Easter Island Rapa Nui Marathon
Hanga Roa, Chile
- Marathon, Half Marathon, 10K
- Road (Paved), Trail (Unpaved)
- Official race website
Easter Island, also known by islanders as Rapa Nui, lies 2,300 miles from land of any significance. A tiny speck in the middle of the South Pacific, the island is roughly triangular in shape with its rocky shores. Easter Island has a population of 7,000 who live primarily in Hanga … MORE
Local Historical Weather (Jun 02):
| 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | |
| H (°C) | 20 | 22 | 22 | 24 | 23 |
| L (°C) | 19 | 14 | 14 | 18 | 18 |
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Not worth all the headaches
Marathon tours indicated they dropped this race because it is so poorly organized. Wish I had listened. Even when the policy at the time of signup is you get a … MORE
Marathon tours indicated they dropped this race because it is so poorly organized. Wish I had listened. Even when the policy at the time of signup is you get a refund if they cancel–and they cancel–getting a response from the organizer takes countless emails. The year marathon tours cancelled they indicated the organizer did not carry through on commitments either. After dozens of failed attempts, feel only thing to do is warn others.
A remote destination race
[Full disclosure: my trip to Rapa Nui (Easter Island) was planned by Marathon Tours.] You've probably seen the pictures of the "statues" (Moai). You might have a vague idea of … MORE
[Full disclosure: my trip to Rapa Nui (Easter Island) was planned by Marathon Tours.]
You’ve probably seen the pictures of the “statues” (Moai). You might have a vague idea of where the island is. You know it will take some work to get there–and it does! But that is what really makes this small marathon special. Rapa Nui (Easter Island) is incredibly unique and it will definitely be a memorable race.
As part of the Marathon Tours trip, we began the trip in Santiago, Chile for a couple of days. We then flew to Rapa Nui. [Prior to the trip I was warned that air travel is often unreliable–over the course of the trip it was about 50/50 in terms of on-time and delays. So, don’t plan tight connections. ] We had a snafu with our hotel [still unclear why]. There appeared to be limited hotel options and I would personally rate most of them 2 to 3 stars, so be prepared for that. Definitely plan for a couple of days of exploring the island. It is beautiful and the people are nice. There are lots of wild dogs–though they are mostly friendly. There are wild horses and I had a moment mid-marathon that I had to wait for a group of cows to get out of my way!
In theory there is an opening ceremony to the race weekend, though what we attended in 2019 wasn’t as elaborate as it had been in year’s past, so things might have changed. There is a pasta dinner, but our group did not attend that. You can find pasta in most of the restaurants on the island [The food overall was quite good. Spectators in your group should go to Oheho for the best empanadas and a great view of the race finish line.] Swag includes a race shirt, a race jacket, and a great medal. There was a mass race morning that many runners attended. It was in Spanish and Rapa Nui and it was a nice start to the day. This did mean, however, that the race start was 10:15am–which in my opinion is quite late for a marathon. There are multiple races over several days (in order): triathlon, mountain bike, 5k (for kids only), 10k, half marathon, and marathon.
The marathon course is basically 13.1 miles out and then 13.1 miles back. There is a killer hill. Part of the course (not all of it, though) has beautiful scenery. There is very little shade. The aids stops are every 5k, so I carried a water bottle with me (something I don’t normally do). There are very few spectators (beyond the wild dogs and horses and the roving cows). All the running races start the same time/location and with the out and back route, you do see other participants, which is nice. The roads are still open for traffic.
Post race there is an awards ceremony. With less than 100 runners and 3 award winners per gender per age group many people left with a 2nd medal. If it has always been your dream to stand on a winner’s podium, this might be your chance!
As a group of about 50 in a race weekend with around 250 participants, I was shocked by the lack of attention from the race organizers. Something was definitely off this particular year and will hopefully be corrected in future years.
Despite some snafus and the killer hill, I had a blast on Rapa Nui due to the uniqueness of the island and the wonderful people I was with. I would recommend. And, if you go through Marathon Tours, I highly recommend doing the Machu Picchu extension.