The Maui Oceanfront Marathon is a 501c(3) non-profit community event benefiting local school teams, clubs, and other Maui non-profit groups that help put on the Marathon. The Maui Oceanfront Marathon Course: The start is in the Shops at Wailea parking area on Wailea Iki Road. The course starts in the …
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The Maui Oceanfront Marathon is a 501c(3) non-profit community event benefiting local school teams, clubs, and other Maui non-profit groups that help put on the Marathon. The Maui Oceanfront Marathon Course: The start is in the Shops at Wailea parking area on Wailea Iki Road. The course starts in the Shops of Wailea and next to the Marriott Hotel heading south for 1.25 miles and turns back and then down onto South Kihei Road, through oceanfront Kihei Town with a left turn onto Highway 30 at the 13 mile mark above Maalaea Bay and continues oceanfront all the way to Launiupoko Beach Park. The entire course is on asphalt and ob the shoulder bike path of the road. It is mostly between 4′ and 8′ wide. The course has many scenic pullouts and public beaches for family and friends to park, picnic and support your run. This course can qualify you for Boston.
The course was measured and certified by Doug Thurston in December 2023. Certification Number is USA-2019-079, USA-2019-080 for AIMS and USATF certification is: HI12400DT good until Dec 31, 2034
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Figure it out as you go
I have mixed feelings about this race. On one hand, it's Maui -- what's not to like? The point-to-point course is beautiful, with only some small hills in the mid-portion. … MORE
I have mixed feelings about this race. On one hand, it’s Maui — what’s not to like? The point-to-point course is beautiful, with only some small hills in the mid-portion. The photographers got some pretty epic shots near the end. The volunteers at the aid stations were cheerful. The finish was at a nice beach with plenty of shade, some food carts (shave ice mmm), and picnic tables that made hanging out for the return shuttles easy.
On the other hand, the organization was…unique…in a not-so-good way. Website needs some major restructuring. I found the pre-race communication to be bizarre and off-putting. If you’re not aware of the race’s nickname, you could easily delete the plain text emails sent from the director’s personal account, with subject line “Nag from MOM.” All the mention of “C-students” and “single, unloved runners” and him having to “clean up your messes at the finish line” made me feel like I was in time-out before I even arrived. There was no bag check for the single, unloved runners. The buses dropped us off before the start line was set up, so there was some nervousness about where we were supposed to be. I think there were about 2 port-a-potties, so there were long lines at the Starbucks and gas stations bathrooms. I only saw one distance marker on the course (about 1 mile before the finish), so I would advise a GPS watch if you want to know how far along you are. The return shuttle situation was confusing because the waiting spots were only designated for Whaler’s Village and Maalaea, so it was unclear which of the long lines I should be waiting in for the Wailea bus. At the end of the day, everything worked out, and I enjoyed meeting some great people in the process. I would probably do this one again, if only for an excuse to go back to Maui on a holiday weekend.
Great race to run for 50th state
Wi-fi is not good on Maui. There may be two reviews as I hit send on my first one. I loved this race. I got lots of emails from the … MORE
Wi-fi is not good on Maui. There may be two reviews as I hit send on my first one. I loved this race. I got lots of emails from the race director who has my kind of sense of humor. I prefer more rather than less and the number didn’t bother me as that is what the delete button is for. This is the first race shirt I was given as the free shirt that was a work of art . It was beautiful and the race medal and swag bag has the same design. There were shuttle buses to take you to start from the two major hotel locations . We stayed at Westin timeshares and parked at Whalers village for the 5:00 shuttle bus to drop off at the start. Had coffee while I waited in line for Starbucks bathroom. It was special to hear the Hawaiian blessing before the race and then listen to Girls band sing the national anthem. There were plenty of water stations with enthusiastic volunteers with water and Gatorade. Best snacks were the sliced oranges. I liked the humor at aid station at Mile 8 who asked if I wanted a margarita and pulled out my free water cup but he laughed and told me it was Gatorade. One of later stations as blue ballon’s and best was the sign telling you it was one more mile. I purchased the coconut and luau to celebrate my 50th state. I also got a special medal placed over my head as I stood on the 1st place podium. The other humor – top 100 runners were in group A. Top meant those finishing their 50 states and the runners who were fast. There were buses to take us back to whalers but A runners took an uber back. This is the race to run as the weather was 70 with a breeze – you cannot escape humidity in
Maui and there were only few hills- it was mostly down hill. My poor time was due to having ice cream the day before and visiting the port a Potties on the course
Magic on Maui
Easy to keep your mind off the pain when you can see the beautiful neighboring islands become more illuminated as the Sun rises, oh, and whales breaching! So many aid … MORE
Easy to keep your mind off the pain when you can see the beautiful neighboring islands become more illuminated as the Sun rises, oh, and whales breaching! So many aid stations and the median felt very safe from traffic. An all around excellent production by a very talented team of organizers. I can’t wait for next year’s.
Great 50 state race!!
It was GREAT to have a special media for the 50 state half marathon finishers! More buses are needed to shuttle runners back to their respective places after the race! … MORE
It was GREAT to have a special media for the 50 state half marathon finishers! More buses are needed to shuttle runners back to their respective places after the race! We waited almost an hour, in the sun, before a bus returned to pick us up!
Beautiful Maui Marathon Option!
The marathon starts at 5 a.m., which is great to try to beat the heat. It is quite hilly! Better plan on that in your training. When the hills get … MORE
The marathon starts at 5 a.m., which is great to try to beat the heat. It is quite hilly! Better plan on that in your training. When the hills get tough, look to your left at the ocean and just keep repeating “I’m in Maui, this is beautiful!”
The aide stations were all great. Many of them had people that would be out to greet you before you arrived telling you what would be available at that particular aide station.
They don’t have gels so bring your own. They did have snacks at all the aide stations but I brought my own gels and didn’t want to ‘try anything new on race day’ but it was there if you wanted it. Water and Gatorade available at all aide stations.
We used reusable cups, which I thought would be a hassle but it was fine and you didn’t need to worry about throwing a cup in a trash bin. It smashed up pretty flat and I stuffed it in my running bra with no issues.
The race start at The Shops at Wailea was great. Get there by 4:30 a.m. and use the flushing, clean bathrooms! It was great! Luckily I didn’t have to use any of the porta potties but there were many along the course.
The medal is beautiful! I like that the full marathoners got a bigger medal with a different color ribbon. The race shirts are awesome too!
Race director, Les, is a hoot! He keeps you updated on all things race related. Don’t worry about anything!
We did the Whale Watching Dinner Cruise with Les and many other runners with their families which was amazing! Sign up as soon as he sends the email out because it fills up fast!!
Stunning sunrise, whales, awesome beauty
Maui Oceanfront Marathon was fantastic, I mean it’s Hawaii and Maui is remarkably beautiful, but the island of Maui itself is extremely expensive! There’s no cheap way around it and … MORE
Maui Oceanfront Marathon was fantastic, I mean it’s Hawaii and Maui is remarkably beautiful, but the island of Maui itself is extremely expensive! There’s no cheap way around it and I was there for 8 days and the food was outrageous and little portions for the money, bring lots of snacks, or save up for this one! I ran it as my 50th state on the quest of running a marathon in all 50 states and it was great, besides the humidity! Coming from Utah, training in record breaking snowfall I was not prepared for the heat wave at mile 2. I was grateful they started the race at 5 am as I wouldn’t have been ok, as I was roasting! As the sunrise began I was blessed to see whales on the horizon breaching along the way. It was breathtaking, with the sunrise and whales in sight! Not many runners in the marathon and I ran the entire race alone until we merged with the half marathons the last 10k back, which was too narrow to have that many runners headed to a finish. I did lots of weaving in and out of beach traffic zooming to manage to get around those walking. Overall, great marathon, awesome memories, and loved Maui!
Fantastic but hills in middle are real
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 … MORE
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.
Maui is amazing!
Not much to add to other reviews. Two hours of running in the dark—glad I brought a headlamp. Good race communication before hand about beef for light, GU from home. … MORE
Not much to add to other reviews. Two hours of running in the dark—glad I brought a headlamp. Good race communication before hand about beef for light, GU from home.
Beautiful views, point to point course with excellent organization. Elevation gain of 2800 according to my Garmin—in the teens section 13-18.
Beautiful location for finish line, easy morning bib pickup and nice additional medal for it being state 50 😊. I was one of 34 to finish in2023–one lady I met finished round two and did Honolulu for round one. She said Maui was better!!
Beautiful but beware of humidity
My husband and I ran this on our quest for 50 states. It was a beautiful course, but not my favorite. We ran along the shoulder of a busy road … MORE
My husband and I ran this on our quest for 50 states. It was a beautiful course, but not my favorite. We ran along the shoulder of a busy road most of the way and I found myself paying attention to the drivers more than the scenery, but that’s more on me. We chose packet pick-up in Wailea and it was extremely easy. The marathon shirts were very nice with a surfing scene depicted on them, and there was also a plastic license plate frame included. Merchandise was available consisting of shirts, tanks and hats. I picked up the last medium of a great tank, but my husband’s size was sold out of the one he liked. We were there the second hour the expo was open so we were surprised that items were already sold out. The running store advertised as being across the street was there but closed which was a mistake on their part as they missed out on some definite sales. The RD was very informative with their entertaining emails. If I had one complaint, it was the lack of port-o-johns. The one I was finally able to use was out of TP…ugh! I believe the issue was that the john’s were put out near the ones used for the beaches the day before and everything got used up, but I’m not sure. I also wish I had used the early start time as the heat and humidity really got to me and I could have got off the course that much earlier and not suffered so much in the final miles. There was not much at the finish area – no music and just some fruit and Oreos. There was a bus back to Wailea for $20/person but it only left at 10:30 and 12:30, so if you missed the 10:30 bus, you waited around. Lahaina had great bars and restaurants to wait at though but that reminds me of another thing and that is there was no bag drop, so you were going to these places in your gross clothes while waiting. The RD mentioned in their emails to give your bag to your crew, but if your crew also ran, you just had to suck it up. We stayed in Wailea and walked to the start and that was great! There were so many great restaurants nearby and things to do. Our friends stayed in Lahaina but their races started at that end so it made sense for them. They also had great restaurants and places to see. Volunteers are always great, but I must say that the aid stations at MOM were exceptional! The hydration was cold and one aid station even gave out ice pops – so good! And before I forget, the medal and ribbon were my favorite so far! It was an ocean scene depicted on glass that could double as a coaster. Sorry I rambled a bit but I wanted to give you all a thorough idea of what to expect at this race.
Beautiful small race
If you follow the instructions in the NAG emails you received prior to race day you won’t have a problem. Two locations for bib pickup, I choose the Lahaina location … MORE
If you follow the instructions in the NAG emails you received prior to race day you won’t have a problem. Two locations for bib pickup, I choose the Lahaina location (free parking) and a short walk to pick up bib/ start of race. Race morning, the race started on time, you ran along the beach road, through neighborhood and then the highway. The highway was corner off with cones, so you can run on the shoulder of the road. It was an out and back turn around, police monitoring street closures. Flat course with ample water stations that provided cold water, Gatorade, gummies and a few other snacks. Post Race food was cookies, pretzels, oranges, ( basic snacks). People that was completing this race as their 50th state received an extra medal and there was a cake for the celebration. The race ended by the beach. I just wish post race food was better. I highly recommend this race, after all it’s Hawaii.
MOMs is the one for HI
Great communication from RD. Simple packet packet with two different pick up locations. Just a shirt and a license plate cover. I personally stayed in a hostel near the finish … MORE
Great communication from RD. Simple packet packet with two different pick up locations. Just a shirt and a license plate cover. I personally stayed in a hostel near the finish line in Lahaina. Caught the FREE early bus just steps away. The views are never ending, a few rolling hills about mid-way thru race. No party that I could tell at end of race. Water and Gatorade is all I saw. I finished towards the end taking my time in the sun and enjoying the views! YES, I saw whales in the distance while running…🐳
Beautiful Course, nice swag
Beautiful course with mountains on one side and ocean on the other. Great race shirt, nice medal. Not much at the finish line - Gatorade, fruits, cookies. I would definitely … MORE
Beautiful course with mountains on one side and ocean on the other. Great race shirt, nice medal. Not much at the finish line – Gatorade, fruits, cookies. I would definitely do it again if I’m in Maui at the right time, but wouldn’t consider it a destination race.
Probably best race in Hawaii!
Took my wife to Hawaii for our 25th anniversary but postponed the trip to coincide with this race (those running for all 50 states would understand!) Pre Race/ Bib pick … MORE
Took my wife to Hawaii for our 25th anniversary but postponed the trip to coincide with this race (those running for all 50 states would understand!)
Pre Race/ Bib pick up: It was a breeze. We stayed in Maui about 2 blocks from the pick up (unfortunately, it is all gone now due to the fires there). Walked over and was able to get what we needed without issue. They had extra past race shirts available for cheap so I picked up the other designs.
Race: It was an out and back course along the shore. The locals cheering on were great along with the music and fun atmosphere. Timing is also good to see whales (saw a couple while on the route since you see the ocean the entire time!) Support was good and no issues with aid stations.
Post race/ swag: The medals are absolutely beautiful. The shirts are nice (but I was not a fan of white shirts – just not my fav color but I understand due to the design on the shirts). Love and still run with the racing hat that I bought while there.
If you get a chance, take the cruise with the race director. It is well worth it. My wife and I loved getting the chance to cruise with other runners as well as seeing whales many times while on the trip. Overall, loved the course and hope to go back sometime and see how Maui recovers from the awful fires in the area! (My profile pic is from that trip to Hawaii while on Maui!)
Cant beat the scenery on this one
My first run after back surgery, recovery, etc. Most of this race is along the coastline of Maui and I saw at least 5 whales!! You cant beat Maui for … MORE
My first run after back surgery, recovery, etc. Most of this race is along the coastline of Maui and I saw at least 5 whales!! You cant beat Maui for an awesome island experience and doing a run this beautiful just adds to it. I recommend this run for everyone! at least once : -)
Small Local Race with Great Medal
Please note that I ran this race during covid, so things were limited and there were many precautions were in place. This was my first HA race. A friend and … MORE
Please note that I ran this race during covid, so things were limited and there were many precautions were in place. This was my first HA race. A friend and I planned to run it as it happened to be during a pre-planned bday trip, as well as wanting to go ahead and check off another state while we had the chance. Pre-race communications through email were plentiful. We got some sort of email from the director almost everyday regarding HA covid conditions, race confirmations, what to expect pre-race/post race etc. I gave production a 4, as I had reached out several times to sign up for the post race cruise and could never get a response. After awhile, I just stopped trying. It was kind of strange considering all the emails, but I believe this was a different contact person.
Packet pickup was very quick and efficient and they even had some race apparel for sale (shirts, tanks, hats). There was no swag, just the bib and the tech shirt. I think that this was due to covid?? I would have liked more. Race day was well organized and the waves went off without a hitch. The course was flat, but there was very little shade and only had a patch somewhere around mile 8ish. The course was relatively pretty, but it was nerve-wracking in some spots having cars zipping by and trying pass other runners with only 3 feet of space between the shoulder and the car lanes. The car honking kind of started getting annoying…although I’m sure they meant well. There were some good picture spots along the course, but also some homeless camps which I was NOT expecting to see. My performance was as expected due to 1) having a recent knee injury 2) coming from a climate with 35 degree temps and snow to 80+. I just wasn’t heat acclimated and I struggled a bit with the temp and no shade. The finish line was very cheerful though! They called your name as you came through the finish with a fun fact about you. The sprinklers were a welcome sight! I stood there for about 5 minutes in them. No post-race snacks or food. A banana, orange, or pretzels would have been great. The medal was awesome, very large and heavy!! All in all, I had fun, but this would probably be a one and done for me.
Beautiful course, shaky production.
The course is gorgeous as expected. The production aspect has some glitches. Frustrating when you register WAY before any deadline only to show up for packet pick up to find … MORE
The course is gorgeous as expected. The production aspect has some glitches. Frustrating when you register WAY before any deadline only to show up for packet pick up to find that they only had medium sized shirts remaining or I could get my size, large, in a 2019 shirt!. No thank you.
The shuttle driver got lost on the way to the starting area, other than that it was a nice one and done.
Ok race with rough edges.
There are not a lot of options for races in Hawaii and this one was ok. You run on the side of the road the whole time with traffic going … MORE
There are not a lot of options for races in Hawaii and this one was ok. You run on the side of the road the whole time with traffic going by at 40-60MPH for 2/3’s of the race and the ocean in view most of the time. The other 1/3 of the race is on a frontage road that has one lane blocked so traffic on one side. You run past many folks fishing, and there was many piles of feces in the road along with a few dead things you could smell off in the woods. Course had cones to separate the traffic from the shoulder with runners going both ways in a 2-6’ shoulder for most of it. This year there was no police or medical presence.
The water stops were not set up well. First one at mile 1. Second at mile 5, and they had NO WATER at mile 5. The turn around was well marked and manned. They ran out of safety pins at packet pickup and they also ran out of the shirt size I was supposed to get. Metal was nice shirt too. Race start was at a good time so you could watch the sun rise.
Don’t take the bus, just drive there is plenty of parking and btw there is no bus back (you have to take the public bus).
Great Destination Race
The race director and communication is top notch. The course has its challenges with a climb, starting in the dark, wind and road camber. However, it is scenic and the … MORE
The race director and communication is top notch. The course has its challenges with a climb, starting in the dark, wind and road camber. However, it is scenic and the support is great. You get to run in Hawaii! Make a vacation out of it. Expect warmer temps and wind, but enjoy it.
So Beautiful
The best part of this race is the views! Right along the ocean for a good portion of the race. Saw a whale while I was running just after sunrise. … MORE
The best part of this race is the views! Right along the ocean for a good portion of the race. Saw a whale while I was running just after sunrise. Course is pretty flat and the locals are really nice.
A total joy. 15K = flat, glorious pt2pt.
This was my first foot race since I was 19 (now 46) though I've done a lot of big paddling races, and the positive energy and perfect organization exceeded anything … MORE
This was my first foot race since I was 19 (now 46) though I’ve done a lot of big paddling races, and the positive energy and perfect organization exceeded anything I’ve experienced before.
At the pule for the 15k, the kapuna who offered the blessing had us sing along as best as we could in Hawaiian, then he posted up by Olowalu village road and cheered us on our run. It was really special.
Although I’d been worried that I’d get in the way of the marathon front runners and that we’d collide with the half and 10K runners, none of that happened, and cheering on the eventual winners of these races (and congratulating them at the finish line) really put a smile on my face and wind in my sails.
One of my favorite moments was watching a rooster aggressively cut off a group of girlfriends walking towards me in the 10K then shot across the road…they laughed and laughed. The photographer happened to be right there when it happened laughing too and got photos of all of our crazy huge smiles.
The medals/trophies (and numbers and shirts) were real works of art. The quality of the technical shirts was wonderful, and unlike nearly every paddle event that I’ve done, it was especially nice to get a women’s cut shirt.
Although I’m slow by all objective measures and would not generally qualify for a prize (and that’s OK), I’ll admit that knew that I my predicted pace was just outside of what 3rd place was in my age group last year motivated my pace the whole way, and it was thrilling when I crossed the line knowing that, so long as a bunch fast people didn’t sign up this year, I might have placed. (I did!) The age group trophy/plaque was beautiful too.
Here’s my hot tip for visitors…The 15K is the least popular race, but the most scenic, flattest course. 🙂 (The marathon includes it too, but also goes through town and up the hill around the Pali. The other races are out-and-back from the finish.)