Maui Marathon, a Runner's Paradise
Runners seeking to combine a marathon with a tropical vacation are unlikely to find a more ideal event than the Maui Marathon, which offers mind-blowing views, top-notch race organization, an intimate race size, and of course Hawaii itself.

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By Josh Clark
Posted Saturday, 20 April, 2002

This article was originally posted in April 2002 and has been updated with 2003 race information.

The gentle thunder of footfalls rumble in the early morning darkness as nearly 2,500 runners make their way through Maui's moonlit fields of sugarcane. Slowly, the sun rises over the dormant volcano Haleakala, spreading a golden light over emerald mountains to the west.

Just six miles into the Maui Marathon, the race is already living up to its well-deserved reputation as one of the world's most scenic marathons. The remaining 20 miles cinch the deal: this is a run through paradise.

Runners seeking to combine a marathon with a fall tropical vacation are unlikely to find a more ideal event than September's Maui Marathon, which offers mind-blowing views, top-notch race organization, an intimate race size of about 3,000 runners, and of course Hawaii itself.

"It would be very tough to beat this one for a first marathon," said Steve Brooks, a veteran of four marathons who ran Maui in 2000. "It's a great place to combine a marathon and a vacation. I'd love to do it again."

Right from the starting ceremony, race organizers craft a sense of otherworldly fantasy as the fire of tiki torches lights the pre-dawn proceedings. A Hawaiian blessing is followed by -- what else? -- hula dancers, and the runners make their way out of Queen Ka’ahumanu Center in Kahului as performers blow conch shells. Hula dancers perform in more than ten locations along the course.

The point-to-point course winds across the island's central valley to the southern coast, then turns north along the ocean, often only 50 feet from the surf, to the finish at Whalers Village in the posh Kaanapali Resort. Along the way, runners traverse the pali, the cliffs of the southern coast, which afford awe-inspiring views of Maalaea Bay below and, further out, the sapphire waters separating Maui from the neighboring islands.

The rest of the marathon -- a full 17 miles -- hews tightly to the shoreline, rarely going beyond 100 feet from the rolling surf, leaving the water only for a brief detour along Front Street in the historic whaling village of Lahaina.

"The ocean breeze feels good," said Brooks. "About half of the course is so close to the ocean you could almost throw a rock and hit water, and in some places you could."

The breathtaking beauty and sweeping vistas create a storybook setting that at times conspires to disguise the challenging nature of the event. The difficulty comes not from the course, which is flat other than four miles of rolling hills between miles 8-1/2 and 12-1/2, but from Maui's tropical climate. Runners of this September event can typically anticipate temperatures around 70 degrees at the 5:30am start, rising to the mid- to upper-80s by 10:00am.

"It all depends on the trade-winds," said race director Bob Craver. "If the trade-winds are back, the temperatures can be moderate, but if it's a still day, it can be really hot by the time you get to Lahaina."

Though typically a cooling ally to Maui's runners, the trade-winds themselves can occasionally prove to be a challenging adversary, too. In 2000, unusually high winds gusted to 60 miles per hour between miles 15 and 18, Craver said. "Now I know what knee-knocking winds are," one runner commented after experiencing the winds that year.

Even when the trade-winds are doing their job of gently moderating the temperatures, conditions are still likely to reach 80 degrees. That's hot stuff for a marathon, but the enthusiastic volunteers at the race's 18 aid stations compensate with six tons of ice for iced drinks, iced sponges and even popsicles in the marathon's late miles.

"We've gotten a lot of messages from runners saying how much they appreciate those popsicles," Craver chuckled.

This attentive support from race volunteers is reflected in every aspect of the event, which runners routinely characterize as a tightly run operation, from a remarkable spread of food at the start to a complimentary sports massage at the end. Not to mention a deluxe award ceremony in the late afternoon, just feet away from the ocean and shortly before sunset.

Chalk the race's organization up to experience. Begun in 1971, the Maui Marathon is the oldest continuously held race in Hawaii and one of the three oldest marathons west of the Mississippi. Despite its seniority, the event nevertheless weighs in at the relatively intimate size of 2,500 runners. That's still a substantial increase over the 500-runner participation that was typical of the '80s and early '90s. Significant Japanese sponsorship, along with a corresponding rise in participation by Japanese runners, helped trigger the event's resurgence.

The size "was about perfect," said Brooks. "More than enough people so you always know you are in a race, but not so many that you have to fight crowds."

That field of 2,500 runners is host to a wide range of ability, from first-timers to veterans, and race director Craver says it will stay that way. "The attitude and philosophy of the Valley Isle Road Runners, the organization behind the event," he said, "is to remain a marathon for John Q public, for the recreational runner, for just about anyone to enjoy what Maui has to offer."

Related info:
> Maui Marathon website

> Online registration

 E-mail this page
 Printer-friendly page