Travel to the Honolulu Marathon, the third-largest marathon in the United States after New York and Chicago, remains surprisingly affordable, despite the fact that the city of over 900,000 is more than 2500 miles (4025 km) from Los Angeles in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. The race is scheduled for Sunday, Dec. 14 and, unlike New York or Chicago, allows for last minute registration for runners who would rather not commit to a marathon far in advance. They even allow walk-up registration the day before the race.
A quick survey of airfares from several mainland cities to Honolulu in the timeframe of the marathon (depart Thursday and return Monday) revealed that a round-trip ticket can be bought for as little as $458 from New York, $450 from Chicago, and $415 from Denver for one-stop itineraries, and just $314 from Los Angeles for a non-stop itinerary. The quoted fares, courtesy of travel site Kayak.com, are inclusive of all fees and taxes.
In addition, hotel space remains plentiful and affordable, according to the discount travel site, Hotwire.com. A three-star hotel in the Waikiki South neighborhood was available for just $81/night, and a four-star hotel in Waikiki Beach was available for $155/night. Six hotels came up for $100 or less per night.
The Honolulu Marathon is a unique race, starting in the dark at 5:00 a.m., accompanied by a fireworks display, then finishing just after sunrise near the base of the Diamond Head, Oahu's iconic volcano. The race has an open finish line policy, with no time cut-off. The last finisher often comes in past 7:00 p.m. Last year's race, the 35th edition, had 20,708 finishers.
For registration and other race information, visit www.honolulumarathon.com.
PHOTO: Runners enjoy holiday decorations in the early miles of the Honolulu Marathon (photo courtesy of the Honolulu Marathon)
Know someone else who's interested in running and triathlon?
