Valley to the Sea marathon is one of the newest organized road marathons in Hawaii, on the…read moreenchanting island of Maui, with the inaugural year being in 2015. I chose to run this one in 2016, as a means to increase my lifetime marathon/ultra count to get to the century mark (100).
Sooner the better, cuz life is short like that.
Over the years since 2007, I've run the Maui marathon or half in September and have known the race director from there. As it turns out, he is the race director for Valley to the Sea marathon as well. Valley to the Sea started out several years ago as a premiere half marathon event, starting out at Iao Valley state monument for 3 miles, and then travels down highway 30 south, then saddles on highway 310 still going south towards Kihei. It eventually finishes at the native Hawaiian Humpback Whale sanctuary. The marathon, in its 2nd year, starts at the humpback whale sanctuary and travels out of Kihei on highway 310 and goes north on highway 30, turn left into Iao Valley road and onward into Iao valley state park just to turn around. Then it's all about returning back to Kihei to the finish line and your rental car. At least that's what was in my mind when I was at mile 14.
The overall experience here, as with all marathons, is a learning experience.
Learning about yourself and how much can you endure at any point of time is a definitely a lesson that humbles the human spirit, while revolutionizes the will to seek out ways to ascertain the question as to how far does the human psyche will go to satisfy the big picture? I'm sure a lot of experienced ultra runners and IronMan competitors have done that and still continuing to do so, but for me, it's a personal and humbling experience to be able to do this thing for so long. Sure, I've done a lot of em already, but each one is different. This marathon was already a tough one, especially when you're already on Maui. Many areas of Maui that you need for a road race is generally on the state highway, at least the ones I've already done. A steady diet of hills and highway makes this one a most serious challenge indeed. It was really nice to be in Iao Valley though. The lush scenery plus the nice breeze on a light rain Saturday was quiet a gentle change from the dry and warm landscapes of highway 30 and highway 310.
Valley to the Sea marathon is a small quaint race that draws participants to Maui from all areas of the globe. I met a few people doing the marathon from Suffolk, United Kingdom, Virginia, and Ohio. I also met up with friends here too, some just to nab Hawaii for their state quest. They all happened to be on vacation here and noticed the marathon. Usually, it's the other way around for many people who plan races around vacations, like me. :) For me, the nice change with Valley to the Sea marathon was venturing up north on highway 30 versus going west. More scenery and houses on the west end than going west. As anyone who's been to Maui, anything west of Ma'alea Harbor to Olawalu & Lahaina town is nothing but ocean front. Weather on race day was cool in the morning and breezy / warm midday.
Aid stations were 2 miles apart, which was manned by local area high school students. They do manual timing here, where I assumed that only timing was recorded at the finish line when you crossed the mat. Didn't see any timing splits along the course, which meant that this road race was a smaller operation - to keep costs down and all that. The marathon field this year, 2016, stayed below 100 participants, myself included. The finisher medal has the shape of a whale tail, which was kind of cool and unique. The white lanyard with the race logo completed the weekend on Maui and still alive to tell the tale of 26.2 miles at the Valley to the Sea marathon. Would I recommend this race to y'all? If you enjoy a small race venue and love the hills, by all means, come on down for a destination race and escape from the ides of winter on the mainland. If you are a 50 stater marathoner or half marathoner, you can come on by and pick up HI here at Valley to the Sea. A lot of my friends who are marathon maniacs / 50 staters usually do Maui Ocean Front or Maui marathon in September, but give Balleu to the Sea a chance and you may be pleasantly surprised.
This race is in its infant stages and will continue to grow and expand when the word gets out even more. Come on by and you won't be disappointed. It's Maui after all. If you're wondering what excuse you need to come to Maui, this race could be it. My experience here was as tiring as I could be. I've come to the realization that I don't care for running on a highway. Not for miles and miles at a time. Give me a month to blank it out and I'll be okay again.
#84 lifetime marathon/ultra. 32nd marathon ran in HI.
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