This was my first Oceanfront Marathon race, I had heard about it since it started but never had a chance to participate until this year. I ended up getting to the start line in Lahaina a little later than I expected, so I needed to park about 1/2 mile away and jog to the start. The start area was well organized, with a blessing and the national anthem before the 1/2 marathon start. I was further back than I expected since I got there late, but once the gun went off I was able to weave closer to the front of the pack.

I found I was able to pace with a few other 1/2 marathon runners at about 7:30 pace, and as the sun rose we started to see the full marathon and 15k runners coming towards us from the opposite direction. The coned shoulder was a little narrow for the amount of runners, it would have been much better to have about 10'-12' in width vs. the 6' width that was coned next to traffic. The aid stations were very friendly and helpful, I liked that the cups were smaller and easier to drink.

The scenery along the ocean was nice, but the running lane felt very narrow to be next to traffic moving that fast. I was a little surprised there was so much traffic early in the morning on a Sunday. Maybe with an earlier start time the half marathon could avoid the traffic?

The finish line and post race refreshments were the best part! There was a water wall to cool off, ice cold water, bananas, pastries, pineapple. Also, a podium to take finisher photos with the beach in the background. I got a great post-race massage from the massage students at the finish. Also, there were Maui Oceanfront Medallions for all of the age group winners- I got 13th overall and 2nd in my age group.