It's 5am, a small flashlight in hand, my adrenaline is flowing from almost being run over and now we're off! A great idea to start here early, it's September and Hawaii. Can you say Hot and Humid? When the sun comes up it can be pretty brutal. They have experience with this race, it's not their first rodeo so to speak. This was the 44th annual Maui Marathon, the oldest of all of the islands. It is listed and rated as one of the 'top 10 most scenic marathons to run'. The views and scenery were breathtaking. The course ran from near the airport in Kahului around the southern coastline finishing at the Whalers Village in Lahaina. The roosters finally woke up, stretched and started crowing at daybreak around mile 5. We were still trying to settle into a good running rhythm. The hills began at mile 7, rolling and climbing through mile 10, the sun now starting to reach full blast and there's no shade in site. We were refilling our water bottles at every aid station along the way. I was amazed at how much ice they had on hand for the runners. They had ice cubes, shaved ice- Blue Hawaiian coconut flavor and ice soaked sponges. I think they somehow lassoed their own ice berg from somewhere and chipped away at it to keep us all cool. Thank You!! Diane and I kept pushing through the miles, a little slower than what we planned, but forward motion is the best and the only way to the finish line. We chatted and met many other runners from Australia, Japan and New Zealand. There were people camping out and cooking all along the shoreline. Ooh some of the smells along the way, not always the most appetizing when you're hot, tired and a little dehydrated. Boy Scout Troop #22 were handing out Lei's for all the runners around mile 17, a nice boost to uplift the spirit. We came into Lahaina through Front Street. The people of the small quaint tourist village were out in full force supporting all of the runners with their garden hoses and sprinklers to help get us refreshed. The finish was getting closer. Now it's time to attempt to look good for that split second and smile for the marathon photographers. I had my phone and was texting Nancy and Melissa (our crew members) updating our progress along the way. Last text... '5 minutes' and they were ready to yell, scream and cheer us across the Finish Line. Woop Woop! A volunteer placed a beautiful, well earned, medal around my neck and congratulated me. I chugged 3 pints of ice cold chocolate milk and Diane found a chair, got her feet propped up and enjoyed an ice cold Jamba Juice. Victory!! Nancy and Melissa joined us for finish line photos. We changed out of our wet shirts, shoes and then of course went shopping for the discounted marathon souvenirs. Truly a memorable layover.
Walking back to our hotel was a very good choice, it helped to keep the legs loose and stretched out, a nice cool down. It was fun sharing our stories of the run and hearing about their finish line experiences. It made me feel good when Nancy and Melissa said they would do it again. The stories were awesome and we had each other cracking up laughing along the way.
Our day was just beginning. After eating, showering and washing out my sweaty smelly running clothes. I crawled into bed at 1:30 pm for a nap. Our van time downstairs was at 8:20pm for the ride back to the airport. No worries, just one Redeye flight to Los Angeles then we'd be done for the day, a nice 16 hours of rest. That night we had another Redeye flight to Houston to work, then we were done. The Redeye flights almost seemed harder to work than running the marathon. Interesting how that turns out! This was an amazing experience and one I hope to do again!
To Diane, Nancy and Melissa,
You made this trip so memorable, I truly enjoyed and will never forget - Thank You All!
26.2 mile run
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