The most memorable things from running the Maui Oceanfront Marathon are by far the beauty of the course and the Race Director emails. They were both a treat in their own right. In the days leading up the marathon the RD sent a really long email with 41 reminders on it - one of the last ones was a reminder that this is not the Boston Marathon, nor is it the NYC Marathon. It's not, the Maui Oceanfront Marathon is charming but it also could have benefited from a little more organization and execution. Still worth doing, but it's important to understand what you're getting into.

Course: For the most part the course is pretty flat - there are two sections with some decent size hills but nothing major. The race starts at 5am for the majority of runners and that means you need to have a head lamp. Not a big deal but I would say that I really didn't get to see the beautiful scenery until close to the halfway mark. Seriously though, it is so beautiful once the sun comes up. The crowd support is pretty sporadic but the aid stations are staffed by all different community groups and they really show up.

Lodging: We stayed at the Westin. The course is point to point. The Westin was close to one of the shuttle locations but I would think as long as you're on that side of the island it's probably okay to stay wherever.

Food / Drink: Star Noodle was really good. As was the Farm Tour and Lunch at O'o Farm. There was amazing poke at Tamura's Fine Wine and Liquor - yes, it is a liquor store with a poke counter but it was so good.

Gear: The shirt was fine. It's probably not one I'm going to wear very often. Medal was big and glittery - very Hawaii.

Race Management: This is where they lost me. For all the emails and general communication there were a couple of big misses. The Friday night before the race they notified all runners that there would no longer be Gatorade on the course and it would Ultima Replenisher instead. There were also numerous reminders about being sure to wear a headlamp and that there would be drop zones for it. I ran through both locations where they were supposed to be and saw no signs of a drop bucket for the headlamps. This was a topic of conversation out on the course from other runners that were puzzled looking for a spot to ditch the lamp. I guess the final thing relates to the proximity to traffic - this was made clear the whole way that you share the road for the vast majority of the course with the vehicle traffic. For the most part that was okay and pretty well managed. There were cones, the occasional traffic officer to support, but the last stretch of the race was a little frustrating because it went from the marathon runners, to adding in the half marathoners, and some of the walkers from the 10k. This created a number of challenges trying to run safely while also continuing to make progress towards completing the race. I would think there would be some ways to help alleviate the pressure of everyone trying to run on the shoulder of the road together.

Overall: All in all it is a good race. It's not the Boston or NYC Marathon. But it is really nice - the course is beautiful, it's not too hard, it's great to get away from the Minnesota winter. There are definitely a few things I'd love to see them improve on but it's a good race as a whole.

The Memorial Marathon is a nice race - first time running in Oklahoma and 21st marathon overall. Coming from Minnesota it was a little hot and humid for my tastes but the wind helped.

Course: Rolling hills - nothing crazy. We went through a lot of different neighborhoods which was really nice but the crowds were pretty sporadic. There were long sections of light industrial or strip malls which was not the most engaging. This was a new course this year and I think that if the course remains the same moving forward there will be more residential neighborhoods that engage as well.

Lodging: Stayed at the historic Skirvin Hotel - our room wasn't haunted hah. It was one of the race hotels and convenient to everything.

Food / Drink: We had a bunch of good meals in town. Jones Assembly and Hatch stand out in particular. Prairie Artisan Ales has a great set up. Film Row and the Automobile Alley were really cool neighborhoods.

Gear: You get two shirts (Participant and Finisher) but I would rather receive one high quality shirt than the two we got. The medal is simple but very nice.

Race Management: Only complaint is that the last .5 miles were filled with all the 5k'ers and it was a mess. We were weaving in and out of people walking, holding hands, etc. Would have been better if there had been a split.

Overall: It's a nice race. Crowds were sporadic but when they were there they were really good. The course isn't terribly interesting and there's a lot of strip malls / light industrial sections along the way. If you're looking for an Oklahoma marathon this is a good one.