Cool places to run series: Lahaina, Hawaii

Lahaina is a place on the island of Maui, Hawaii

Maui is an island in the Central Pacific, part of the Hawaiian archipelago. Sprawling Haleakala National Park encompasses the island’s highest peak, volcanic Haleakala, as well as the pools and waterfalls of Ohe’o Gulch, accessed via scenic, winding Hana Highway. The island's 30 miles of beaches include golden-crescent Kapalua, sheltered from strong currents by lava-rock promontories.

Great thing about running on Maui is that a) the weather is great; hot or hotter. Never cold.
b) the scene and the flat roads

There is humidity, but, it is not as bad as the islands in the South Pacific south of Hawaii. 

What makes running in Lahaina great is the fact that the road follows the coast and the terrain is as flat as a pancake. Scenic: yes, pretty much the whole run. Watch traffic; since you run on the main road, traffic can be busy on certain parts. Other than the traffic I really enjoyed running here. 

I was able to do two 31-mile (50 km) ultras

Cool places to run series: Pisco, Peru

The Port of Pisco was disabled for marine traffic; being displaced by the modern port of San Martín, located in the peninsula of Paracas, about a 40-minute drive from Pisco. 

If you a are a desert rat like I am, this is the place to be. There is a pier. That's it. 
Nothing else. No shop, no traffic, no taxi; just a whole lotta nothing....

That explains the name of the cocktail 'Pisco sour', right? I think anyone living in Pisco would be sour. 
Except me probably. And Mr. Sandman of course. I love the desert; wherever I travel, if there is a desert in the area, I will run it. 
The view from the ship; I felt like a kid in a candy store.

Some cool places to see when you are in the area are some cool fancy oasis and the candelabra

 Like most deserts; it gets brutally hot; up to 115F (50C). With these temperatures and no wind, this is my kind of weather
I was able to play in the sand, in 110F and run a nice marathon.
Date: March 12, 2017

Cool places to run series: Tahiti

Tahiti 

Tahiti is the largest island in French Polynesia, the South Pacific archipelago. Shaped like a figure-8, it's divided into Tahiti Nui (the larger, western section) and Tahiti Iti (the eastern peninsula). With black-sand beaches, lagoons, waterfalls and 2 extinct volcanoes, it's a popular vacation destination. Explored by Captain James Cook in the 18th century, it was also often painted by French artist Paul Gauguin.

Pro's: everything. Beaches, nature, running.....no traffic lights whoohooo. 
Tahiti is great for running. Don't be surprised by rain showers..these islands are lush for a reason. I managed to run two half marathons and during both runs i got a nice luke-warm treatment of, as we call it, 'liquid sunshine'

Date: February 9, 2018

Cool places to run series: Nuku'alofa

Nukuʻalofa 

Nukuʻalofa is the capital of Tonga. It is located on the north coast of the island of Tongatapu, in the southernmost island group of Tonga.
Tonga is situated about 5000 miles south of "nowhere" and approximately 1000 miles East of 'nothingness'.

And that's what I like about these hidden gems. Unspoiled 

The Royal Palace in Tonga is located in the capital, Nukuʻalofa. It was constructed from wood in 1867 and is the official residence of the King of Tonga. Arriving in Tonga via cruise ship, the palace is right there, next to the pier. 
No difficult security, just a fence, that's it. Just the way it should be; simple and uncomplicated. 
The Royal Palace in Tonga

While it may not be a perfect Pacific paradise, Tonga's capital (aka 'Dirty Nuke') has hidden charm and promise if you blow the dust from the surface. 

I'll be honest: it's one of the lesser favorite islands to visit since there isn't much to do; there are no paradise look-alike beaches as you see when visiting other islands. It's rather poor and under developed but at least it has a rich culture and history. 

Like any of the other places in the area: have an open mind when visiting these places. Realize that it's not like home where AC and 4G are standard. As long as you realize this, this will be good place to visit. 

Be warned to bring gallons of sun lotion. Temperatures can get in the 100's and humidity can get up to 95%. I ran half a marathon in these conditions last year, and swore never to do that again....but when I returned on February 5, 2018 I did it again and.....under the same conditions; forget about trying to break world records here. It won't happen under these conditions.

One never learns :)

Cool places to run series: Moorea

Mo'orea is a South Pacific island, part of French Polynesia's Society Islands archipelago. It's known for its jagged volcanic mountains and sandy beaches.
If you think you've seen it all.... :)

I always pictured myself running on beaches like these....

it didn't disappoint - a dream became reality 

Like most of the smaller islands in this exotic part of the world, traffic lights don't exist here.

How great is that....no traffic lights; talking about a runners' paradise...

Besides only having one road (just follow the water) and no traffic lights, the route is a flat as can be.

My kind of running :)

Fortunately I was able to go ashore for a half marathon. 

Date: February 10, 2018

Rated: 10

Cool places to run series: Waikiki, Hawaii

Waikiki Beach 
Waikiki Beach  is one of the the most famous and recognized beaches in the world, located on the island of Oʻahu in the U.S. state of Hawaii

Although Hawaii is a great place to visit, to run is not as easy as the other islands I've visited.

Traffic is very dense to say the least: whatever day of the week it is, there is always 

traffic. Trying to run appears really challenging. Not only because the traffic, there are 

also a lot of traffic lights (TRUST ME, stop for those traffic lights) and side walks are so busy that you look like a drunk runner trying to avoid head-on collisions with foot traffic. 

To each it's own; some like busy cities, for running, for the sake of my butt and my sanity, I prefer low traffic areas. 

Keep in mind that the rain can come out of nowhere. After I ran 6 miles it started drizzling; within minutes it started pouring. The specific tiles on the boardwalks at Waikiki beach get extremely slippery when wet, and boy, can it get wet. 

Despite the traffic, I did enjoy my two back-to-back half marathons on February 17 and 18, 2018

Cool places to run series: Bora Bora

Run Around Bora Bora

Bora Bora is a small South Pacific island northwest of Tahiti in French Polynesia. Surrounded by sand-fringed motus (islets) and a turquoise lagoon protected by a coral reef, Bora Bora is one of the most exotic places you can imagine. Imagine the Bounty commercials x 5 and voila, welcome to Bora Bora. 

Although the beaches are great, I was more interested in running around the island instead of lying in sand with a coconut in my hand. The island measures close to 20 miles (31.5 km) in circumference which makes it for a great afternoon run. 

To run around the island is easy: start running and follow the road. As easy as that. 

There are no traffic lights (yeah New York should take an example of that :), hardly any cars, a few innocent stray dogs and that's about it; you're ready to run around the island.

Keep in mind that it can rain and with that I'm not kidding. Rain can come down faster than you can dream of, faster than the speed of light, and it can come out nowhere. I started of dry but as soon as I was 5 miles out, rain came out of nowhere. Although I hate rain, this rain is rather warm and feels nice. 

Bora Bora, as any other place in the South Pacific is very humid. Humidity of 90% is nothing out of the ordinary. Hey, makes you sweat even more. 

Here are the stats of the run

Cool places to run series: The Pony Express 100-mile

What an incredible experience - the Pony Express Trail 100 mile race which took place on 

October 10, 2017. Although the weather was rather nasty with temperature dropping to 26F (-5C) and 30 Mph (50 KM) headwind, the race was amazing. The landscape, the race crew, the organization, all great. A great trail run for those who fear mountains; besides a minor climb, the actual route is a flat as you can imagine(the course is 100% dirt road and only has 3,000 ft (1000 mtr) elevation gain/loss. 

The race takes place southwest of Salt Lake City, Utah (USA) and has a rather small competitor field. Great if you like small events, but, although small in size, the race is pretty good organized. Take note that you need to bring your own race crew; in this case I was fortunate to get three super race crew who took their job like, uber serious. I'm glad they did, as race crewing is really no joke; although you should have fun, helping a runner to survive 100 miles is rather a serious issue.

Some impressions from the race
After 22:48:30 I was happy to win the first prize in the masters.