Debbie Paulding's Staging Area

THE GOOD: This is one of the few races that offers an additional medal for your 50th state completion and an awards ceremony for them. Race begins predawn to account for the sun and heat of the day. There is a native Hawaiian man chanting and a Hawaiian prayer at the start line. Bib pickup was quick and easy. You can see breeching whales, the endangered monk seal, and flora and fauna that is only found in Hawaii. It’s oceanfront and Maui–it doesn’t get much better than that.
THE BAD: The race director was condescending and unfunny. His texts came from a nondescript email address, and most of mine were tagged as Junk or deleted by me because I don’t know anybody named Les Wright, a place called SBC Global, nor why I might want to open a “Nag from MOM.” Inside the emails that I finally received and read were important information, plus WAAAYYY too much superfluous information that hid that which was needed. Extremely frustrating.
THE MEH: Not much crowd support at all, except those wonderful aid station volunteers and the occasional driver who honked and waved. The medal was only so-so. All 50th HM medals said Marathon, not Half Marathon.
RECOMMENDATION: Run it, yes, but keep your expectations in check. It’s pretty average. Stay as long as you can afford, and see all that Maui has to offer.