I write this review with Ohua not being my home, so my experience may have been different than a local residents, as that beautiful backdrop completely sold me! I signed up for this race with a friend who currently lives on the Island, with no idea of what to expect. I feel this race was very well run with a variety of emails leading up with the race, a training run offered the Saturday before the race, and a beautiful backdrop in which to run by. The Expo was held at the Hawaii Convention Center in downtown Honolulu with convenient times on Friday and Saturday. We did get a parking spot just a 5 minute walk away, but I could see parking being somewhat challenging depending on how busy it is. The Expo itself was more stocked than most 1/2's I have been too. It was quick, easy, and they had a few vendors there with some nice merchandise. On Race Day we arrived to park at around 5am or so, and easily jumped on the shuttle bus that you take down to the start. It was a good energy, despite being so early, and quite a big crowd. Once the race started, on the course they had a good supply of water/aid stations (I do think a couple more water stations in the first 1-6 miles would be beneficial). There is a fairly big grade change around mile 9 as you start to head around Diamond Head, but there is plenty of fellow runners and spectators to cheer you on. Around mile 11 or so they had drummers, which was a nice motivating factor as you went up that last incline. The finish was right near a nice park area, near the beach, with a good amount of volunteers and vendors. Shaved ice, malasadas, bananas, and freshly squeezed juice awaited you at the finish, along with music! There was also a Jumbotron that was 20 minutes delayed so you could watch yourself finish. Overall a great race and I would highly recommend it to others!

Pros
-Ease of parking
-Swag/post race activities
-Scenery

Cons
-NONE!