Welcome to the Aloha Spirit
The Honolulu Marathon is the fourth largest marathon in the United States after New York, Chicago and Boston.
The start of the race is scheduled for 5:00. Characteristic of this race is the lack of time limit for overcoming the route and waiting for the last competitor (over this year 14 hours).
We managed to book a hotel in a great spot and we had less than a kilometer to the coaches, which took them to the start.
The starting area on Ala Moana Boulevard was well prepared, water was available, plenty of toi and space. Started the marathon (and graduated) 14 645 zawodników. It was quite a walk to the start zones, we had the first green, but no one was following or guarding the zones anyway – could stand, where you wanted. We changed the page because of the announcer, bo okazało się, that you can start from both sides of the street. And it was a hit. It turned out, that the elite starts with us: Wait, His, Tamru, Kiptum, Mengstu. We were behind them, verbatim. It was a bit silly for us to approach and ask for a photo together, but it was great to watch them at arm's length.
We started with the fireworks festival. First 5 I was running very badly, I was hot and stuffy, we ran along the main street of Waikiki between skyscrapers. I knew, it's not going to be a race to the finish line, because my legs were very tired. I wanted to enjoy the tour and had no need to rush, because there was no limit to completion.
There were water stations along the route, They served it in cups, I regretted a bit – because I preferred to take the bottle and run with it. I took two cups – I drank one and drank the other. Error from 15 km there were only taps with water and at the end they did not serve cups.
They were probably on the way 4 points with isotonic a circle 30 km they administered gels. Unfortunately, there was nothing “permanent” and by the end of the run I was missing pieces of banana or orange. I had my two gels and two dextrose.
I tried to use “views” and I must admit, the route was interesting and beautiful. In addition, it is varied with small ascents. I liked it, it was more or less in places:
Downtown
Kakaako
Sea Route
Waikiki
Diamond Head
Sorry
Type None
Niu Valley
East Honolulu
On the fragment “miyanki” The tour crowds were staggering to the point of taking your breath away. However, there was enough space for everyone – oh those american wide ones, two-lane roads.
There were also a lot of fans, teams were winning, the residents cheered, the atmosphere was great. The runners supported each other, Poles greeted, overall it was a nice run.
Last straight to Kapiolani Park – where was the finish was a bit long for me. There were showers in the finish area, they gave me a medal and a t-shirt. Everything well organized without queues and efficiently. Further in the general area you could take coconut water, banana and the famous malasadas. Koniec. It wasn't crazy but it's still better than in Jamaica.
Summary
Hawaii (Oahu) I was definitely disappointed. However, I'm glad, that I could see them and judge them for myself “paradise”. Polynesian culture is great, interesting and intriguing, fantastic and unique nature. Very good organization of the marathon, good run but totally not worth the price. I am very pleased with the course, places I have seen and visited. experiences, impressions and experiences are wonderful and priceless.
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