Maui Marathon

The course starts near the Sugar Mill by Kahului and finishes near Whalers Village in Kaanapali. If you're traveling to this race from the mainland you'll benefit from the early bus shuttle (last one at 3:30 AM) and start time (5 AM). The main downsides of this race are the course and amenities. The course would be much more scenic if it hugged the coast the entire time and ran from Wailea to Kaanapali. In terms of amenities, there were no energy gels or food along the course.

The Maui marathon promised beautiful scenery which it didn't disappoint in this regard. On September 18th 2016 it was incredibly hot, hotter than I was expecting, so all you could think about whilst running was how to keep hydrated and cool and certainly not looking at the scenery. Starting at 5am is great as the weather was cool and it was dark and perfect for running so if you can get through the hills, which start around 15km mark,and make it through the first 21kms before the sun comes up your doing well. Once the sun comes over the mountain range be prepared for intense heat, sunburn and feelings of wanting to give up. Many runners were forced to walk and there was definitely no shame in walking in parts of the race. Since the small field of runners were very spread out along the course there was a lot of lonely sections and with the ocean on one side and the traffic on the major road coming towards you on the other side it was tough in parts. Overall the organisation was good, including the 3.15am bus transport to the start, aid stations along the course and massages at the end of the race was well done. The finishers medals were great and I won my age category so I received a different medal which made it all worth it. This was a slow marathon in regards to times, and only about 400 plus runners ran it so it doesn't have that big marathon experience like New York but its a great place for a holiday and the swim in the beautiful warm Maui ocean was well earned and much appreciated at the end of completing this event.

Hot (was told it hit 90 degrees) and humid with little in the way of trade winds combined with the hills to make it a tough marathon. The start was at 5AM to help with the heat but few had any idea it would be so completely dark. Early on, a couple of people dropped things but could not find them and runners ran into them in the blackness. One woman ran into a cone, which was not reflective due to lack of light, tripped and stumbled into the oncoming vehicle traffic. Take a tip from some of the other runs that start in the dark at remote locations with no streetlights or lighted commercial activities, to put on the website if it is recommended to carry a light and runners wear white or reflective clothing etc. It was early so I did not expect many spectators but until the last sections of the race the water stops were dead as well. They were well staffed but just so quiet they were not even saying who had water vs. powerade. Some runners were not aware the start was a few minutes walk from the staging area. A number of runners doing last minute potty runs came out to find everyone gone, but where. They were sorted out, but moments of panic unnecessarily. It was well warned to be careful of the heat-believe it. Many pushed the first half which was cooler and had most of the hills, but were hammered when the sun came out even as the course was flat in the later half. The course was OK but did not have a Maui feel to it. Mostly along highway even with the ocean in view just did not do it when I was thinking tropical gardens, waterfalls and beaches. Loved bright orange/peachy tee shirt which spoke Hawaii to me. The 20 aid stations were real nice so no need to carry your own liquids and almost all had water and powerade. Stop with the little shot- size cups that were at a number of stations. Promote hydrating in such a hot race with regular full cups. Did not get the idea behind the wristband to get into the brew party. I had to wear this thing for two days and during the race so you get one beer and a mini slice of pizza. Besides the runners had bibs with beer and pizza tear offs on them, so what was the purpose and cost of the wristband for when the bib can get you in? Liked the small smoothie and chocolate milk at the end, but there was little other food. The parking for this was terrible. The start area was in the upscale hotel area where to park for the day was up to $40. You also had to park twice for packet pickup as well as the race day. The sponsor hotel should have arranged something like the giant gravel parking lot that was empty near the golf course but was signed for permit only or get towed. All these upscale hotels benefit from the event, I would think to let participants park for the morning would be appropriate. Logistics for the buses were really great, as were start, finish and awards ceremony.