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Maui Marathon to start at Sugar Mill

Runners line up at the start of the Maui Marathon last October on Hookele Street in Kahului. Bryan Berkowitz photo

The Maui News

The Maui Marathon is getting a new starting point.

Runners in the 49th edition of the race, set for Oct. 13, will begin the 26.2-mile race at 5 a.m. at the historic Sugar Mill off Hansen Road in Puunene.

In recent years, the race had started on Hookele Street, near where the new Safeway supermarket recently opened. Before that, the starting line had been near Queen Kaahumanu Center.

“It was no longer feasible to start it at that location,” co-race director Jim Lynch said of the site near Safeway. “So we started looking for a new location late last year and Race Director Jon Emerson looked at the Sugar Mill and everything worked out from there.

“It is a perfect spot for the start, less congestion due to shutting down the road, easy for busses to pull in and drop off runners and it is nice and open. Plus, it is a historic location and runners will enjoy it.”

Race organizers got the new course measured and adjusted to maintain its status as a Boston Marathon qualifying course.

The marathon will still end in front of the Kaanapali Beach Hotel, as will the half marathon, 10K and 5K — those races will start and end in Kaanapali, with staggered start times beginning at 5:30 a.m.

The marathon expo is set for noon-5 p.m. on Oct. 11 and 9 a.m.-5 p.m. on Oct. 12 at the Maui Westin Resort and Spa’s Kaanapali Ballroom.

Peter Sagal, author of the book “The Incomplete Book of Running” and the host of the popular NPR news quiz show “Wait Wait…

Don’t Tell Me!” will be running the marathon and will also speak at the expo on Oct. 12.

For more information, visit mauimarathon.com.

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