Ala Moana to Kapiʻolani Park: level start to finish, 449 feet of climbing, and two climbs over Diamond Head. Here is the course mile by mile, and how I’d run each stretch.
A typical race morning: 71°F with a 65°F dew point at the 5am start, a combined score of 136. Every race morning since 2000, the forecast six days out and your goal pace adjusted for it are on the Honolulu Marathon weather page. For any other forecast, my heat pace calculator does the same math.
Over these 4.2 miles the course climbs 31 feet and drops 17, 14 feet net up.
Honolulu starts at 5 a.m., in the dark, and the first four miles run flat along Ala Moana and through a downtown loop full of turns. It’s crowded. Let it be. With the heat that comes later, an easy first 10K is the best investment you can make on this course.
Over these 3 miles the course climbs 13 feet and drops 24, 11 feet net down. The climb: Up Pākī Avenue to Diamond Head Road from mile 6.7 (+109 feet over 1.8 mi, 1.1%).
Kapiʻolani Boulevard and Kalākaua Avenue carry you over the Ala Wai and through Waikīkī, still flat. Settle into a pace that feels almost too easy, because the morning warms up quickly once the sun is out.
Over these 3.8 miles the course climbs 189 feet and drops 151, 38 feet net up. The climb: Diamond Head Road to 18th Avenue from mile 9.0 (+56 feet over 0.7 mi, 1.6%).
Diamond Head Road is the first real climb, about half a mile up past the lighthouse, followed by a steep drop down 18th Avenue. Run the climb by effort and don’t race the descent. It’s the steepest downhill of the day, and your quads will want those seconds back at mile 24.
Over these 10.9 miles the course climbs 104 feet and drops 113, 9 feet net down.
Kalanianaʻole Highway is the long middle of Honolulu: about four miles out to Hawaiʻi Kai, a loop, and four and a half miles back, flat and exposed with the sun coming up. This is where the heat starts to count. Drink at every station, take your gels on schedule, and run the out-and-back in pieces rather than as ten miles.
Over these 4.3 miles the course climbs 112 feet and drops 141, 31 feet net down. The climb: Diamond Head Road, the way back from mile 22.6 (+109 feet over 1.9 mi, 1.1%).
The last four miles bring the hardest climb at the worst time: up from Kāhala Avenue onto Diamond Head Road around mile 24. It’s short, but in the heat at that point it can decide your race. Shorten up, walk through the water stations if you need to, and let the descent past the lighthouse carry you into Kapiʻolani Park.
| Mile | Elevation at the marker | Climb | Drop | Street |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mile 1 | 7 | +2 | −1 | Ala Moana Boulevard |
| Mile 2 | 9 | +6 | −3 | Punchbowl Street |
| Mile 3 | 11 | +13 | −12 | South Hotel Street |
| Mile 4 | 18 | +9 | −1 | South King Street |
| Mile 5 | 6 | +3 | −15 | Kalākaua Avenue |
| Mile 6 | 10 | +7 | −2 | Kalākaua Avenue |
| Mile 7 | 10 | +5 | −6 | Monsarrat Avenue |
| Mile 8 | 41 | +37 | −3 | Paki Avenue |
| Mile 9 | 65 | +71 | −51 | Diamond Head Road |
| Mile 10 | 109 | +56 | −12 | Diamond Head Road |
| Mile 11 | 47 | +25 | −87 | 20th Avenue |
| Mile 12 | 15 | +4 | −36 | Kalaniana’ole Highway |
| Mile 13 | 11 | +3 | −6 | Kalaniana’ole Highway |
| Mile 14 | 8 | +8 | −11 | Kalaniana’ole Highway |
| Mile 15 | 8 | +4 | −4 | Kalaniana’ole Highway |
| Mile 16 | 10 | +7 | −5 | Kalaniana’ole Highway |
| Mile 17 | 10 | +16 | −16 | Keahole Place |
| Mile 18 | 10 | +9 | −8 | Kalaniana’ole Highway |
| Mile 19 | 8 | +3 | −6 | Kalaniana’ole Highway |
| Mile 20 | 11 | +12 | −9 | Kalaniana’ole Highway |
| Mile 21 | 16 | +7 | −2 | Kalaniana’ole Highway |
| Mile 22 | 32 | +31 | −16 | Kalaniana’ole Highway |
| Mile 23 | 9 | +3 | −24 | Kealaolu Avenue |
| Mile 24 | 59 | +51 | −1 | Kahala Avenue |
| Mile 25 | 62 | +56 | −61 | Diamond Head Road |
| Mile 26 | 8 | +1 | −48 | Paki Avenue |
| To the finish | 8 | +1 | −0 | Kalākaua Avenue |
Race week, start to finish: how I’d run the three-week taper, what to take in during the race, how much to slow down in heat and humidity, and what the four weeks after should look like.
A course map tells you where the hills are. It doesn't know your training, how you handle a long climb, or what your legs look like at mile 20. I write every plan by hand and set race-day pacing with each athlete. It starts with a free 20-minute call.
Book a free intro callRace-day weather and heat-adjusted pace: Twin Cities Marathon, Chicago Marathon, Columbus Marathon, Detroit Marathon, Marine Corps Marathon, NYC Marathon, Philadelphia Marathon, California International Marathon, Houston Marathon, LA Marathon, Boston Marathon, Grandma's Marathon. All race-day weather pages.
RunFitCoach is not affiliated with the JAL Honolulu Marathon or its organizers. Course line © OpenStreetMap contributors. Elevation from the USGS 3D Elevation Program (1 m bare earth), sampled every 50 m and smoothed over 250 m. Bare-earth elevation leaves bridges out, so bridge decks are rebuilt from their ends. Distances are scaled to the certified 42.195 km, so mile marks can sit a little off the course markers. The line is routed street by street through the 2026 course’s turns rather than surveyed, so here that can be up to a quarter mile.
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