RunRace USA › Hawaii › Honolulu Marathon
The complete, course-first guide
Honolulu Marathon
Sunday, December 13, 2026 · 5:00 AM
Ala Moana Boulevard at the Queen Street Extension, beside Ala Moana Beach Park
The race in 60 seconds
First run in 1973, Honolulu Marathon has had time to become part of the city's running calendar. The marathon is a true point-to-point: its finish sits about 2.5 miles from the start as the crow flies. The modeled line carries about 643 feet of total climb and ranges from roughly 1 to 131 feet above sea level. The elevation profile calls out Diamond Head so the defining work is visible before race morning. Look for Aloha Tower, First Hawaiian Center, Ilikai Hotel & Luxury Suites, Hilton Hawaiian Village Rainbow Tower in the flyover, with recognizable forms modeled from architectural records.
Fly the course
The whole course, built from the best available published route trace and an extruded model of Honolulu. Scrub it, change the camera, or let it play. Nothing here is a video: it is drawing the city live.
Route statusCurrent community course trace cross-checked against the published route. 'Honolulu Marathon (approx)' — routes/53085855.json verified: 42,861.7 m (26.63 mi), running route, created Oct 2025 (matches 2025/2026 course); start 21.29194,-157.85079 on Ala Moana Blvd, finish 21.26886,-157.82181 in Kapiolani Park, bounding box reaches Hawaii Kai (-157.7057).
The route line uses the best published course trace available. Public-domain USGS and USDA aerial photography plus USGS 3DEP elevation are baked into RunRace USA, so the flyover makes no paid map API or third-party runtime requests. Buildings, roads, parks and water use OpenStreetMap, ODbL. This is photographic terrain with modeled architecture, not photogrammetry. Bridge approaches, elevations and facade details are approximations; the organizer's published route remains the reference.
The elevation profile
This Marathon profile covers 26.2 miles, ranges from roughly 1 to 131 feet, and contains about 643 feet of modeled climb.
- , mile 6.15 to 8.02: 104 feet up, 1.0% average.
- Diamond Head, mile 23.28 to 24.68: 104 feet up, the steepest pitch averages roughly 3.7% and starts near mile 23.8, about 40 feet over a fifth of a mile.
The route at a glance
Gold is the selected modeled course; route provenance is stated beside the flyover.
Race-week weather, measured
At the start line, December 9-17 averaged a low of 71°F and a high of 79°F across 2016-2025. The same window reached 84°F at its warmest and 63°F at its coldest. Measurable rain appeared on about 20% of sampled days. Treat the range, not just the average, as the packing list.
Pace it by effort
The profile and grade strip come from the same route currently loaded in the flyover. Use even pace as a baseline, then protect effort on the highlighted climbs and exposed sections.
| Finish | Even pace | Halfway |
|---|---|---|
| 3:00 | 6:52 /mi | 1:30 |
| 3:30 | 8:01 /mi | 1:45 |
| 4:00 | 9:09 /mi | 2:00 |
| 4:30 | 10:18 /mi | 2:15 |
| 5:00 | 11:27 /mi | 2:30 |
Build your race weekend
The course
Live 3D flyover, synchronized elevation, route map, mile-by-mile shape and local landmarks.
Where to stay
85 mapped places to stay, compared by the endpoint that matters.
Expo and logistics
Packet pickup, the published weekend schedule, transit, parking and current entry tiers.
Spectators
Route-aware viewing anchors and a plan that respects the actual course geography.
The weekend
A city guide built around the places modeled beside the course.
Official race site
The organizer's current dates, entry details and late course notices.
Common questions
Is there a lottery or a qualifying time to get into Honolulu?
No on both counts. The race's own FAQ states there are no qualifying times and no entry limits, so anyone who pays gets in. Entry is simply a matter of picking your residency category (Hawaii resident, US mainland/Canada, international, or military/student) on the How to Enter page and paying whatever tier is live. Prices climb three times before race week: for a mainland US runner it's $215 through September 7, $235 from September 8 to October 12, and $255 from October 13 to December 3. If you wait until you are standing at the expo, the price for every residency category jumps to $460, which is roughly double the early price. There is no reason to gamble here the way you would with a lottery race, so book the entry as soon as your flights are settled.
Is there really no cutoff time?
Yes, and this is the single thing that makes Honolulu different from every other big marathon. The official FAQ calls it the only world-class marathon that lets all participants finish and states plainly that there is no cut-off time. The finish line at Kapiolani Park stays open until the last person crosses. That said, organizers still reserve the right to pull individuals off the course for safety reasons, so a medical team can end your day even though the clock cannot. Practically, this means the field includes a large number of walkers taking eight, nine, or more hours, and you should plan your own pacing around a crowded early course rather than around a sweep bus.
Are there corrals, and do the waves go off at different times?
Your bib is color-coded by the finish time you predicted at registration: white for elites, green for a 2:30 to 3:59 finish (roughly 5:00 to 9:10 per mile), blue for 4:00 to 4:59 (9:10 to 11:25), orange for 5:00 to 5:59 (11:25 to 13:40), and purple for 6:00 and slower. What trips up first-timers is that these are not staggered waves. Every start group goes at 5:00 AM. You walk onto Ala Moana Boulevard and Ala Moana Beach Park under the banner matching your bib color, and then the whole field is released at once. If you seed yourself honestly you get a cleaner first mile; if you drift forward into a faster block you will spend the opening miles being passed, and if you drift back you will spend them weaving.
How early do I actually have to be up on race morning?
Plan on a 2:30 to 3:00 AM alarm. The gun is at 5:00 AM, the courtesy shuttles from the Honolulu Zoo to the start only run from 2:00 AM to 4:00 AM, and the race warns there is no guarantee of space on them. Road closures start choking off access to the start area well before dawn, so being in the corral area by about 4:15 gives you room for a portable toilet line and the walk to your color banner. Being late is unusually costly here because everything starts at once: miss 5:00 AM and you are not stepping into a later wave, you are chasing the back of a field that is already gone.
The start and finish are miles apart. How do I get to the start?
This is a point-to-point race and the two ends are not close. The start is on Ala Moana Boulevard at the Queen Street Extension near Ala Moana Beach Park; the finish is at Kapiolani Park at the far Diamond Head end of Waikiki. Since most visitors book hotels in the Waikiki cluster, closer to the finish, you have to move yourself west before dawn. The race runs complimentary shuttles from the Honolulu Zoo to the start between 2:00 AM and 4:00 AM, dropping at Atkinson Drive and Ala Moana Boulevard, with no promise of a seat. If someone is driving you, use Waimanu Street before 3:40 AM; after 3:40 AM the drop-off shifts to Pensacola/Kaimaile Streets or Piikoi Street and Kapiolani Boulevard. Because road closures block the obvious approaches, use the Piikoi Street or Atkinson Drive back entrance. There is limited street parking within a four to six block radius, but the Ala Moana Shopping Center and Ward Center Theatre lots are off limits. Many Waikiki runners simply walk the couple of miles in the dark instead of trusting a shuttle.
Where do I check a bag, and where does it come back to me?
There is no clothing check at the start. The race is explicit that bag drop happens only at the finish line in Kapiolani Park, using the official labeled bag issued at the expo. That means anything you want at the finish must reach the finish before you do, dropped off the day before, and anything you wear at 5:00 AM you either carry the whole way or throw away. Note that the race's own finish-area page lists clothing check-in as running "Saturday, December 13, 10 AM to 5 PM," but December 13, 2026 is the Sunday of the race and December 12 is the Saturday, so the day name and the date on that page do not agree. Confirm the actual check-in day at the expo rather than assuming either one. Uncollected bags are donated at 3 PM.
What happens to my bag if I finish slowly?
Bags left unclaimed are donated at 3 PM. For a 5:00 AM start that is a ten-hour window, which is generous, but it is a real deadline for the very back of the field and for anyone who leaves the finish area, goes back to the hotel, and returns later for their gear. Collect your bag before you leave Kapiolani Park.
Are headphones allowed?
Yes. The FAQ answers this with a flat yes, which is worth knowing because several large marathons still discourage or formally ban them. Given a 5:00 AM start in the dark and long, quiet stretches through Kahala and Hawaii Kai, plenty of the field runs with music.
Can I push a stroller or bring my dog?
No stroller on the marathon course. Strollers are permitted only on the Start to Park 10k, and even there the person pushing must line up at the very back of the field for safety. Pets are banned outright from all the events, with the FAQ specifically naming dogs and horses. Do not plan around either one.
Can I run without a bib if a friend is registered?
No. The FAQ states that anyone not officially entered and not wearing a race number is not allowed on the course. Banditing also means no timing chip, no medal, no finisher shirt, and no finish certificate, since all of those are keyed to your number at the finish tents.
If I get injured or my trip falls apart, can I get a refund or defer to next year?
Entries are neither refundable nor deferrable to the following year unless you bought booking protection at the time you registered. If you did buy it, claims go through the link in your confirmation email or the Manage Registration page, and they are adjudicated by Refund Protect Group independently; the marathon says it cannot influence the outcome. That decision has to be made at checkout, not in November when your calf goes bad, so if there is any real chance you will not travel, add the protection when you register. Transfers between the three distances are handled on the race's Event Transfers page, though that page was returning a 404 error when we checked on August 26, 2026, so email the race for the current rules.
Do I have to attend the expo, or can I get my packet on race morning?
Packet pickup at the expo is mandatory and it is where your timing chip is issued, along with the official labeled clothing-check bag. There is no race-morning bib pickup at Ala Moana Boulevard, so a flight that lands late Saturday night is a genuine risk to your race.
What is on the course for fuel, and where are the hills?
Sixteen aid stations carry water, sports drink, and medical support, and energy gels are handed out at miles 9, 12, 15, and 20. The elevation comes in two doses of the same hill: the course goes around Diamond Head early, between roughly miles 6 and 9, where the race describes short uphill grades, and then climbs it again at the end. Measured off the course file, the final climb runs from mile 23.28 to mile 24.68 and gains 104 feet. It is not a steep hill by mainland standards, but it arrives at mile 23 after several hours in tropical humidity, and it is the reason Honolulu positive-splits so brutally for people who ran the flat Hawaii Kai out-and-back too hard. Bank nothing before mile 20.
What is waiting for me at the finish?
The finish is in Kapiolani Park and stays open until the last finisher is in. You get a medal at the line, then collect your finisher t-shirt at a separate tent by showing your race number, with no guarantee your preferred size is left. The food tent hands out fresh malasadas, one per finisher. A big screen replays the finish line on roughly a 40-minute delay so you can watch your own crossing after you rehydrate. There is no exit at the finish line itself; you leave through the mountain side of the Waikiki Shell parking lot. Most Waikiki hotels are within walking distance, city buses run from Monsarrat Avenue from about 9:30 AM, and taxis sometimes stage at the Honolulu Zoo lot. Finisher certificates are available for pickup the day after the race from 10 AM to 5 PM or downloadable later through Track My Run, though the race's page labels that day "Monday, December 15" when the Monday after the 2026 race is December 14.
Register for the 2026 Honolulu Marathon →on Let's Do This
Course geometry provenance is stated beside the player; elevation profiles always use the same route loaded there. City geometry is OpenStreetMap, ODbL. Aerial imagery is from USGS and USDA; other images carry their own source credits. Weather figures use Open-Meteo reanalysis for December 9-17 across 2016-2025 at the start line. Schedule, prices and expo hours were checked in 2026-08-26 and are the fields most likely to move: confirm them on www.honolulumarathon.org before you book anything. Spot an error? Tell us and we'll fix it fast.