I decided to sign up to the Hawaii Pacific Health Women’s 10k at the last minute and figured it would be a nice way to spend a Sunday morning.

I had a 5am wake up and arrived at the race start just after 6am to collect my bib and get pumped up for the run. The starting point was at Kapiolani park, next to the Honolulu Zoo, and the course would take us around the west side of Diamond Head and then back again.

Watching the sunrise over the top of Diamond Head just after we started was pretty incredible and the view during the race was worth the early wake up. The start of the course was uphill so I took my time as I shuffled along and just enjoyed the view of the ocean. When it was time for the downhill section I kicked into gear and settled into a good pace for a few kilometers before turning and heading back up the hill.

At one point I shuffled past a lighthouse and realised that it’s one that I took a photo of on my second trip to Hawaii. The photo of the lighthouse has been the background of my phone ever since so I was pretty excited to see it up close.

The last few km were downhill again so I ran to the finish line and collected my rose before bumping into Molly and snapping a quick photo. It took me about 1.5 hours to do the run as I had spent so much time walking. My goal is to eventually be able to run a 10k non-stop in under an hour, but for now I am focussing on just getting it done non-stop.

Event: Hawaii Pacific Health Women’s 10k

Type: Fun Run

Distance: 10km

Location: Honolulu, Hawaii (USA)

Date: 6 March 2016