Location: Waikoloa Resort, Kona, Hawaii
Distance: 5K
Price: $20 Adults, $10 Kids 14 & Under - Includes athlete gift. $5
Race Rating: 6.5/10
Course Review:
This course is great for those who would like to run in a neighborhood setting. Most of the course is run on flat sidewalks around neighborhoods, with only one slight incline towards mile 2. A small section of the race however is run on a lava path, which is very difficult to run on and got crowded since it was within a few hundred yards from the start of the race. The lava path was rockier than gravel and hard to run on. Definitely watch out for your ankles during this section of the race. Once done with the lava path, you can enjoy watching the sun go down, as you run through quiet neighborhoods. The course is near the ocean, but you don't get to see the sun setting into the water as you run which was slightly disappointing. The course was well marked, and there were volunteers to ensure that no cars were a problem when running through the neighborhood. Water stops were located at mile 1, before the turnaround and at mile 2. The water stops were well marked and it was easy to grab a drink on that hot afternoon.
Overall Course Rating: 6/10
Race Atmosphere Review:
The atmosphere of this race was very relaxed. The meeting place to pick up race bibs was right in the center of the mall and was easy to find. The scenery was beautiful and there wasn't too much race tension before the start. The announcers were very kind and would announce different finishers as they were coming in. The finishers all got towels, which were nice but I would have prefered to have a t-shirt instead. At the end of the race, you could get a small receipt that had your time, place in your division, place in your gender, and overall finishing position. This was nice to have and made it easy to see how well you did. The awards ceremony was very nice, with overall winners and the top 3 finishers in each division receiving a bag of Kona coffee.
Overall Race Atmosphere Rating: 7/10
Post Race Food and Drink Review:
The post race food was very good. They had pretzels, bananas, macadamia nut and chocolate chip cookies, CaveMan fruit bars, Bai Juice, and Kirkland juice. It wasn't a very large spread but the bars and juice were great. I am not sure how many people wanted to eat cookies right after their run, but they ran out at the end so I guess it was a good choice to supply finishers with a sweet dessert.
Overall Post Race Food and Drink Rating: 6/10
