Rarely can you honestly say that a store changed your life - but in this case it is true!…read more I had been a struggling runner for years, and one day I heard about the free wednesday running group at Kailua Running Company. I gathered up my courage and gave it a try. SO much fun! Completely changed everything - running became enjoyable! Pounds vanished form my body! Within a year I ran a marathon - and survived! Since then I've been a Kailua Running Company regular. In addition to the wednesday night 6pm runs (with fresh smoothies after!), they offer a fantastic sunday long run as well. Susan, the wonderful owner, somehow finds the energy to both plan fantastic sunday runs AND hide water along the course for us! Oh - I suppose I should mention the shoes. I know, you are thinking "can't I get them online cheaper?". Well, I suppose you could. But chances are you'd be getting the wrong shoe for your foot and running style. The folks at KRC know their stuff - and I couldn't imagine getting my shoes anywhere else. I should note that I am writing this just after a fantastic 12 mile Sunday run with the store. What a great way to start your day!

Great team relay race! Very competitive! I ran the very first Honolulu Rainbow Ekiden, which was…read morevery big! The first one was an out-and-back course that started at Waikiki beach; heading towards Kapiolani Park, and back! Now the race consists of a course that starts at Kapiolani Park, and takes runners up the dreaded hill next to Diamond Head, and back to Kapiolani Park. Simple out-and-back fun relay run, but brutal as well, if you aren't a "hill" fan. I enjoyed this race overall, and very glad that I got to experience the very first Honolulu Rainbow Ekiden Relay. I'm not a fan of the new course, but do understand the reasons why they moved the start of it to Kapiolani Park vs Waikiki beach. As for this race, i definitely recommend it, if you love team competition running mixed with fun! No worries if you miss this one, which is in March, because there is also a more scenic one in May named "Honolulu Ekiden Music Relay". Enjoy!

I enjoyed this event, but never got a chance to run the actual triathlon; just the 5k event, and…read moreI've ran it twice! The first time I was 3rd place overall, and the second time I was 1st place overall. Big props to an event like this, for having so many races going on all at once. They have a 5k, 10k, Sprint, Olympic Triathlon; not to mention the youth, and kids races also. Great event, and it is very well set up; the volunteer support is great, and also everyone that participates in this event gets a finishers medal. Anyone looking for a triathlon on the island of Oahu; this is a very great one, and well worth training for. My advice is if you're an elite athlete pay attention to the route; study it! There are many cones to follow, and if you take a wrong turn you may get disqualified. Other than that, enjoy! Aloha!

This version is an expanded version of the published review in the July 2014 issue of Hawaii Sport…read moreMag: http://issuu.com/hawaiisportmag/docs/hawaii_sport_july_2014_digital As a local, this triathlon is THE triathlon of the year on the island of Oahu! Aspiring triathletes and veteran triathletes train for months for this race. I, myself, dedicated a good 4 months training for this race. I set up my workouts for 5-6 days a week, consisting of two short 5:30AM workout sessions before work (either run or swim), two afterwork brick sessions (bike + run, or swim + run) with Try Fitness team (tryfitnesshawaii.com) and two looooooong 7AM brick workout sessions (one with Try Fitness team) on the weekend. Finally, the day came... The Honolulu Triathlon. Ready or not, I would embark this 1500m swim, 40K bike ride and 10K run with elite athletes, locals, mainlanders, and international participants. This is a wonderful and well laid out course for the newbie, for the out of towner and especially for the long time triathlete that just wants to have fun and be fit with friends. Furthermore, the location allows for a large number of participants, over 1500 participants a year usually. The swim portion was the main reason for me to sign up for this course. It is a long 1500m, but the water at Ala Moana Beach Park is flat. As coral surrounds this area, the water is protected from waves and certain ocean critters. This makes it great for the newbie to try out a triathlon of this distance. The swim portion of this race is a straight line, out and back. We started from Magic Island and then swam almost the end of the park water and then back. The water here is a relatively decent size, capable of fitting a large number of swimmers. The bike portion of this race was relatively easy. The road is a flat out and back. With the exception of a slight incline on the way out to Aloha Stadium, it was relatively flat. Flats are my strengths, so the course was in my favor. The run portion was a bit confusing but yet nice for spectators. Since the park is a bit small, participants had to run around the park twice. On the second loop, participants had to make sure to get a band and place it on the right wrist. This could have been a bit confusing for participants. The upside to running around in a loop was that spectators did not have to move around to watch their favorite participants. I finished the race, tired, hot, exhausted but feeling well accomplished. My first completed "Olympic" distance triathlon was under my belt. Next year Honolulu Tri, next year, we will meet again! Who's up for the challenge?

Did a sailing tour with Captain David last summer. One of the best sailing experiences in Hawaii!…read moreReasonably priced to have a private boat to ourselves for couple of hours. We are super lucky to have a pod of dolphins joining us. One of them even jumped out of water right in front of our boat with Waikiki & Diamond Head in the back. Can't get better picture than that! Going back to Oahu this July and already booked our tour again with Captain David! Looking forward to another wonderful experience!

Captain David was AMAZING!!!! We went on a Private Sunrise sail and the weather wasn't looking the…read morebest at first but when we got out there it was awesome a beauty your phone can't even capture. Me and my family had the best time ever with Captain David he's attitude was calm and relaxed the whole time, answered all our questions, and told us so much information, even about sailing! We saw so many rainbows, the beautiful view from Waikiki and diamond head to Koko crater and hanauma bay. I would recommend him any time some ask and if you're thinking about doing it, DO IT!!

You can't beat a good 10km / 5km foot race that's close to home. After all, it's one of those…read moregrassroots running distances that is the gateway to - if you so desire - the half marathon and the marathon. It makes me smile. I discovered Sharon's Bike / Run about 7 years ago, while researching running events on runningintheusa.com website. I searched all distances for Hawaii and came across this event. It starts and ends at the Kapiolani Community College parking lot, so it was close to home for me. No driving necessary. I actually walked it to the start line on the years I signed up, which was a good mile or so. Most Sundays, I would do a long run elsewhere, but to have a short distance race to motivate me to get out the door is a bonus. Not to mention that it's a local race that promotes physical fitness and running as a social thing that makes running and racing fun. For the most part though, the races themselves are small but fun and intimate. Since i am used to the marathon distance, I usually choose the 10km distance, but you're free to choose whichever distance you desire! The run course itself runs from Kapiolani Community College parking lot and runs into diamond head crater. From there, u turn back out to diamond head road and east on Kahala Avenue towards Kahala mall. You stop at one point and return back towards kapiolani community college. That's the 10km route. I imagine that the 5km route u-turns around triangle park. Sharon's Run/Walk/Bike features a cycling event too. While the run itself is fun and addicting, they have 50 mile or 100km cycling events too for the cyclist. I have seen numerous cyclists on race morning and it was pretty cool. For the most part though, the intimate affair of these kinds of events showcase the needs of awareness. Proceeds from the Sharon's Ride/Walk/Ride for epilepsy goes to the local chapters for epilepsy research. It's pretty much a fundraiser but keeps people active with fun athletic events that keeps people active. Sharon's Ride/Walk/Cycle for Epilepsy is named for Sharon Rosenfield, a nurse and a teacher who was tragically killed in 1993 during a cross country bike ride. She was passionate about epilepsy and was an advocate of helmet safety. Honolulu's event is a part of a series of events throughout the year at different locations on the US mainland. Each year, Sharon's Ride/Walk/Run in Honolulu is on the last Sunday in January. As mentioned before, the start and finish line is at Kapiolani Community College. Race morning starts around 4am when cars start coming to fill parking stalls. Race usually starts around 6am or 7am. Prices are usually around $35-$50, depending on when you sign up for this event. I don't know how much the cycling event is, but I am just referring to the 5K or 10K events. Registration for these events are pretty much online, so they accept major credit cards. If you are starting to build and endurance fitness program and interested in running or walking, this event can surely help you see word this running thing can take you. 5 km can be the gateway to longer events and maybe you can do your first half marathon or marathon in a year from then. Who knows! Sky is the limit, as they say. The course is Walmart and the choirs volunteers were very much friendly and well supported anybody that was out there each year that they held the event. I myself love these intimate event just because it help me plan what I am going to do for a workout, instead of just doing my own thing and not being able to associate myself with racing here at Sharon's Walk run bike. If you are in the Honolulu area near the end of July, feel free to come over to this running events or cycling, if you prefer. I myself enjoyed doing the 10 km race every time I sign up for it. The course is self is mostly asphalt roads and they close the roads to traffic on a Sunday morning. Since this is Hawaii, you probably will need to wear sunscreen to protect yourself from the sun. Best bet is to train accordingly and have a good time on race day. It was fun and I plan on doing it again. Recommended if you love to run and do in your age group. Even then, do this race just because you love to run anyway and compete anyway. It's all good! 5.0 stars for the overall experience and ambiance. 5.0 stars for the friendly volunteers and the race location. Run more! Support local! A

As published in the May 2014 print issue of Hawaii Sport Magazine:…read morehttp://issuu.com/hawaiisportmag/docs/hawaii_sport_may_2014_online "Sharon's Ride/Run" was started in 1996 by Dr. William Rosenfeld and Dr. Susan Lippman in St. Louis, Missouri. The event is a memorial to Sharon Rosenfeld, who was killed during a cross country bicycle ride in 1993. Sharon was a nurse and teacher, who cared deeply about epilepsy and epilepsy patients. Today, Sharon's Run/Ride is held across the nation in efforts to raise awareness for Epilepsy and to raise funds for the Epilepsy Foundation. You may choose to walk 1 mile, run 5K/10K, ride 35km/75km/100km. Various distances makes this event fun and friendly to participants of all levels. There was even a Keiki (kids) bike safety course. I chose to run the 10K. The 10K course started at the walking path to the entrance to Diamond Head Crater across from Kapiolani Community College. The race route started along the walking path and went up to where the parking of Diamond Head Crater started, then came back down, followed along Kahala Avenue towards Waialae Country Club, left on Kealaolu Street for about a mile, then back down Kealaolu Street, back down Kahala Avenue, a right at Diamond Head Road and then to Kapiolani Community College where the finish line awaited. With the exception of the hill up towards Diamond Head Crater parking, the rest of the route was very flat. The event was held on an extremely nice and sunny day in late January. This was a casual, fun run (or ride, for some) with many generous volunteers setting up and at aid stations. I hope to participate in this event again in the future.

Literally the WORST company to book through. I made a reservation directly online through their…read morewebsites and got double charged and could not get anybody to answer the phone or respond to email for multiple weeks to sort anything out. Couldn't get the pickup address either - and it was way further away from our Waikiki hotel than the address on their website. After making the reservation and starting to worry about if I just got scammed, I Kept getting auto email and auto text bots that made me feel like I was for sure scammed. Only the morning of my reservation (weeks later!!) someone finally texted me - then I got redirected via text to another local guy who is actually renting out the slingshots. I guess that company is slingshots Waikiki, and that dude was great, super helpful and responsive, but after weeks of suffering, and now still fighting the duplicate through my credit card with Origami Tours - I can't say anything nice about origami but if you want to rent a slingshot, just go directly to slingshot Waikiki guy and website he was legit.

Great service. Very friendly staff. Easy to navigate . Visited with my son and we were having fun.read more

I came to Hawaii with an ambitious goal - get scuba certified in less than a week. I was referred…read moreto Manny by another dive company, so you know he has good rapport with other locals. He was very easy to get ahold of and super accommodating. He was able to schedule our dives promptly and safely, so my lungs wouldn't explode on the flight back. So my first boxes were majorly checked Once we were on the boat and in the water, I found Manny to be very calming. Outside the water he had ample patience explaining the techniques I was going to need to demonstrate while in the water, and he was excellent at demonstrating them in the water. I always felt as though he and his crew would ensure I understood before proceeding. He even met up with me at a coffee shop to do my written exam at a time that fit into my schedule. Lofty goal, but by gum, I did it. Scuba certified fresh. Thanks Manny!

I had a poor experience with Manny back in February. His suits were old and tattered or coming…read moreapart at the seams. The regulator I used had scum on the mouthpiece which seems really unsanitary. And his mask kept leaking...he didn't initially believe me which also soured the experience. The issues with my mask flooding caused me a great deal of anxiety. Instead of being empathetic or trying to understand my concerns, Manny kept telling me, "I can't force you to have fun!" I read another review where it was mentioned that Manny seems to be inpatient with "difficult" students, and I would wholeheartedly agree with that statement. The other person who was present shared that he also felt Manny's equipment was subpar. This gentleman didn't even bother coming back for the 2nd dive day. At least Manny refunded me the camera/photos fee after I asked him... although he initially quickly exclaimed he couldn't refund me the whole charge (which I didn't even ask for). I feel like his quickness to defend his fee might be indicative of this not being the first time someone has felt like the whole experience was just an expensive waste of time and hope... I was originally going to give Manny a higher rating but after thinking through it, I didn't feel I should conceal this information from others about to make an investment in diving. I luckily did one dive with the boat captain on the first day, who loaned me her mask and she took me down. I did a full mask clear and swam for nearly 30 minutes. So, I don't think my negative experience can be pinned on me not wanting to have fun, not being capable of diving, etc. Definitely wasn't worth the money diving with this instructor and had I known the experience would have been so negative, I would have much rather paid more to go with a more experienced instructor who isn't so dismissive of safety concerns.

Wanted to share my experience with Venture Aloha. I did a custom tour with Steven and he was very…read moreprofessional and great with communication. During the trail he took candid pictures of the sights and me on the trail. He also gave some great tips on sights and other trails to check out. A great experience, glad I contacted them for a hike.