Jamba Juice Banana Man Chase 5K

I’ve been participating in this run for the past 3 years and every year it gets more and more crowded! The Jamba Juice Banana Man run is a 5k (3.1mile) run around Ala Moana Beach Park and Magic Island. There is also a shorter keiki run that is loop around Magic Island. The race begins at 7am for adults and later in the day for Keiki.
It’s a very fun family event. You get to see news anchors and volunteers in funny banana suits and tons of participants in wacky costumes! There are always people cheering along the track, encouraging you to continue, and there is a water station at the halfway mark. My favorite part is seeing parents running with their kids. Kids say the darndest things!
At the end of the race, there are tents that provide free Jamba Juice (this year is was a dragonfruit smoothie!), a banana, water and free entertainment. This run is one of my favorites, because it is well organized, has a great view and is an easy run for anyone.
Thanks Unilocal for providing me free tickets this year! My dad and I had a ton of fun!

As published in the May 2014 print issue of Hawaii Sport Magazine:
My favorite costume this year was Pacman chasing after strawberry girl. Runner up would have been Buzzlight year. The race started at 7AM around Ala Moana Beach Park. 7AM can can be kind of hot in May! So, I can only imagine how excruciatingly hot running 3 miles in a huge costume was probably for these runners! What I enjoy about this race are the fun, wacky, and high spirited runners and walkers. This year’s bananamen were radio personalities from Star 101.9 and local TV station KHON.
Let’s chase the bananaman again next year!