Honolulu Marathon

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The Honolulu Marathon is one of the world's largest marathons. It takes place annually in Honolulu, Hawaii on the second Sunday in December.

The race began in 1973. During its formative period (1973-1978) the Honolulu Marathon doubled in size every year—a rate that has been equaled only once. That growth, like the growth of long-distance running itself, came about not from an interest in competition, but from a quest for personal longevity and an enhanced quality of life.

At the forefront of the growth of the Honolulu Marathon was the iconoclastic cardiologist Dr. Jack Scaff, one of the first physicians to prescribe running as therapy for heart disease. In 1977 Sports Illustrated's senior writer and Olympic marathoner Kenny Moore wrote a feature story about the race. That article was soon followed by the book "The Honolulu Marathon," by journalist Mark Hazard Osmun; the book was a revelatory chronicle of the then-unfolding social craze called the "Running Boom," as exemplified in the Honolulu event.

Over time, the race grew and changed, luring large corporate sponsors and paying substantial prize money to the winners. Once, in 1995, the Honolulu Marathon enjoyed the distinction of being the world's largest marathon when it drew 34,434 entrants.

On average, about 25,000 runners finish the Honolulu Marathon each year, and it has consistently placed among the world's ten largest marathons in terms of total finishers. Entry to the Honolulu Marathon is open to anyone who can pay the entry fee. Unlike other marathons of similar size, popularity, and stature, there are no qualifying standards to meet, no fixed limits on the number of runners, and no time limit to finish the course (all runners receive an official time and certificate).

Unique to the Honolulu Marathon among American marathons is its popularity among runners from Japan, where there are very few marathons open to all entrants. In recent years, the majority of entrants have been visitors from Japan. The marathon is popular enough that the Honolulu Marathon Association maintains an office in Tokyo to process entries. Japan Air Lines is the title sponsor of the race, and three of the four supporting sponsors are Japanese companies (the only American sponsor is Nike).

In 2006, 17,905 of the total 28,635 entries were from Japan, which made up nearly 62.5 percent of the field.

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[edit] Course

Starting near Ala Moana Beach Park across from Ala Moana Center, the course progresses west along the waterfront toward downtown Honolulu, then turns east through Waikiki, around Diamond Head, and out toward the eastern suburbs of Honolulu before turning back toward the finish line at Waikiki's Kapiolani Park. Marathoners consider the course moderately difficult because of the tropical weather conditions, with temperatures starting at around 65°F (18°C) and rising to as high as 80°F (27°C), and a relatively hilly course compared with other marathons. Nevertheless, the race also remains a popular choice for first-time marathoners.

[edit] Satellite races in Iraq and Afghanistan

The Honolulu Marathon has been popular with U.S. military personnel stationed in Hawaii. With many Hawaii-based troops deployed abroad, the marathon coordinated with the military to organize satellite marathon races on U.S. bases in Iraq and Afghanistan on the same day as the main race, with finishers receiving the same T-shirts and medals. The first such race was held in 2004 at a U.S. base in Tarin Kowt, Afghanistan. In 2005, the marathon organized a similar race at Camp Victory in Baghdad.

[edit] Winners

Although the difficulty of the course precludes world-record pace performances, winners of the Honolulu Marathon have used it as a stepping stone to greater achievements. For instance, three-time winner Ibrahim Hussein of Kenya would later go on to win the Boston Marathon three times; and 1993 winner Bong-Ju Lee would later go on to win the silver medal in the 1996 Olympic Marathon in Atlanta.

[edit] Men

[edit] Women

[edit] Deaths

  • 2002 Grant Hirohata-Goto, 33

[edit] External links

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