• Kaanapali,
    Hawaii,
    United States
  • January
  • 3 miles/5K, Other
  • Road Race
  • Event Website

Christopher McManus

Afton, New York, United States
43 19
2016
"A confusing race."
Overall
T-Shirts/SWAG
Aid Stations
Course Scenery
Expo Quality
Elevation Difficulty
Parking/Access
Race Management
Christopher McManus's thoughts:

I don't like being so negative about a race, since they are such a positive thing however I want to tell you like it was. I've ran this race for the past two years because my restaurant, Hula Grill Kaanapali, has been a big support of this race. The race benefits Keiki (child) cancer research. Their logo is three hand prints, one blue, red, and green to symbolize keiki who are battling cancer, who have been lost to cancer, and who have beat cancer. So the who purpose of the race really hits my heart.

The expo was help right outside my restaurant on our lawn, so getting there was very easy for me, for others they could have parked in the Whaler's Village parking garage and received validation, so that's a bonus. Getting my bib and swag bag was painless and swift. i was a little disappointed in the shirt because it was the same exact white shirt as last year but with this year's date. What runner can keep a shirt white? When I was walking into the restaurant one of our guests saw me with my swag bag and was excited that we got 2 free tickets to the Hyundai Golf Tournament of Champions. I didn't remember seeing them in my bag, so I dumped the contents and realized I wasn't given any tickets. I had to go back to the expo tent and actually ask for the tickets. This made me feel very cheap, I shouldn't have had to ask for swag that rightfully for us.

Race morning we were again allowed to park in the Whaler's Village parking garage, however I'm not sure if they validated this time, as I'm an employee there I don't have to pay the standard rate. My friends and I all met on the grass to stretch while the MC kept everyone entertained until race start. Once it got a little closer he told everyone to start lining up except everyone was on the wrong side of the start line, I only knew this from running the race before. He eventually got everyone on the correct side of the start line which took some doing.

Next he explained the course. We were to start running southward down Kaanapali Pkwy for about a half mile until we saw a cone to turn around, then run northward on the pkwy past the start and to the Sheraton Maui where another cone was to turn around, then we had to run through the finish line as a first marker for our race chips and down to the first cone again, once we turned around this time we turned up Kekaa Dr. hill for about half a mile then turned around and when down the hill, back to the Sheraton, turned around and went through the finish line for real this time. I've never like lap race for this reason, they can get very confusing, unlike point to point races.

Then the MC got us more confused. He wanted to make a make-shift corral for faster runners and slower runners. He said he only wanted runner to line up at the start who were planning to run an 8 min/mile pace or faster. But everyone was already lined up before he said this so most runners were not sure what to do. Then when the start gun went off some runner started, some just stood there not knowing when they should actually start, and the rest waited until he told them to go.

I was one of the ones who started runner just to get going, not thinking I was to run a sub 8 min/mile pace but I wanted to get away from the congestion. The course was very scenic as it was a beautiful Kaanapali morning. No clouds up the mountain gave us a spectacular view. There was an aid station right before the hill, which you would end of passing four times due to the laps which was nice. It only had water but I think that's all they should have had. The hill was a fun challenge but not too bad, it added some variety to relatively flat race. Upon finishing they had five of the local teen pageant girls (not sure what division or anything but they did have sashes on) giving everyone a medal once they finished. One of my friends had to go back and ask for a medal because they missed her, which made her feel awkward.

Then the award ceremony was another weird part of the race. The divisions consisted of huge age groups with a 15 year range for each division, or something like that. They were much bigger than I had ever seen, not your standard 5 or 10 year range.

Overall I think the race was a bit unorganized, at the expo and with the confusing coral at race start. Aside from race management, the run itself was great and fun. So in the end I would recommend this race to others because it wasn't expensive, it benefits a great charity, and it's fun. Maybe as I've run so many races I noticed the disorganization but I'm still going to run it again next year.

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