I challenge you to find a more beautiful race than the Maui Oceanfront Marathon.
Finish line views
Held annually on the Sunday of the Martin Luther King, Jr.
holiday weekend
(which was January 20 this year), I participated in the 12th annual M-O-M.
Originally, I signed up for the MOM in January 2019, in anticipation of a
possible BQ race.
However, I was lucky enough to qualify again for the 2021
Boston Marathon in my Big Bear race a few months ago.
So I went into this race with zero expectations, and wanted to just enjoy
every second of it.
That sounds like it is easy enough to do, but for
someone competitive, that can be a challenge.
Travel to Maui
There are a few ways to get to Maui.
You can fly to a different island and
swim (not advisable as your luggage would get wet).
Or you can fly to one
of the airports on Maui.
Personally I recommend the main airport in Kahului
(OGG) as it is newly renovated, has cheaper flights, and is centrally
located.
The Kapalua Airport is much smaller, has more expensive flights, and uses
tiny planes.
It is technically closer to Lahaina, which is where the finish
line is, but I don‚’t recommend it.
Where to Stay
Maui is paradise, like all the Hawaiian Islands.
So there are many
different places to stay.
Since I was running the full marathon, and I like
to make my race mornings as easy as possible, we chose to stay in Wailea at
Hotel Wailea (it was a splurge).
Janell wanted to relax while I ran.
I
couldn‚’t argue.
There are numerous places in Wailea to stay, and they are all within 1-2
miles of the starting line.
Perfect for a pre-race warmup.
There are two post race shuttles 10:30 AM and 12:30 PM that go from Lahaina
to Wailea.
They cost $12, and tickets can be purchased at packet pick up.
Otherwise you could stay in Lahaina, near the finish line, and catch the
shuttle bus to the start line in the morning.
You could technically stay in Kihei if you wanted as well, and get dropped
off or drive to the shops at Wailea.
You would however have to pay for
parking and it is expensive.
The race director recommends getting dropped off at the start in Wailea,
and then having your cheer squad stop at the various turn outs to take
photos.
I saw a lot of people doing this, with the best spots from miles
18-26.
Pre-Race Festivities
The packet pickup is super chill, and very small.
On the Friday before the
race, you could pick up the packet in Kihei, and on Saturday you could pick
up the packet in Lahaina.
I couldn‚’t make it to the packet pickup Friday, so we spent Saturday
driving the course and then grabbing the race packet.
Things that are unique to this race, is that the race director sends out a
ton of emails in the weeks leading up to the race.
In most cases, he will
make an exception to any rule in exchange for a bottle of Merlot.
Even race
morning bib pick up or having someone else grab your bib for you.
This is a local race, but there is a decent international crowd.
That being
said, it is a pretty small race, with less than 400 people running the full
marathon.
There was also a 5K, 10K, 15K, and half marathon which all start at
different points and at different times.
Race Morning
The race starts in the parking lot of the Shops at Wailea.
This is on the
South West end of the Island.
Race start is 5:00 AM sharp (for full
marathon only).
They do have a time limit on this race (12 Noon), so you
can start at 3:30 AM if you need more time.
I left the hotel room at 4:15 AM, and made my way down to the start line.
I
was probably one of the last people to show up to the race, even though I
was 30 minutes early.
The porta-potty lines were pretty long, so I did my
best not to think about it.
There was a Hawaiian blessing, and some words from the race director, and
then we started lining up at 4:55 AM.
The front of the race was for the
largest donators.
Followed by the 50 state racers.
Most of these folks were
too timid to start at the front (thankfully), and I made my way up.
One thing unique about this race is that you are required to have a
headlamp or light of some sort for the first part of the race.
I actually
needed my light to see the road until mile 10, and then for a few
additional miles to warn drivers that I was there.
Personally I used my
Ultraspire Lumen 800 multisport waist light and I was the brightest runner
out there.
The first mile started flat and the quickly went uphill.
I ran this the day
before the race to see how hard the hill was.
It wasn‚’t easy, but it was
short, and at least followed by a nice downhill.
At the bottom of the
downhill, there was a short out and back section.
I used this as my
opportunity to count the people ahead of me.
I counted 27.
I had my work
cut out for me.
I knew the race would flatten out till mile 10.
What I didn‚’t expect was a
headwind.
This forced me to pay real close attention to my pacing, and
slowed me down more than I would have liked.
In these first few miles, I
knew it wasn‚’t going to be a PR type of day.
Daytime views in Kihei
For majority of the race, I was running on the shoulder of the road,
against traffic.
In Kihei, there are some real small or non-existent
shoulders.
In most these areas, the adjacent lane was closed.
I never felt
unsafe, even during the twists and turns of miles 12-17.
At mile 10, there was a mile long uphill which looked worse than it was.
However, the headwind made it tough.
Luckily, there was an equally sloped
downhill back towards the coast right after, which had a tail wind! I was
relieved to get some speed in my legs after that slow uphill section.
Once I hit the coast line, I was treated with 6 miles of rollers.
This is
where the whale watching was the best! I made sure to look out, and
actually did see a few whale spouts in this area.
The sun had started to
brighten up the sky by the start of mile 12, and I no longer needed my
Ultraspire light.
Looking back at Wailea from mile 13
The aid stations were evenly spaced out, and there was a contest for which
aid station was the best.
I liked the ladies dressed in pajamas.
This race
also had two bottle drops at miles 7 and 16 (announced the day before the
race so I didn‚’t use it).
I also saw spectators swapping bottles for
runners.
I don‚’t think this was technically against any rules (it isn‚’t an
Ironman), but it was something I‚’ve never seen before.
At mile 17, I was blessed with one final downhill.
From there, I was on the
home stretch.
There were many moments during this time that I wanted to
just stop running and sit in the water just feet away.
I refrained, but it
was so tempting.
Along this final, almost perfectly flat stretch of road, I was treated to
views of other Hawaiian Islands, calm waters, brilliant blues, and tropical
vibes.
I also encountered the other 4 races of shorter distances.
Those races
actually started at different points on the course, but every race had the
same finish line.
The half marathon started at the finish (out and back),
so they got to see all the beaches twice!
Personally I never found the course too crowded with all of the different
races fitting in one shoulder lane.
There were however a few times I had to
run in the road to go around people.
Thankfully the cars were very
courteous and never ran me over.
Finish
The finish line was welcome.
I was tired, despite not running nearly as
hard as I could have.
I made sure to enjoy as many of the views as I could,
and made sure I didn‚’t end up hurting myself.
I was satisfied with my time considering my effort, and was surprised with
a 2nd place in my Age Group award (first and second place overall were also
in my age group).
Finish: 3:16:09, 20/323 Overall, 4/20 in Age Group
Post Race
The finish line was just steps away from the beach, and I finally was able
to jump in the water.
It felt as good as I thought it would.
I also made sure to take advantage of the free massages they were giving
out!
There were also tables of snacks with bananas, oranges, pineapples,
pretzels, cookies, crackers.
I also checked out the awards table and saw the coolest first place awards
I have ever seen.
Perhaps the highlight of the finish line however, was my new friend Meadow.
She was a 6 month old Australian Shepard/Border Collie mix, and was so
cute.
I spent a long time sitting with her at the medical tent.
I was fine,
but she needed a friend.
We tried figuring out how to sneak her away, but in the end she couldn‚’t
break free.
Final Thoughts
If you like beaches, paradise, whale watching, and marathons, the MOM is
your dream race.
Perhaps you only like half marathons, or shorter
distances, the MOM is still your race.
This was my 7th marathon, and 4th Hawaiian Island I have ran on.
I would
say it was easily the most beautiful.
I don‚’t think this race is a PR type
of race, but it isn‚’t slow either.
The weather was cool (mid 60‚’s at the
start), not too humid because the wind, and started early so it wasn‚’t too
hot at the finish (at least for me).
Highly recommended.
Plus it is an
excuse to go to Maui!
