Dispatches from the middle

My Lonely Planet guide to the island of O’ahu states that there are more joggers per capita in Honolulu than anywhere else in the United States. At least, I think that’s what it said. Mired in the process of writing a conference paper, I’m feeling a bit hyper-vigilant about accurately quoting my sources. However, I can’t find the spot where I read that, so suffice to say that running is huge in Hawaii, and in Honolulu in particular. One thing I do remember reading is that the Honolulu marathon is now the third largest marathon in the US, with ~25,000 participants. I’ve only been here for a couple of days, but I’ve had some great runs, and given the number of other runners I’ve seen, I suspect the Lonely Planet is correct.

I’ve run twice now on and around the Makiki Valley Trail. It’s a great little trail (only about 4km for the loop) that offers amazing views, some fun technical challenges, and some quality mud. There are much more extensive trails heading further up Mt. Tantalus that I hope to explore too over the next couple of weeks, but for now a jaunt up to the trail, around the loop, and back home is the perfect way to start the day.

Wanting a bit of a longer run today, I decided to head over to/through Waikiki and around the Diamond Head Crater. Hiking up Diamond Head is definitely on the list as well, but running around it sufficed for today. Perhaps Honolulu/Waikiki are particularly easy to navigate, and it certainly doesn’t hurt that everything is very close together, but I’m finding with a little google-mapping, it’s very simple to plan out runs. Which is great! I’ve also discovered that my camera case clips nicely onto my water-bottle belt, so I’ve started taking it with me on runs as this tends to be prime exploring time. Running really is hands down the best way to get to know a new environment!

Today’s run turned out to be more of an excursion than a run, per se. The main drag through Waikiki is mercilessly fancy-pants (one of those streets that derives a cruel pleasure from showcasing everything I can’t afford), and therefore slow-going, but nonetheless there were lots of runners weaving through the crowds of tourists, shoppers, and beach-goers. And it gave me time to do some window shopping. On a friend’s recommendation, I stopped for a quick wander through the International Marketplace, though I much preferred the Chinatown marketplaces I visited yesterday. I stopped on the main beach to take some pictures, then continued down Kalakaua Avenue past Kapiolani Park, which had been turned into a transition zone for the 2011 Honolulu Tinman Triathlon (which, judging by the website, is more or less an Olympic distance triathlon, but with a 750m swim instead of a 1.5km swim). The run took competitors along Diamond Head road, so I got to watch the tail end of their adventures as I trotted around the crater.

I read a fantastic line in a book yesterday, the book being “Hills, Hawgs, and Ho Chi Minh: More Tales of a Wayward Runner” by Don Kardong (former Olympic marathoner). In his chapter about the Rim-to-Rim-to-Rim race from the south rim of the Grand Canyon to the north rim and back, he wrote of ultrarunners: “I love these people, with their sublime confidence, their steady yet intense eyes, their ultimate faith in themselves. They calm me” (203). If I get one thing out of running over the course of my life, I want it to be this. Sublime confidence and ultimate faith.