I seriously can't recommend this race enough. The course was great, the scenery was wonderful, and the swag was awesome! We even saw a rainbow on the course!

The Medal
I think this is the first medal that I have that is two-sided!
When we crossed the finish line we were handed a shell necklace right away. Then we walked further into the finisher area and picked up our cotton finisher t-shirt and medal. It was a pretty smooth process.
The medal is about the size of my palm so it's not the biggest medal I have, but not the smallest one either. I love how it perfectly represents Hawaii and even though the sponsor (JAL = Japanese Airlines) is on the medal, it's not the main focus of the medal.

The Start/Finish Lines
The start of the Honolulu Marathon is like no other start I've been a part of! The race starts at 5:00 AM so it is still dark for a couple of hours at the beginning of the race and instead of using a starting pistol THEY USE FIREWORKS to kick off the race!!!

The starting corrals are different in the fact that they do not assign corrals. You just line up using the honor system and the signs they have posted showing about where you should stand if you plan on finishing in the 4 hour range, the 5 hour range, and so on. We lined up towards the back of the 5 hour range.

The finish area was in Kapiolani Park. There were vendors selling more race gear, food tents, the finisher shirt tent, the medal tent, and even a GIANT Jumbo Tron which was on a time delay so you could watch yourself finish the race!

The Course
The course was mostly flat with the slight hill around mile 8 or 9. I wouldn't really call it a big hill. Just a gradual incline as you are running near Diamond Head. You hit it on the way back as well, but we almost didn't notice it at all. This is definitely a flat course with plenty of scenery to keep you occupied! We even saw a rainbow on the course!

The Swag
Every runner in the finish area was welcomed with the smell of warm and fresh Malasadas! It is sort of like a funnel cake ball covered in sugar.
All finishers got a cotton t-shirt, a medal, a malasada, a shell necklace, and our bib.

The Expo
The expo had signs in English and Japanese. It was definitely big enough for all the runners and vendors and really easy to navigate. It was also easy to get to from our hotel so that was nice.

Overall
This is a huge race! It has over 31,000 runners so be ready to do some weaving in and out of people for most of the run. I highly recommend this race for beginners or advanced runners. The course is awesome. We got lucky and had nice weather too. A light and cooling rain/mist was perfect! If you are looking for a race to celebrate a milestone or an anniversary or just a nice race-cation, YOU MUST DO THIS RACE!