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Click to view Karyn Miller-Medzon's profile Amateur
Karyn Miller-Medzon
19 posts since
Dec 5, 2007

Apr 25, 2006 3:58 PM

Advice for Honolulu Marathon

Hi,
I'm thinking pretty seriously about running the Honolulu Marathon in December as a qualifier for next year's Boston. But I have some reservations about Honolulu because of a) the heat; and b) the time zone (I live on the east coast of the United States.

So here are my specific questions:

1) How do runners cope with/adjust to the time change when running a marathon like Honolulu? How far in advance do you recommend arriving to adjust to the time zone?

2) Does that change in time zone affect performance significantly (i.e. is it possible to adjust well enough to feel good....or as good as you ever would during a marathon...)?

3) Just how hot does it get during the race?

Thanks SO SO much!

Karyn
Click to view dgtray's profile Pro
dgtray
128 posts since
Dec 14, 2007
1. Apr 27, 2006 11:57 AM in response to: Karyn Miller-Medzon
I haven't run the Honolulu marathon, but live in Atlanta and have been to Hawaii twice.

Everyone is different but I find traveling west to be very easy on me from an adjustment standpoint. If you leave the east coast in the morning you will arrive in Hawaii in the late afternoon or early evening local time and about bedtime for you ET. You should be tired from the trip and after you get settled you probably go to bed very quickly. You may be up early the next day, but you should adjust in a day.

As for the heat...I didn't realize just how hot and humid it is in Hawaii. As soon as the sun rises the temps warm up quickly (it seems like most of the races in Hawaii have very early starts). There are usually nice ocean breezes/gusts, but the morning hours are the calmest time of the day. The adjustment to the heat will be your biggest challenge. My first trip to Hawaii (the Big Island) was in the midst of marathon training and I was supposed to do a 18 mile long run. I made it 14 miles before the heat did me in and had to walk most of the last 4 miles.

I'm not sure that any marathon in the islands would be looked at as good BQ courses. The combination of heat, humidity and hills will make it tough to have a PR. However, what a great place to visit before and after the race.
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Click to view txdave13's profile Pro
txdave13
105 posts since
Aug 16, 2007
2. Dec 26, 2007 10:59 AM in response to: Karyn Miller-Medzon
I'd check out a site like Active.com or MarathonGuide.com and see what reviews there are like.

Just out of curiosity, I read the reviews about the Honolulu Marathon.
The Pros:
- It's beautiful.
- The crowd is very supportive.
- It is run (overall) very well.

The Cons:
- 75% of the participants and spectators are Japanese. Not a con per se, but it is inconvenient if you don't speak Japanese, it's a hassle. Even the sports drink at the aid stations was Japanese.
- The finisher's medal is a keychain. That's it. A keychain.
- The table with the t-shirts and food is a LONG walk from the finish.

Edited to add: I just looked at your question again and I didn't answer a dad-gum thing you asked. Sorry.

------------------
Hey, it's Dave![/URL" target="_blank">

http://This message has been edited by txdave13 (edited Apr-27-2006).
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