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☰
Kona Marathon Runner Comments
Back to Kona Marathon Information & Reviews
Course 3.6 
Organization 4.0 
Spectators 3.1
Number of comments: 74 [displaying comments 51 to 61]
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J. W. from Los Angeles, CA
(6/28/2004)
 "Great First Marathon Experience!" (about: 2004)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Kona Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This was my first marathon and it was a really great experience! The organization was fabulous and the start and end location were nice. The American Stroke Association provides A LOT of support stops and cheerleaders along the way which is really great (and needed!), and also the local neighbors along the route are just as enthusiastic and supportive. After you get out of the main town of Kona and onto the highway, the scenery is pretty dull, so the only thing that keeps you going are those great support groups. It was hot and then rained hard, but then it's Hawaii - so it should be expected. Overall, it's a fun event. I will definitely be back next year! | |
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Chuck Ard from Crystal River, Florida
(6/26/2004)
 "Great 'Vacation' marathon" (about: 2004)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Kona Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 Kona is absolutely the best place we've ever gone on a family vacation. I've never been very interested in seeing Hawaii so I was reluctant to spend the bucks to go. But now that I've been, I LOVE the Big Island! Snorkleing, horseback riding, volcanoes... my family loved it. What a great Father's Day gift. Oh yeah, the marathon was nice too. The start was not organized and the charity 'runners' clogged the front. The course was scenic. And guess what? It is hot in Hawaii in June. I was on pace for 3:00 to 3:05 until about 20 miles. Then the heat and lack of a decent breakfast took its toll. I stumbled in at 3:23 after getting sick on the course. Still won my age group. Recovered quickly. Met Bill Rogers. Got some good photos. Had a blast. | |
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G. T. from Seattle
(6/24/2004)
"Tough but friendly marathon" (about: 2004)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Kona Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 Both the course and the heat made this a tough marathon. The people were friendly with an adequate number of water stops. This is not a marathon for record times, but it is Hawaii. Part of the course was run on the main highway which limited spectators. However, there were a number of coaches and team support personnel for some of the charity groups that cheered and assisted all runners. If you are going to Hawaii and what a challenge, then this marathon is for you. | |
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P. M. from Chicago, IL
(6/23/2004)
"Nice Holiday Race" (about: 2004)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Kona Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 The course is an out-and-back, all on city roads and highways (partially closed course), virtually all of which is unshaded. There are long inclines (which, of course, later become downhills) on the highway portion, and little rolling hills in the city. Weather is a given, considering the locale: the race began at 75 degrees and climbed to 85 under a virtually cloudless sky (the norm in June). Perhaps because of the climate, this is not a terribly competitive race. The field included many charity racers, perhaps more than half of the field, and many of them quite sensibly opted to walk (some were still going after nine hours). Only two racers crossed the line in under 3:00. Even the celebrity runners (Frank Shorter and Bill Rodgers) opted for the 1/2 marathon (run the same day, on the same course). If it matters to you, crowd support is very sparse along most of the course (for the most part, coming from the aforementioned charities). Aid stations were plentiful. The finish line staff was full of the aloha spirit. (I dock a star from 'organization' because there was no starting gate. People meandered about and just kind of lined up where the organizers said to go.) I did this race without any preconceived notions, because I had already run my spring marathon, and was in Kona on vacation with my family (including my mother, who'd never seen me run a race). (My wife ran her first 10K the day before!!) So while I'm not sure I'd select this race a second time, I enjoyed my experience here. | |
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R. L. from Seattle
(6/21/2004)
"Know what you are getting into..." (about: 2004)
11-50 previous marathons
| 3 Kona Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 The comments below are all pretty accurate on the pro side and the con side. The bottom line is that before you decide to go to ANY 'destination' race (where travel is a big factor), you owe it to yourself to do some research - not just on the race, but also the area. Kona isn't for everyone, but I like it a lot. The lava fields are rough, but they aren't exactly boring: 1) you are running a chunk of the Ironman World Championship course, 2) you get to check out the ocean AND a volcano (Hualalai) for the whole lava stretch, and 3) because it is an out-and-back, you have constant encouragement coming in the other direction (and you should give some too!). All in all, that's not bad. And the miles spent on Ali'i drive before/after the lava are peaceful - with one IMPORTANT exception. If you are slower than a 5 hour marathoner, you will get a bit more traffic on the road. If you are slower than 7, they pretty much open the road all the way up. Know it ahead of time and plan. I do not, repeat DO NOT suggest Kona as a first-time marathon. I feel for the charity folks (more on them in a sec) doing their first in Kona. If you haven't gotten used to doing 26.2 miles but you really want to run in Kona, I heartily suggest the half and/or the 5k/10k races held the day before. They are all great races. This year, half marathoners got a medal too. BTW, if you choose to run the half marathon and/or the 5k, you get to run with Frank Shorter. This year, Bill Rogers was there too... in fact he won both the 5k and the half :-). It's cool to run with actual historical figures. And they are regular people who will actually talk to you. It is definitely HOT in Kona, even in the morning. Heed the advice below - bring your own water or sports drink AND ALSO DRINK AT EVERY AID STATION. The stations are quite plentiful on the course, but bring extra anyway. One warning: this is an ultima course. Ultima has no carbs and does have Nutrisweet. If you aren't used to it, race day is a bad time to experiment. Also, wear a hat (preferably white or light colored) - and no long black tights. And PS, sunscreen is not just for the pool. Wear it. There was also a GU station at mile 11/16 (remember, it is an out-and-back) this year which was very timely. The organization is topnotch. If it seems a little less formal than what you are used to, remember this is a small family race - the race's subtitle is 'family fun runs'. Albeit with a couple famous family members. For example, there's no big starting line (but there is a nice finish), and they don't work hard to seed the runners. If you are runner, avoid getting trapped behind walking first-timers by moving in front of them. Some folks have complained after the fact that they got stuck behind clueless, ignorant, snobby walkers. Usually these folks aren't doing it out of spite; they just don't know. Step around them before the gun; they won't bite :-). If you've researched prior race results, then you'll know that the marathon isn't filled with elite runners (which is a bit strange given the Ironman training population)... so if you really plan on running the race, then don't worry so much about starting too far forward. And if the gun goes off and you are behind a walker? There's plenty of space to move around. It's not a huge race. The carbo load isn't very good food-wise (and I'm being generous), but we had an awesome sunset this year. In and of itself, the great sunset the night before a big race was worth the trip to Kona. Plus, after the dinner, we got to informally chat with the two folks mentioned above. At one time, this was a HUGE destination race for several charities. This year, TNT and Team Diabetes were completely absent. Joints-in-Motion had 10 runners there, tops. In the past, they've all had many. However, American Stroke Association had hundreds of runners and walkers. Hats off to all of them, their coaches, and supporters. Unlike an unnamed purple charity, the ASA folks went out of their way to root for *ALL* runners. They were groovy. I will return to this race as often as I can. | |
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A. R. from South Korea
(1/20/2004)
"Great experience but HOT" (about: 2003)
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 2 This was my first marathon and definitely a memorable one. I agree with the person who advised to carry your own water with you. The heat and the sun blazing down on you as you are running on blacktop is very challenging. And although the elevation chart shows a fairly flat course, it seemed to consistently be going either up or down the entire way. The volunteers were wonderful, and although there was almost no crowd support aside from those volunteers, they really made a difference. I was able to run 20 miles at a 8:30 pace very comfortably in fairly warm weather, but because of the heat and the sun I finished at a 5:20. By the time I finished though, I didn't even care... I was just glad to have survived it and finished :). Great race and maybe I would do it again if I were feeling brave and didn't care how long it would take to get to the finish line. Best of luck to all of you running it this year! Have fun! :) | |
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Dave Swenson from Des Moines, Iowa
(7/8/2003)
"Nice run, great people, interesting scenery." (about: 2003)
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 Guess what? It's hot in Hawaii. Duh! I'm amazed that some of the reviewers didn't know that going in. That notwithstanding, this was a well run race with quite a lot of support. The several large groups of charity runners generated their own spectators and enthusiasm and more than made up for the scarcity of spectators in the more remote areas of the run. I was able to stay well hydrated with the distribution of aid stations, although, like a lot of others, I had to slow it down some towards the end because of the heat. I especially enjoyed the varied scenery from the Kona Bay area, to the lava fields to the North, and back again. The 5:30 start gave us a glorious sunrise over the mountains to the right, and the morning surf on our left. Darned pretty in my book. This was a good and challenging race, but it might have been a tad too arduous for a lot of the charity runners, who were obviously running their first marathon. | |
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C. T. from Minnesota
(6/28/2003)
 "Inspiring, But Hot!" (about: 2003)
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 2 I did the half-marathon in conjunction with Team Diabetes. The charity presence and atmosphere was inspiring - lots of people whose determination to succeed brought tears to my eyes. The course was grueling and HOT beyond my wildest dreams. Not enough water, food, or porta-potties. However, it was a joy to participate and watch all the determined participants. I wouldn't do this again, but a great race for building character and finding out what you are really made of! | |
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k. w. from Santa Ana, Ca - USA
(6/27/2003)
"An amazing experience!" (about: 2003)
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 2 Hot, hot, hot! Well organized, plenty of water stops, not enough porta-potties, and needs more spectators at the ending miles, even for those of us walking in (7-9 hours). Great finish line/announcer. Excellent experience for a first-timer like me! | |
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R. D. from Murfreesboro,TN
(6/25/2003)
 "Hot and difficult course" (about: 2003)
COURSE: 2 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 4 As a fairly experienced runner, this was a tough course to run. The elevation is a little deceiving. There were several long, slightly graded stretches. The biggest factor was heat. And there was plenty of it on this course. I would have to say for either an experienced or new runner, this is a challenging and grueling course. The heat plays a major factor, and the abundance of water stations does as well. I can say that carrying your own fluid is a major advantage, as stations are not as frequent as they should be on this course. The support from the charities, other runners, and locals was excellent, and helped to make up for the shortcomings of the race. The people are super friendly and the race, for a smaller one, is relatively well run. I will not run this again because of the heat, but for a 1st-timer with no time expectations/goals, the scenery is nice and the people fun to run with. |
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