr 30, 2024

Kona Marathon Runner Comments

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Course 3.6

Organization 4.0

Spectators 3.1

Number of comments: 74 [displaying comments 21 to 31]

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Adam Gould from Wisconsin (6/26/2013) "Looking for More" (about: 2013) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Kona Marathon COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 2 I ran the 20th edition of the Kona Marathon and was hoping for more. This was my 48th marathon, and it would rank in the bottom five for the following reasons: Shuttles never showed up to take runners to the start. We were told to either find rides (at 5:00am for a 5:30 scheduled start) or walk the mile+ to the line. The start was eventually delayed 15 minutes. Of the first 4 aid stations, one was not ready and one had no water. Mile markers were not consistantly displayed. The last mile included the toughest hills on the course, a set of stairs going up and another going down, and multiple turns on a single lane path to the finish. Results were not posted, instead finishers had to look through stacks of cards on one table for their name. Results changed at least once as the day went on, making it confusing as to who the age group place winners were. **Fan support was minimal. Few people - locals and tourists - seemed to know a race was going on. In suppoort of Kona, the pre-race meal, host hotel, and expo were very nice. However, the main event was not what I expected for the effort to get to the island. You cannot control fans and a contracted bus company, but these are the things that a marathon of 20 years should have a better handle on.
B. H. from Alberta, Canada (6/26/2013) "Beautiful location, Poor event experience" (about: 2013) 4-5 previous marathons \| 1 Kona Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 2 Great volunteers and well run aid stations, but that's about it. Where do I start? Some kind of mix up left hundreds stranded with no shuttles to the start, many (myself) had to run a couple miles to the late start. No start mat, not sure if there was supposed to be, but the start was late, unorganized, and frustrating. Less than half of the checkpoint mats functioned and the online timing and tracking was down for the entire event. The course had been changed to make the last mile or so a rocky dirt road (no signage) and a gauntlet across the Sheraton grounds (and down a staircase?) with no signs, and no one to direct runners. The finish line had multiple things going on with multiple people talking into multiple PA systems, so really just amounted to no one hearing anything but lots of loud noise. A great and historic venue ruined by shoddy planning and event management. Not worth a long distance travel, but probably a fun day if you're local.
G. C. from California (6/25/2013) "Some issues with the new course need fixing" (about: 2013) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Kona Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 I ran the Kona full Marathon in 2013. They changed the course by starting the race on Ali'i drive just below the Keauhou shopping center, and finishing at the Sheraton resort. Most of the course remained unchanged, except that we did not run on the road to the natural energy center around the halfway, but instead stayed on the Highway for the turnaround. The race is run in warm conditions, but my feeling is that it wasn't as hot this year as it had been on previous years, as there was some decent cloud cover for the first 2h30 of the race, and also some light wind. Much of the race has already been described in older posts. A few more comments: - I stayed at the Kona Coast Resort, which was very convenient as it was just a few steps away from the start. - The race switched to chip timing, but there was no mat at the start, so the starting time was gun time for everyone. In addition, some timing mats malfunctioned (I had no split at the half/finish) and I had to call the timing company to get my results entered in the system. - There was a 15min delay at the start. Not a big deal usually, but when you know how hot it can get later in the day, it made a difference for slower runners. Apparently this was due to problems with shuttles that transported runners from the Sheraton to the start but never showed up. - aid stations were well stocked with water, Ultima, coke, and ice cubes at some of them. I don't care for ultima and coke, but it was useful to have some ice to put in my shirt, which really helped to cool-down. Also, make sure you douse yourself with water, it really helps against the heat. Finally, a couple of aid stations had water showers, which was also welcome. - there were very few spectators; so don't count on crowd support to help you finish - the course is gently undulating for the most part, except for a steep hill, which you descend at the start, and climb up at the end of M25. That hill is not long, but at that point of the race it is a real killer. It made my pace drop from 7:30 to 7:54 for that mile. - the last mile is one of the most bizarre I have ever run for a road marathon. There is a ~0.5M long cross-country section on dirt/gravel with rocks, which is really not something you want to deal with at that point of the race when you have signed up for a road marathon. Then they made us run through the lawn of the Sheraton resort, through a hallway inside the hotel (yes you read that correctly), and then we had to go down 3 steps of stairs before more lawn action to the finish. This felt like one of these dreams where you have to run inside buildings and staircases...They clearly need to change the way that last mile is run as I did not feel that this was acceptable or safe at that point of the race. - the AG awards ceremony was scheduled for 10:30AM but did not start until noon for the marathoners. This was really too late and there wasn't many people left at that point. Also frustrating was the fact that as a 3rd place finisher I got a plastic bottle, while 2nd and 1st place got very nice plaques. Granted, I should have kicked my butt and run faster, but it was disappointing. Why not give a plaque to all three, or just to the first one if they wanted to save money? - It is the same medal and shirt for the half and the full. The medal is beautiful, but it does not seem fair, as running the full distance here is so much more challenging than doing the half marathon. Since they also have a 5k/10k, I would suggest making one medal.shirt for 5k/10k/half, and another for the marathon. So because of the course change, there are some organizational issues that need to be fixed for 2014. It is still a great race, and running a marathon in Hawaii is a unique experience, but things need to change for this race to become a first class marathon.
A. T. from Pacific Northwest, USA (7/8/2012) "great half" (about: 2012) 3 previous marathons COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 I want to emphasize that I ran the HALF marathon only. I was considering the full, but am so glad I settled for the half. The course for the half was awesome. With the early start time, there was some shade and breeze. But I would have dreaded going past the half turnaround for the full. The course then goes on the highway with no shade. It would have been a scorcher. I want to give kudos to the organization. The volunteers at the aid station were excellent indicating either water or electrolytes, which was extremely helpful. I met the RD briefly to ask a question. She was very considerate. I placed in my age group and received a beautiful tile, so much nicer than another medal. Given another opportunity to run this again, I most certainly would.
mike haseley from oahu, hawaii, USA (7/8/2011) "awesome run!" (about: 2011) 2 previous marathons \| 1 Kona Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 2 the 2011 kona marathon was a wonderful experience! I live on Oahu so the heat was kind of what i expected. the cloud cover was nice for more than half the race but it does get pretty hot when the sun starts heating up the lava field. this race is an out and back run, not the most exciting thing to be running through the lava fields, but this is a really nice small intimate race and everyone is super friendly. if you are used to the bigger races (new york, chicago, honolulu) you will be disappointed with the crowds here, but the volunteers were all super motivating and the thought of a nice cold kona brewing company wailua wheat beer was enough to keep the pace up through until the end. i had heard this is not a good course to try and attempt and set a PR, but once you are out on the lava field see how you feel and pace accordingly. this was my fastest marathon at 3:52 but i did have to stop once and throw up, i ignored the golden rule of dont eat anything you dont use while training and threw up all the optima sports drink along the way. good thing i had drank gallons of pedialite prior to this race or the heat would of been too much. i would love to come back to run this race again but next time i think i will book early so i can stay at the host hotel, whitch is where the start and finish is located and dont have to hitch hike to the start of the race because i could not find a taxi to take me to the start of the race. go a few days early and explore the island, kona is such a cool town worth checking out
Dick White from Cocoa Beach, Florida (7/5/2011) "KONA - Not for the faint of Heart" (about: 2011) 50+ previous marathons \| 1 Kona Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Kona 2011 was my wife's #49 in her quest for 50 states plus DC. I ran the Rock in 2001. Marlene was also signed up that year but fractured her foot 10 days before the race. As luck would have it, Frank Shorter had recent foot surgery that year and was wearing the same removable cast as Marlene. He helped make lemonade from lemons with Marlene by swapping stories of their healing processes. AND.. we were all back in 2011, Marlene to run the Marathon, Me to run my 12 y/o daughters first 10K with her and Frank to run his first 1/2 marathon since his hip surgery (and, of course to lend his legendary presence to us mere mortals). My whole family extend our gratitude to all of the race staff and the many WONDERFUL volunteers who make this Race GREAT. Kona Marathon Weekend exudes the Aloha spirit and goes beyond to include OHANA as everyone is family here. The course is tough so don't come here not being prepared, but I promise you will LOVE every difficult moment as you conquer the ROCK !!!
M. B. from Washington DC (7/20/2010) "Great race... but be prepared for the sun!" (about: 2010) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Kona Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 2 First marathon. I thought I had prepared properly, but I got hammered by 20 miles of direct sun. The temp was OK (~83F), but the sun just baked me! Ran the first half in 1:48 but hit the wall at mile 16 and limped home in 4:18. Very well organzied and very well supported for such a small event!
p. w. from marietta GA (6/28/2010) "tough - hot course" (about: 2010) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Kona Marathon COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 1 I found the heat to be very tough, and I am from GA and used to running in the heat of summer - just not a marathon distance. The course, while not particularly hilly, is challenging for its long, easy grades uphill on the Queen and OTEC Road. This is not a course for spectator support - even the people walking about in downtown Kailua Village during the last 5 miles acted oblivious to our being there. The volunteers, however, were GREAT! And the race is very well organized and went off without a hitch. I would like to see an earlier start, but no matter what you'll still hit the heat at the worst time - while out on that highway with no shade. And this year the wind was behind you after the turnaround. A great, small race in a great location, but know what you are getting into; hydrate, hydrate, hydrate, and dont expect to run a PR.
JoAnna Kai Cobb from Bedford, Indiana (7/7/2009) "An Island Race You Can't Miss" (about: 2009) First Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 What an experience for my first 26.2! I earned a grant from the Lilly Foundation to travel to Hawaii and participate in the Kona Marathon. Team Challenge, a charity group for the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America, was present at this race. Though I wasn't a member of their team, they gave me a singlet to wear due to my work with CCFA in Indiana and my status as a participant with Crohn's. (It should be noted that I was a slow finisher [5:53], so my perspective might be a bit different from that of a fast runner.) ACCOMMODATIONS & AREA My husband and I stayed at the Keauhou Beach Resort, the host hotel. We had been there for a week. I recommend staying there, primarily because it was a nice resort, and also because it was nice to walk from my room to the start line, and from the finish line straight to my room. My husband and I arrived a week early to get acclimated to the area, the climate, and the jetlag. There's a lot to do in Kona, so we were never bored. I loved this area. I recommend a helicopter tour if you have time. The Big Island has several different climate zones that can all be seen from the air. You can even land and hike in an active lava zone. START Packet pick-up was the day before the race, and there were lots of interesting tents there. On race day, at 5:15 a.m., we walked 0.2 miles to the start. There were no chips or seeding, just a faster-runners-to-the-front-and-walkers-to-the-back designation. After some introductions of the elite runners, we were off. PEOPLE Though there were over 1,200 participants for the different races, only 221 people were running the marathon. I never felt congested, but that's coming from a girl whose only big race experience before this was the 500 Festival Mini Marathon, which always has 35,000 runners. SCENERY The first six and last six miles are run on Ali'i Drive by the ocean, and the middle 14 miles are mostly run on Highway 11/19, with a four-mile jaunt down the road by the power plant at the turn. While the ocean views are my preference, I can't complain about the views from the highway. Many have described this area as barren, but the ocean is still visible. Plus, I enjoyed looking at the mountain and all of the lava. This Indiana gal doesn't get to see things like that on a regular basis! HILLS I wouldn't classify the course as flat, but it's not extremely hilly either. The best way to say it is: there is hardly a flat spot on the course, but the hills, for the most part, are gentle. They keep things interesting. I found myself being thankful for every uphill on the way out on the out-and-back course, because that meant a downhill was waiting for me on the way back! There was a long, gradual uphill at the beginning of the highway. The toughest hill for me was the uphill at Miles 14 and 15 on the road that approaches the highway. It was a nice downhill on the way out, though! There was a course change this year around Mile 6.5 due to some new traffic lights, so a ramp was installed for runners to get from a shopping center's parking lot to the road. The ramp was very sturdy, so I felt safe. It was a bit precarious coming down the ramp at Mile 19.5 though. My legs were pretty shaky. AID STATIONS The aid stations were present every mile. Volunteers had Ultima, iced water, and ice. I shouted out what I wanted, and they provided. I recommend wearing a hat. It shields the sun, and you can toss some ice underneath it for an extended cool-down. The volunteers at the aid stations (and all along the course, for that matter), were cheerful and helpful. HEAT Hawaii in June is hot, obviously, but it wasn't as bad as I imagined it would be. We started the race before sunrise. While the sun rises at 5:45 a.m. in late June, it doesn't actually touch Kona until some time later due to the mountain. It was about 75 degrees at the beginning and 85 degrees near the end. Folks were talking about the humidity, but it didn't seem that bad to me. Again, I come from Indiana, where I'd been training in comparable temperatures and much higher humidity. The heat that bothered me most was the heat radiating from the freshly blacktopped road. The recommendations to beat the heat are obvious: light-colored, light-weight, wicking clothes; a light-colored, light-weight hat; plenty of sunscreen applied before you can sweat it off; and extra water at the aid stations to give yourself a nice splash. There were little PVC sprinklers under which runners could pass to get a nice soaking. However, they were a bit short. I hit my head on one, and I'm 5'3". It's also a bad idea to run under these if you have an iPod, as I discovered on Mile 7. Luckily, it started working again a few minutes later! Ha! TRAFFIC I felt safe in the south lane of Ali'i Drive and on the shoulder of the highway. However, when I was on Mile 22, the cones closing Ali'i's south lane were moved to the shoulder, allowing traffic back in the south lane. Granted, I was finishing slowly due to some hip issues, but I was suddenly very nervous. There was lots of traffic when the road was freshly opened, and here I was running WITH, not against, it! Scary! The shoulder is ample, but many surfers had their vehicles parked in the shoulder, so I had to do some clever choreography to squeeze my way through the course in some places. FANS There were fans here and there, mostly the charity groups and cheerleaders. Some folks near the shops on Ali'i Drive cheered, as well. On the way back through the shops on Ali'i Drive, many of the shoppers just looked at me like I was crazy. The real cheerleaders were the great volunteers and the runners passing by each other going different directions on the highway. I was lucky to have my husband, who would drive a few miles ahead of me, then stop to support me. If you like fan support, bring a friend to help you though the race. The stretch of the highway on the way back was most difficult for me, even though it was downhill. I was just tired of the highway. Having my husband there helped get me out of that funk. FINISH The bilingual announcer was quite good. He announced everyone's finish as if he/she was the winner. It made my accomplishment even more special to me. I received a shell lei, a medal, a T-shirt, instant individual results, and some great support from the volunteers and the medical staff. (They checked out the bump on my head from the sprinkler.) Overall, I probably look at this marathon through rose-colored glasses since it was my first; but honestly, it was a great race. On the course, I chatted with a guy who was completing a marathon in his 50th state, and he told me that Kona was the hardest marathon he'd ever completed. The course is, after all, the Ironman course. The hills and the heat are a recipe for challenge. However, I didn't really notice it. It was tough, but I was enjoying myself SO much. All of my issues were personal (I was having some hip problems that forced me into a walk/run pattern for the last half of the marathon); and anytime it got hard, all I had to remember was, I'M IN HAWAII! One look at my surroundings brought it all into perspective. Thank you, Kona, for being part of the biggest accomplishment of my life. I recommend this marathon for anyone who can afford the travel and enjoys a challenge.
R. R. from Memphis, Tennessee (7/4/2009) "It's a Challenge in Paradise" (about: 2009) 6-10 previous marathons \| 1 Kona Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 It's Hawaii. It's historic in that it follows the marathon trial of the famous Iron Man National Championship. Don't forget that it's hot and humid. Those are the cornerstones of the UCC Coffee Marathon in Kona. First of all, it is a run that is in paradise! It was a great chance to take the family to a really cool place (figuratively of course!). The volcanoes and the Green Sand Beach and the snorkeling are all first-rate. Our trip to the top of Mt. Mona Kea was a must-do! While you are there, take time to DO the tourist thing! This is also a run of history, where the feet of ironman competitors have all trod in your steps. The best of the best have been here and you get the chance to share that space with them. You feel them all around you only separated from you in time. It is a special place. But don't forget about the twin H's of Heat and Humidity. The early pre-dawn race through town is awesome and invigorating. The sun makes its appearance over Mona Loa in spectacular form, and after that the whole race changes. The temperature goes up and up as the Lava Fields of solid black rock block out the ocean breezes. It gets HOT, and quick. This is an out-and-back marathon, and the aid stations that seemed stacked on top of each other in the pre-dawn suddenly seemed a million miles apart. The heat sucks your soul dry. This is a two-part race (half through perfect conditions and the other half was a trip through Dante's Inferno). Be ready! With proper training, this could be a great marathon. It's mostly flat and has scenery that is unrivaled among most races of its size. The locals are friendly and moderately enthusiastic. Don't, however, underestimate the heat of the Lava Fields. This makes this race a real challenge, even for veterans. The meek need not apply!

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