← All eventsJAL Honolulu Marathon
A huge, no-cutoff, no-qualification marathon in paradise — downtown Honolulu, Waikiki, around Diamond Head and out to Hawaii Kai. Mostly flat, but the 5am start and hot, humid tropical conditions (climbing past 28°C) make heat the whole story, not a PB. Next date ~12 Dec 2027 (approximate).
No qualification, no time limit, no cutoff. One of the biggest marathons in the US, over 23,000 runners, and the honest promise is simple: everyone finishes. You can run it, or you can walk it.
42.195km of closed Hawaiian road, from downtown Honolulu through Waikiki, around Diamond Head and out to Hawaii Kai and back. Mostly flat, one real hill, and a 5:00am pre-dawn start.
The catch is the heat. It starts near 23°C in the dark and climbs past 28°C with punishing humidity. Forget a flat PB. The smart goal is a controlled, well-cooled, heat-smart finish.
Is JAL Honolulu Marathon for you?
- First-time marathoners who want a finish, not a time. No cutoff and no qualification mean you can walk when you need to and still cross the line.
- Runners who pace with discipline. The cool pre-dawn start tempts a fast opening that the heat punishes hard by 25km.
- Anyone who preps for heat. Two runners with the same flat-course fitness can finish an hour apart purely on how they manage the humidity.
- Runners chasing a bucket-list marathon in paradise, on closed roads through Waikiki and around Diamond Head at dawn.
Training plan for JAL Honolulu Marathon
A training plan for JAL Honolulu Marathon isn't a generic base build. Beina reads the event's exact demands, looks at your specific profile and the time you actually have, and maps a highly adapted plan to the start line.
- Tropical heat and humidity, starting near 23°C and climbing past 28°C as the sun rises
- A 5:00am pre-dawn start in cool dark air that tempts a fatal fast opening
- The exposed Hawaii Kai out-and-back, the hottest stretch, hitting just as the sun comes up
- Diamond Head, the one real hill, climbed twice, the second pass when you are hot and tired
- Warm-weather long runs of 25-30km in the heat of the day, rehearsing hydration and dousing
- Marathon-pace long runs of 28-35km, some at your heat-adjusted goal pace
- A 2-3 week heat acclimation block timed to peak in the final few weeks
- Weekly tempo and threshold work to build the aerobic engine underneath
- Built from your current fitness and the time you actually have
- Adapts every week as Beina learns how you respond
- Syncs your sessions straight to Garmin and Wahoo
- One clear next session, never a wall of spreadsheet
