Ken Nemeth's Staging Area

I researched a ton before selecting the MOM as my third marathon. If you’re reading this then you’re researching, too. Here’s what you need to know:

1. Yes, the marathon is run on open public roads almost the entire way from Wailea to Lahaina (the last 3 miles have one entire side of the road shut down, but that’s it). Contrary to some of the other reports on this site, to me this was not an issue. Many of the reports make it sound like it’s dangerous. For me personally, I never felt remotely in danger. In most places the shoulder is plenty wide and there are cones to remind drivers that we’re here.
2. The camber of the road was not an issue for me. I guess if you’re super super sensitive to this it might be, but for 80% of the race there really is no road camber. There is significant camber in the hills in the middle, but that was it. Don’t make your decision to run this marathon based on that.
3. While most of the marathon is pancake flat, there is a 4 mile section of hills in the middle, starting with a gradual climb up a small hill, then the big climb up the rocky section where the island juts out into the sea. The total climb in this section is 500 vertical feet. THIS IS NOT EASY. The only small negative comment about this marathon is that they do not make it more obvious that this hilly section exists. If you are not including hill training in your marathon prep you need to do so if you’re going to run this marathon, or you’re going to end up walking the verticals. If you really hate having any hills in your marathons, this marathon is definitely not for you.
4. You have to make a decision when you’re going to start. The start times are 4 am, 4:45 am and 5 am. I started at 4 am and was very glad I did. It was perfect running while it was dark. Warm but not too warm and a really nice sea breeze. I’m a slow runner (ran this in 5:46) and even starting at 4 am spent 2 1/2 hours in the sun. It gets hot here. The breeze helps when it’s dark, but don’t fool yourself. It was 80 and super sunny when I crossed the finish line and there were a lot of folks in the medical tent already with heat-related issues. If you run marathons in the 4 hour range or faster, you may want to stick with 5 am, as this means you will see more of the course in daylight, especially the rocky section in the middle that has the best views. However, if you are super sensitive to the hot sun, 4 am may be the better choice.
5. The headlamp thing is real – while there are street lights for a lot of the non-daylight portions of the course, there are some areas that are pretty dark and regardless, I felt that my headlamp really helped in showing potholes and depressions and things like that. You definitely need to get a headlamp, especially if you are starting at 4 am.
6. You absolutely should drive the course the day before you run it. This was the first point to point marathon I’ve done, and it underscores how truly long 26.2 miles is. Driving the course will show you where the tough parts are, as well as the fun parts. It will also give you confidence on your route.
7. The volunteers and spectators were by far the best parts. There were plenty of aid stations, all had both water and gatorade, and some stops had food. The people were just amazing – they were so, so supportive, cheering their heads off for you!
8. The mile markers were generally on point (I counted 3 that were off by a smidge), and there were mile markers for every mile. And the MOM does something that I truly love that I had not seen before. They go backwards, not forward, and they include the “0.2” miles in the first mile. In other words, the first mile marker you see is “25”, meaning you’ve run 1.2 miles and you have 25 miles to go. I absolutely loved, it was a fantastic motivator.
9. Once the sun comes up the views are truly spectacular, especially in the hilly, rocky portion in the middle.

This was my third marathon (other 2 were Disney and Kiawah). It was my favorite. It was by far the hardest marathon I’ve done and also the smallest. But it’s marathon with a big heart, a lot of support and the best supporters I’ve ever seen. Highly, highly recommended.