Photo of the Day – The Honolulu Marathon
Post-race in my finisher shirt!
Yesterday marked the 39th annual Honolulu Marathon as more than 25,000 runners took to the streets of Oahu to run 26.2 miles through paradise. In 2003, the Honolulu Marathon was my first of what would turn out to be 12 marathons so far (7 of them run in Honolulu). It’s hard to believe that a race on a small island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean would be among the 10 largest marathons in the world but for anyone who has run the race or visited the island on race weekend, it’s easy to understand the appeal. The race begins at 5am with a fireworks display and winds through downtown Honolulu past Iolani Palace (the only royal palace in the U.S.) and through the heart of the Waikiki hotel district. It continues along the coast as the sun rises and ends in Kapiolani Park near the base of Diamond Head. Japanese runners make up more than 70% of the field making it large enough to compete with Boston, New York and other large marathons. If you’ve ever considered running a marathon, Honolulu is a great race for both the first-timer and experienced marathoner. After all, if you’re going to run 26.2 miles, what better place to recover than a Hawaiian beach?
