The 34th Maui Marathon, inaugural Maui Half Marathon and Maui Tacos 5K is only one month away. Make your running buddies green with envy by wearing colorful new Maui Marathon and Half Marathon merchandise on your training runs. Order yours now while supplies last.

Procrastinators will be pouting 'cause the Maui Half Marathon has reached its first-year capacity of 1,000 runners and registration for the event has closed! The 13.1-mile trek through paradise has attracted participants from 44 states and several foreign countries. Read more!

Bart Yasso, Runner's World Promotion Director and finisher of over 150 marathons and five Ironman triathlons will be running in the 2004 Maui Marathon.

Join Bart on Saturday, September 18 at 1:00 pm at the Westin (Pequoid Room) for Bart's Marathon of Travel Tales -- From The Mount Everest Marathon to the Mount Kilimanjaro, an entertaining first-hand account of some of marathoning's greatest adventures.

Are you running in the 2004 Maui Marathon or Half Marathon and have a story to tell? Are you running in honor of someone or have you overcome personal or medical challenges to get to the starting line? The media is always looking for inspiring stories.

Please share your story by sending an e-mail message to bark@maui.net. Please include complete contact information.

Come take advantage of all the great deals at this year's silent auction. The auction will include hotel stays, dinner gift certificates and tons of Maui actives such as luauâ's, dinner cruises and snorkeling excursions. The auction will also feature fine artwork, hand blown glass, sports memorabilia and much much more. 100% of auction proceeds will benefit charities. The auction will be located at the entrance of Whalers Village on Sunday from 8:00am-10:30am.

We just wanted to let you know that we will be at the event taking photos to record your achievement. Please remember to do two things to make this work well:

1. Smile when you see the photographers!
2. Make sure your bib number is clearly centered and visible so we will be able to identify you after the race.

With only four weeks to go most of the hard preparation work is behind you now. Please no more long runs as that will take away from your race day performance. It's now time to prepare for race day. If you are flying into Maui make sure you arrive early enough to adjust to the local time zone. Remember you will be up at 2:00am on race morning for the Maui Marathon and possibly a little later for the Half Marathon. For the Marathon the buses leave at 3am in time for the 5am start.

If you arrive a few days early, try to adjust to the local time zone by going for some walks or gentle jogs early in the morning or late in the afternoon. Avoid the heat of the middle of the day.

The plane ride might dehyrate you so please drink losts of water before, during and after the flight. Try to avoid coffee 24 hours before flying and on the flight. Water and juice can be much more effective.

Make sure you have the right clothing for the run. Even with a 5:00am start, a 4 hour run means you will be finishing at 9am when it is really beginning to get hot. Make sure you have a couple of running outfits to choose from and select the appropriate one for the day. Two pairs of "run-in" shoes are also a good idea. After a long flight your feet might be a little swollen for a few hours after you arrive. Look after them during this period.

Good luck with your race and we hope it will be a great day for you.

Check out our "recently announced" line of 2004 Maui Marathon and Maui Half Marathon merchandise. Exciting women's designs as well as caps and visors are still available. Please visit our merchandise section to see the latest designs. All of the items on our website are available only on the website and will not be avaialble at the Expo race week.

We will have a wide variety of all new merchandise at the Expo, race week, so plan to purchase your items early as we will most likely sell out of nearly everything race weekend.

Before or after the big race, treat yourself to the "Heavenly Maui Marathon Massage" at the new Spa at The Westin Maui. Specially created with marathon runners in mind, this indulging treatment offers the choice of a 50 or 80 minute full body massage, including a special warm foot mask to stimulate, relax and alleviate soreness of tense muscles. Mention you're with the Marathon and you'll receive a 10% discount on this and ALL Spa services. Book your appointment in advance by calling (808) 661-2588 or email TheSpaMaui@westin.com. You've worked hard, don't you deserve it?

Reminder to have your friends sign up for the Maui Marathon newsletter.

Click here to subscribe to the newsletter.