First off I love destination races! They are so fun because you get to travel to somewhere where there are new things to experience all the time. So I was pretty excited when getting to Honolulu, although my gut would tell you otherwise. I headed straight to the Hawaii Convention Center from the airport. I was really impressed to see the expo still in full swing, even though it was the last day and only a few hours left. It was definitely one of the best expos that I've been to. So many vendors and different products it was like heaven for a runner. I was also impressed that shirts were only given out once you finished the race. Not sure if this is standard for big races or not, but this was the first race that I have run that did that, which made the shirt feel extra rewarding.

Race morning had arrived, not that I slept much. I was staying with a friend who lived pretty much across the street from the start line which was convenient. The corrals were pretty casual which I was happy for. I had signed up 12 months before the race and guessed my finishing time which after completing my first marathon just a few months before I knew that what I guessed and what I actually would run were different. So it was easy enough for me to change corrals.

The race started with a stunning firework show, something Disney would be impressed with. What made it even better was that they kept shooting them off for at least a solid 20 minutes so that all the runners in the back corrals would be able to start the race off with a bang (#sorrynotsorry for the people in the nearby hotels).

The race started at Ala Moana Beach park and went westward for just about 2 miles before we looped back to the east. I remember at this point feeling cold (living in Hawaii gives you zero tolerance for chilly weather) but the air was humid like it had just finished raining. The route took us past several buildings that were decorated for the Holidays with lights and decorations, which was hard to resist taking pictures of.

Then we made it back to Ala Moana Blvd heading into Waikiki. This was probably my favorite part of the race as we were running by all the big name hotels down the Avenue, which it was still super early at this point so it was barren of the usual amount of people roaming around. It was a pretty cool sight. Just after mile 6 we turned at went down a road through Kapiolani Regional Park. The park was so lush right before sunrise that for a second I actually forgot I was still in the middle of a city. The our journey took us up Diamond Head. It was probably a good mile climb up the hill but we were rewarded with a glorious view of sunrise of the coast.

Now started the downhill trek down Diamond Head and continued down past Kaimuki Middle School. I witnessed another incredible view from the top of the street looking down past Diamond Head Memorial Park where the entire street was just filled with runners. (Running on Maui I'm not used to so many runner so it was a spectacular sight to me to see some many people enjoying running all at the same time).

At Mile 11 the course took us on the highway for a 4 mile cruise down to the residential neighborhood on Hawaii Kai Dr. I remember at this point there were lots of families outside their houses watching us and handing out snacks and water, so awesome of them! Hawaii Kai Dr was about a 2.5 mile loop back to the highway. I remember getting back to the point where we originally turned onto Hawaii Kai Dr and seeing the endless crowd of people just getting there, and I felt a little bad for them.

On the 4 miles back up the highway was when my legs started getting super tight, but I continued to truck along. Then at mile 22 when we got off the highway I hit the wall. The next 1.5 miles were not the fun and I tried to stretch and get my legs going again. But right before mile 24 I got through the wall and was back on track running faster than before. Little did I realize that this was the point where we went back up Diamond Head again. I was expecting my legs to cramp up again during the climb but I was relieved when they didn't. From the top it was all downhill to the finish. The finish was on the other side of Kapilani Regional Park from what we ran on previously.

The final leg into the finish was about half a mile long, and all along that stretch were people cheering us on. The energy was contagious and I ended up sprinting into the finish. I did not PR but I wasn't bummed about that at all. I had much more fun this time so I considered it a victory in my book! Then getting that awesome medal and finishers shirt was icing on the cake. There were huge post race festivities like pictures with hula dancers, food, and such. I couldn't stay and enjoy them as I had to get back and get ready for my return flight. Cannot wait to run this race again in 2016! I highly recommend it to everyone!