This was my second time running the Disney Marathon, and my 3rd Disney race weekend experience. What a delight!

If you stay on property transportation to and from the expo and the race is a breeze. It's so nice to have that part of logistics figured out for you.

The start/finish areas and aid stations are so well organized. The volunteers are some of the best! Always so happy and cheerful! The ability to run through the parks and see the characters makes this race unforgettable.

This year since it was the 25th anniversary all the runners got special edition Mickey Ears as well.

And, one of the unsung heroes of this race is the speed in which you finish and can get on a bus to head back to your hotel. For a race this size, to not have to walk a full mile+ to find transportation back is soooo nice after running a full Marathon.

I cannot recommend this race enough!

Did this race as my first trail race 7 years ago and wanted another go at it when we knew we were coming back to Honolulu in December. This race is everything I remembered and more.

The course is unlike anything I've experienced on the Mainland. Most of it is quite runnable. But the downhill mud mile was WAY more intense than I remember. I think this year there was more rain the week leading up so it was at least 6 inches of steep downhill mud that you were sliding through (or in my case slowly trying to maneuver through).

The scenery is unlike anything else Beautiful views at multiple points.

There we were may aid stations this time (8 vs I believe 3 when we did it a few years back). Volunteers were great, super helpful.

Also the t-shirt is now a gender-specific sized shirt which I appreciate. It's a soft material and fits great!

Post-race is just beautiful. The setting is gorgeous. Tons of snacks/fruit etc.

I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a trail race in Hawaii. If the super technical mud section doesn't interest you sign-up for the 5K and 10K which don't include that part of the course.

I clearly love Honolulu and Hawaii in general, but who doesn't!! This race has been on my bucket list and I was excited to finally cross it off. It was a perfect trip and race to cap off a busy fall before heading into the holiday craziness. If you sign-up early you can get a good deal on this race and stalk flight sales! We were able to get flights from the W. Coast under $400 and there are some surprisingly affordable places to stay in Waikiki if you look in the right places. AND, you can also eat/drink more reasonably than you would think (hit me up for tips if you need them!).

The Start:
It's an early 5am start but for us mainlanders it's not bad with the time change. They have shuttles from Waikiki if you are staying there but we stayed near the start so popped down there just 30-min before race-time. Similar to my tip on Merrie Mile if you are on the speedier side I recommend seeding up front. My corral was blue (2nd corral) of 3:30-5:00 finishers so it was a wide range so i made sure to stick to the front.

The start kicks-off with a bang and lots of fireworks. It's not just one boom and you start. The fireworks continue for like 5-10 minutes! So...beware those trying to watch or take video :) Be alert of your surroundings and runners in front fo you.

The Course:
It's quite manageable with only 2 hills around 8 and 24 up and over Diamond Head, but with only approx 100 ft of gain they weren't too bad (just make sure you save enough at the end for that mile 24 climb). The rest was fairly flat.

Aid stations and volunteers were amazing!!! Lots of aid stations, LONG aid stations with color-coordinated cups (green Gatorade, then white for water). There were cheering dead zones but when you did hit cheer zones the Japanese tour groups were a delight! There were also at least 2 sponge stations that I remember which was also much needed.

The Finish:
Nice flat straightaway...it seemed like it was going on forever =D But once you cross the finish the finish chute is a very quick exit, which is a nice change of pace to other large marathons that make you walk a mile post-finish. Here, you immediately get your medal and go through sprinkler showers which feel amazing in the Hawaii weather. Then you walk to the finish area and it's festival style. So you don't walk through lines/congestion to get all your stuff, you walk to the finish area in the park.

At first I wondered why they didn't have the lines to hand you your stuff as you move through. But afterwards I liked the set-up because I could sit down (aka lay down exhausted) and recuperate a bit before mobilizing to go get food/drink (malasadas!!! and the most amazing coconut water I've ever had!! also bananas, etc) and your finisher shirt, or stand in line to take pics (vs. back-up in the finisher chute due to pics, etc.). I'm always dying to sit for a bit right after I finish so I liked this style because I could do that immediately! And you aren't caught in that awkward "i'm trying to carry everything all at once but don't have enough hands" situation. I also got to just lay there and hangout for almost an hour post-finish and never felt overly crowded which was also nice for a race this size.

Post-race we walked down the street to lay on the beach, which has to be one of the best non-official perks of this race! Everyone in Waikiki has their medal or finisher medal on so it makes for a fun atmosphere.

Other:
The expo had a mix of US and Japanese brands which I found interesting to explore. You can get in and out fairly fast. Monday there's also an option to get a finisher certificate and meet the winners. We didn't stop by but saw a lot of people that did.

I also love that this race gives you a feeling of a semi-international race experience (40% of the field is Japanese) without having to travel out of the country, etc. I'm thinking we'll be coming back again for this one :)

This was a great way to warm-up for the Honolulu Marathon. It's fun to get the spectacle for a distance that isn't going to destroy you the way 26.2 miles will (and is over much faster!!). The start is super close to all the Waikiki hotels (less than .5 mi). We stayed near Ala Moana center so got a nice 2-mile jog/warm-up to the start.

Runners are given color-coded corrals based on their estimated pace, but if you are fairly competitive I would make sure you are at the front of the corral because there are still a fair number of "fun-runners" in the early corrals.

Course is nice and flat and wide on the main drag in Waikiki. It's a hairpin turn with tons of people watching/taking pics at the turn-around which is fun.

I also love that they start the elites after the last runner finishes so everyone gets a chance to cheer them on. You never get a chance to watch the elites during a marathon if you are also participating, so this was a fun perk. I also loved being able to watch the other corrals finish - tons of fun costumes, and a few of the last finishers were 80+ runners crushing it OR toddlers toddling across the finish. It was pretty damn cute!

At the finish line you get a medal, an amazing cold-pressed juice (I got pineapple and my husband got orange), and a Moon Pie! A band plays on the beach post-race and you feel quite accomplished being done with your race and partying by 8am :). Participants also get a nice shirt (same quality as the full marathon).

So, for your entry fee you do get a really full race experience - quality shirt, medal, juice/food, and band/beach party!

I finally got a chance to check this race off my bucket list!! Almost every detail about the NYC Marathon was spot on with everything I've read. I'll try to leave enough detail here without writing a novel :) Also, note, I received access to NYRR VIP which had some of the start/finish logistics easier. Also, I ran the race as a "fun run" with a girlfriend so my experience was different than those looking to race/PR.

EXPO: This was a fabulous expo! This year it was bigger than past years and the aisles were luxurious! New Balance has a HUGE space in their first sponsorship year and it was great because you weren't uncomfortably crowded when look at product (as it has been in Berlin and Boston in years past). Recommend taking the Subway to the expo, super convenient and fast!

SWAG: Loved the long-sleeve tee. The fit was great (best long-sleeve fit I've received!) so I know I'll be wearing it for years to come! ALSO a beautiful medal.

START: We were very lucky to take a VIP coach bus from Midtown to the start. The bus ride took 2 hours!! But we got a good nap in since we had to board at 5:45 and it left at 6a. Arriving at 8a wasn't an issue since the race didn't start at 9:50. Security was checking bibs and we went through metal detectors but it moved quickly. The Pre-race VIP tent offered shelter from a brisk wind and port-a-potties, coffee/bagels. There is a significant walk to the corrals so just budget enough time. Bonus - there are port-a-potties IN the corral (every race should do this!!) so even though the corrals close early you don't have to worry about timing your last minute pee. I was grateful for this! You get a separate bag to bring things to the Start and NONE of those items get sent to the finish so be prepared with things to throw away (clothes, something to sit on, etc).

COURSE: I heard so much about the course, but here are my comments/highlights. There are definitely hills on this course but because I was running at a relaxed pace I was not discouraged by them. The bridges are all unique experiences. Parts of Brooklyn were out to party and I loved it! At times we couldn't even talk while running past because the music was so loud. Queens was on the quieter end. And 1st Ave (mile 16) everyone raves about how loud it was and I actually found it to be subdued compared to very loud places in some other majors. My hands-down fav neighborhood was Harlem. You are in the home stretch back in Manhattan and there were multiple music areas where people are just having a TON of fun and it really pumped me up! I loved the downhill sections in Central Park leading you to the finish and the beautiful Fall colors made for a nice final 1-2 miles. There were TONS of aid stations, on-par with all the other US majors.

FINISH: Again, I got a quick exit through VIP. Also was highly recommended to do the poncho which was nice. It's definitely the nicest poncho i've seen (thicker and fleece lined than the Boston one). Let me tell you- this was necessary! the LOOOONG walk after which many have written about was just that....even when I thought my hotel was super close...it wasn't with all the road closures and crowds....If I could do one thing over...instead of walking south on Central Park West, do NOT meet people there. Walk directly West until 9th Ave and meet people at a restaurant or coffee shop there and try to get a cab or Uber. Or carry cash to get a pedicab. By the time I tried to walk West it was already too crowded and I wished I had headed West earlier.

Overall, it was an amazing experience.