I really enjoyed the Kauai Marathon! Looking back at all the marathon races that I've run, I would rank this as my 3rd favorite, after Boston and New York City, and very close to Napa Valley, San Francisco, and Oakland. I'm glad I enjoyed it, because the entry fee was the most expensive!
What sets the Kauai Marathon apart are the veritable army of volunteers and the beautiful and challenging course. I was surprised at the difficulty of the hills, but they made the race special and more interesting. I would like to run this again. (By the way, the half-marathon is considerably flatter, for those who aren't as happy about hills as I am!)
Random notes:
- I didn't get to the starting area quite early enough so I didn't have time to visit a porta-potty one last time. This caused a problem in the race where I had to stop and pee for the first time in a road marathon.
- There was no attempt by the organizers to sort people by pace. Naturally, there were hikers and walkers and very slow joggers near the front. I got myself situated near the front, too, so I wasn't affected much.
- I did a surge around mile 11, when in my mind I was near the top of the hill and near the turn-around. I was nowhere near the top of the hill! I should have been more patient. I think I burned out because I couldn't maintain my speed later on. As I recall, I ran the first half in about 1 hour 35 minutes. Although the second half was harder, I shouldn't have slowed down quite that much.
- Finished 22nd of 344 finishers and 2nd place in the 40 to 44 age group. Results here. They handed out a nice plaque. It took several hours of waiting before the awards were handed out.
- It took me nearly 3 full weeks to recover from Headlands 100, so I had just one long run and then it was time to taper for this marathon!
