Men’s course record
2:07:59
Titus Ekiru · 2019
- Average pace
- 3:02 / km
- Terrain-adjusted
- +0.34 %
Honolulu Marathon
Honolulu, USA The second Sunday in December Founded 1973
A 5:00am start under fireworks, twice round Diamond Head, and a finish that stays open until the last runner is in.
Overview
The gun goes at 5:00am on Ala Moana Boulevard, under fireworks, and the sun isn't up until about 7:00. The first loop goes through downtown in the dark, past Iolani Palace at 4.0 km, then back along the whole of Waikiki on Kalakaua Avenue.
Then comes Diamond Head. The course climbs round the crater on Diamond Head Road, drops into Kahala and runs out along Kalanianaole Highway to Hawaii Kai, where it turns at about 27.0 km. It comes back the same way, over the crater a second time, to finish in Kapiolani Park at its foot.
There's no qualifying time, no entry cap and no time limit: the finish stays open until the last runner is in.
Then comes Diamond Head. The course climbs round the crater on Diamond Head Road, drops into Kahala and runs out along Kalanianaole Highway to Hawaii Kai, where it turns at about 27.0 km. It comes back the same way, over the crater a second time, to finish in Kapiolani Park at its foot.
There's no qualifying time, no entry cap and no time limit: the finish stays open until the last runner is in.
- When
- The 2026 Honolulu Marathon is on Sunday, 13 December 2026, starting at 5:00am local time on Ala Moana Boulevard at Piikoi Street.
- Course
- Honolulu's course climbs 156 m in all, with its lowest point at 1 m and its highest at 38 m.
- Entry
- Entry to Honolulu is open, with no ballot (no qualifying time, no ballot and no cap), and costs US$235–320 for 2026.
- Field
- The 2025 Honolulu Marathon had a marathon field of 29,137.
- Weather
- Across 30 years, Honolulu's race-day temperature has a median of 23.6 °C.
- Records
- The Honolulu Marathon course records are 2:07:59 (Titus Ekiru, 2019) and 2:22:15 (Brigid Kosgei, 2017).
Marathon Course · every marathon course, measured the same way
Honolulu Marathon
A 5:00am start under fireworks, twice round Diamond Head, and a finish that stays open until the last runner is in. Ala Moana Boulevard → Kapiolani Park, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA.
- Distance
- 42.2 km
- Ascent
- 156 m
- Descent
- 156 m
- Net
- +0 m
Course map and elevation
5 km splits marked · hover or drag the profile below to move along the courseElevation · measured on a course line for the 2026 edition · USGS NED 10 m · smoothed 100 m 1–38 m
—
0.08.516.925.433.942.4
kmmi — elev — grade — hover or drag the profile
For the first 11.0 km the course is at sea level. Then it climbs Diamond Head Road past the lighthouse, and the steepest climbing kilometre of the race, from 11.7 km, gains 28 m. The road rolls round the crater to the high point, 38 m at 14.9 km, before dropping into Kahala.
The long middle is flat. From 19.0 km to 34.5 km, out along Kalanianaole Highway to Hawaii Kai and back, the course never rises above 4 m.
Then the hill comes round again. The return climb starts at 38.2 km and gains 29 m by 39.5 km. The steepest kilometre of the race comes straight after it: the drop off the crater into Kapiolani Park, 28 m down from 40.2 km. The finish is at 1 m, the height of the start. Add up the energy cost of every gradient and, for a three-hour runner, the course comes out about 36 seconds slower than a flat 42.195 km (0.34 %).
Take it with you
Course GPX Organiser's course map
The GPX is ours: our resampled line, a point every 25 m, carrying USGS NED 10 m elevation rather than the GPS noise a watch file usually holds.
USGS NED 10 m, measured on a course line for the 2026 edition, smoothed 100 m · marathoncourse.com/marathons/honolulu/ · checked 2026-09-24
How to enter: dates and fees
Entry is open. There's no qualifying time and no ballot, the organiser sets no limit on numbers, and anyone aged seven or over can run. The early price ended on 7 September. Until 12 October it's $235 for residents of Hawaii, the mainland US and Canada, and $310 for everyone else. It then rises to $255 and $320 until entries close on 3 December, and entry at the expo costs $460.
Entries can't be refunded or deferred unless you bought booking protection when you entered. You can pass your place to another runner, or move down to the 10K, for $30. Runners in Japan enter through the organiser's Japanese site, at separate prices.
Entries can't be refunded or deferred unless you bought booking protection when you entered. You can pass your place to another runner, or move down to the 10K, for $30. Runners in Japan enter through the organiser's Japanese site, at separate prices.
History
The first Honolulu Marathon started on 16 December 1973 with 167 runners. Its founders included a cardiologist, Jack Scaff, and the Mid-Pacific Road Runners Club, with the city behind them, and the field roughly doubled every year for its first five.
Japan Air Lines became a sponsor in 1985, when 2,361 runners came from Japan. By 1992 there were 18,286, most of them on package tours, and in 1995 Honolulu was the biggest marathon in the world, with 34,434 entrants. More than a quarter of the weekend's entrants in 2025 came from Japan, and the course is signed in both languages.
It's warm enough that records rarely fall. Brigid Kosgei's 2:22:15 from 2017 and Titus Ekiru's 2:07:59 from 2019 still stand. What Honolulu keeps instead is the promise that everyone finishes: in 2022 Mathea Allansmith crossed the line at 92, in 11:19:49, the oldest woman on record to complete a marathon.
Japan Air Lines became a sponsor in 1985, when 2,361 runners came from Japan. By 1992 there were 18,286, most of them on package tours, and in 1995 Honolulu was the biggest marathon in the world, with 34,434 entrants. More than a quarter of the weekend's entrants in 2025 came from Japan, and the course is signed in both languages.
It's warm enough that records rarely fall. Brigid Kosgei's 2:22:15 from 2017 and Titus Ekiru's 2:07:59 from 2019 still stand. What Honolulu keeps instead is the promise that everyone finishes: in 2022 Mathea Allansmith crossed the line at 92, in 11:19:49, the oldest woman on record to complete a marathon.
- 197316 December: 167 runners start the first race, and 151 finish
- 1985Japan Air Lines becomes a sponsor, and 2,361 runners come from Japan
- 1992Entries from Japan jump to 18,286, from 10,236 the year before
- 199534,434 entrants make it the biggest marathon in the world that year
- 2007The timing system fails, and hundreds of missing results are rebuilt by hand from finish-line video
- 201230,898 entries. Of the American marathons run that year, only Chicago takes more
- 2017Brigid Kosgei runs 2:22:15, the women's record that still stands
- 2019Titus Ekiru runs 2:07:59, the fastest marathon ever run in Hawaii
- 2020No race on the road in the pandemic; entrants run it virtually or move to 2021
- 2022Mathea Allansmith, 92, finishes in 11:19:49, the oldest woman on record to complete a marathon
- 2023Paul Lonyangata and Cynthia Limo win in wind and heavy humidity
- 2024Cynthia Limo wins again
- 2025Japan Air Lines becomes title sponsor after forty years, and the weekend's three races draw a record 42,962 entries
- 202613 December, 5:00am, fireworks
19801990200020102020
Course records
Pace is derived from the certified distance. Terrain-adjusted figures come from the same model that ranks every course on this site.
Women’s course record
2:22:15
Brigid Kosgei · 2017
- Average pace
- 3:22 / km
- Terrain-adjusted
- +0.34 %
Race day: start times and cut-offs
- 5:00am
- Sixteen
There's no bag drop at the start. Bags go to the clothing tent at Kapiolani Park, by the finish, on Saturday between 10:00am and 5:00pm, and you collect them there afterwards.
Roads round the start close overnight, so the organiser asks runners not to drive. Free shuttles run from Honolulu Zoo to the start between 2:00 and 4:00am, and it's worth being on an early one. The race starts at 5:00am, in the dark, with fireworks.
There are sixteen aid stations with water and sports drink, and gels at four of them, at miles 9, 12, 15 and 20. It warms up quickly after sunrise, and there's little shade on Kalanianaole Highway.
Roads round the start close overnight, so the organiser asks runners not to drive. Free shuttles run from Honolulu Zoo to the start between 2:00 and 4:00am, and it's worth being on an early one. The race starts at 5:00am, in the dark, with fireworks.
There are sixteen aid stations with water and sports drink, and gels at four of them, at miles 9, 12, 15 and 20. It warms up quickly after sunrise, and there's little shade on Kalanianaole Highway.
The morning, hour by hour
- 2:00am
- Shuttles from Honolulu Zoo to the start
- 4:00am
- Last shuttle
- 5:00am
- Start, with fireworks
The organiser's 2026 race information. Hawaii keeps standard time all year, so there's no clock change to allow for. There's no time limit and no cut-off. Roads reopen behind the field, but the finish stays open until the last runner crosses it.
Race-day weather, 1995–2025
- Median
- 23.6 °C
- Warm years
- 30 of 30
- Wet years
- 4 of 30
Race-day mean temperature, 1995-2025. Lime marks the hottest edition; the coldest and wettest carry a label only, so the colour still means one thing.
Frequently asked questions
Is there really no time limit?
Yes. The finish in Kapiolani Park stays open until the last runner crosses it, and there are no cut-offs on the way.
The organiser's FAQs.
How hilly is Honolulu?
It has one hill, run twice. The course climbs round Diamond Head at 12.0 km and again at 38.0 km, each time by about 28 m, and tops out at 38 m. The long middle, out to Hawaii Kai and back, is flat. It climbs 156 m in all.
USGS 3DEP 10 m, sampled every 25 m, smoothed over 100 m. Raw-to-smoothed ratio 1.7.
Why does it start at 5:00am?
It gets most of the field round Diamond Head before the heat builds. Sunrise in mid-December is at about 7:00, and race mornings here have averaged between 21 °C and 25 °C for thirty years.
The organiser's race information; ERA5 reanalysis for the race date.
Do I need a qualifying time?
No. Entry is open to anyone aged seven or over, with no ballot and no limit on numbers. Entries close on 3 December.
The organiser's FAQs and entry page.
Where do I leave a bag?
At Kapiolani Park, by the finish, the day before the race. There's no bag drop at the start, so wear what you're willing to leave behind.
The organiser's FAQs.
Why do so many runners come from Japan?
Japan Air Lines has sponsored the race since 1985, and package tours from Japan have filled a large part of the field ever since. In 2025, 27.9 % of the weekend's entries came from Japan.
The organiser's entry statistics.
Does the Diamond Head course qualify for records?
On the rules, yes. The course starts and finishes at the same height, 3.8 km apart, which passes both World Athletics tests. On the weather, it's unlikely: the course record is 2:07:59.
Honolulu's start and finish heights and separation from the course line, against World Athletics Competition Rule 31.21.
How many people run it?
In 2025, 29,137 entered the marathon. Across the weekend's three races there were 42,962 entries, 27.9 % of them from Japan.
Organiser figures for the 2025 edition.
What is the weather like on race day?
About 23.6 °C during a typical race: that's the median across 30 years, which have run from 21.1 °C to 25.4 °C. 4 of the 30 were wet.
ERA5 reanalysis for the race date, 1995-2025.
Can I use a time here to qualify for Boston?
Yes. The organiser says the course is USATF-certified, and it finishes at the height it starts, so the B.A.A.'s downhill adjustment has nothing to act on. The weather is the catch. Every race morning of the last thirty has averaged 21 °C or more, and the second climb of Diamond Head comes at 38 km.
Net drop +0 m from this site's course line; 2027 adjustment None. Certification usatf certified: USATF-certified, according to the organiser; its World Athletics label for 2026 is not confirmed here.
How accurate is the elevation figure?
It comes from USGS NED 10 m, sampled every 25 m along the course line and smoothed over 100 m. The raw-to-smoothed ratio here is 1.7. Around 1.3 means the model is reading the ground, not rooftops; above about 2.0 the total climb carries real noise, and the net change is the sturdier number.
0 missing samples · 0 bridge spans corrected.
Sources
Every fact on this page, its source, and the date it was checked · 8
| Fact | Source | Verified |
|---|---|---|
| Course line | Third-party GPX for the 2026 edition, matching the organiser's 2026 course description. The file measures 42.447 km, 0.6 % long, from 940 points; our resampled line measures 42.352 km. Archived with its hash in data/raw/sources. | 2026-09-24 |
| Elevation | USGS 3DEP (NED) 10 m, sampled every 25 m, smoothed over 100 m. Raw-to-smoothed gain ratio 1.7. Diamond Head Road is cut into the side of the crater, so the model can blend the road with the slope beside it. | 2026-09-24 |
| Elevation, independent check | The organiser gives the highest point as 124 ft, about 37.8 m, near mile 9. We measure 38.0 m at 14.9 km, which is mile 9.3. | 2026-09-24 |
| Race-day weather | ERA5 reanalysis via the Open-Meteo archive, 1995–2025 at the start, 05:00–12:00 local, sampled on the second Sunday in December. That rule reproduces the 2023, 2024 and 2025 dates. 2020, when there was no race on the road, is excluded. | 2026-09-24 |
| Course records | Titus Ekiru 2:07:59 (2019) and Brigid Kosgei 2:22:15 (2017), from the organiser's records page, checked against the 2024 and 2025 results, which broke neither. | 2026-09-24 |
| Entry and field | The organiser's 2026 fees and FAQ: open entry, no limit on numbers. The organiser's entry table gives 29,137 marathon entrants in 2025, and 42,962 entries across the weekend's three races, 27.9 % from Japan. | 2026-09-24 |
| Race day | The organiser's FAQs for 2026: 5:00am start at Ala Moana Boulevard and Piikoi Street, sixteen aid stations, no cut-off, bags left at Kapiolani Park the day before, shuttles from Honolulu Zoo 2:00–4:00am. | 2026-09-24 |
| Record eligibility | World Athletics Competition Rules, Book C, Part III — Competition Rule 31.21: a record course may lose no more than 1 m per kilometre, and its start and finish may be no more than 21.098 km apart. Honolulu starts and finishes at the same height, 3.8 km apart. Inside both. | 2026-09-24 |
Until the Honolulu Marathon · 13 Dec 2026
— days
— hrs— min— sec
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