Hawaii Island’s oldest and most well known footrace hit a milestone on Saturday as the Keoua Honaunau Canoe Club celebrated 35 years of hosting the Mac-A-Thon 10K and 5K races. ADVERTISING Hawaii Island’s oldest and most well known footrace hit
Hawaii Island’s oldest and most well known footrace hit a milestone on Saturday as the Keoua Honaunau Canoe Club celebrated 35 years of hosting the Mac-A-Thon 10K and 5K races.
Traditionally held on the eve of Easter, the Mac-A-Thon and its post-race festivities has entertained several generations of barefoot runners and paddlers dating back to 1982.
To truly appreciate Mac-A-Thon’s rich history and Hawaiian culture, one must go back to the beginning, a story that’s been told many times before.
The tale begins with Rafael Ramirez, president of the Keoua Honaunau Canoe Club, who conceived the idea of a major fundraising event at the start of paddling season that would generate enough income to pay for association dues, insurance, transportation to races, and eventually, the goal to purchase a Koa wood canoe of their own.
At that time, the canoe club had been borrowing Koa canoes during race season as Moku O Hawaii, the outrigger canoe racing association, required that all paddling races use Koa wood canoes to perpetuate the art of authentic Hawaiian canoe racing.
Being a small club with limited resources and needing to purchase a Koa wood canoe of their own, Ramirez, who routinely ran up and down the roads of Honaunau barefoot to keep in shape, thought a big running event would be a great way to raise the needed funds than through door-to-door sales of Molokai sweetbread, Famous Amos cookies and Portuguese sausage.
Longtime club members and supporters instantly gravitated to his idea and offered input toward making it a unique South Kona event in hopes to attract families with young children as well as the island’s most competitive athletes.
Hosting the event on Easter Saturday was agreed upon because it was easy to remember. Club member, Arlene Wakefield, owner of Barry’s Nut Farm (Wakefield Gardens) near the Painted Church in Honaunau, offered the use of her venue to host the Mac-A-Thon footraces and also took charge of the first and many subsequent Easter egg hunts.
Live music, homemade foods, a fun magic show, and an auction of items donated by businesses and individual supporters made the Mac-A-Thon and its post-race festivities a day of fun and games for all ages.
The result was one of the oldest, most scenic foot races in the State and the canoe club’s most important fundraiser over the years.
With the proceeds from the first and second Mac-A-Thon, the canoe club was able to obtain a Koa log and pay for the carving of their first Koa wood canoe, the Honaunau, in 1984. Subsequently, two more canoes were added: Kaahumanu, built in 1993, and the Alealea in 2012.
Thus it allowed the canoe club to perpetuate in the tradition of Hawaiian canoe racing and carving with having three beautiful canoes in their halau.
In 1996, the Mac-A-Thon’s venue moved from the upper Wakefield Gardens down to the lower halau waa (canoe house) at Honaunau Bay that helped to organize the event with less traffic.
Although the change in venue discontinued the annual Easter egg hunt, the canoe club began serving hot pancakes topped with fresh fruit and macadamia nuts – an instant hit among hungry participants.
And since then, the 10K and 5K courses traverse along gentle rolling hills of the paved Old Government Road extending from the pristine sanctuary waters of Honaunau Bay, to Napoopoo Road and back.
Fast forward to present day, Saturday’s 35th running of the Mac-A-Thon 10K and 5K races drew 229 participants from around the island and honored Kawika Spaulding who graced the finisher’s shirt.
Spaulding, the longtime treasure of the Keoua Honaunau Canoe Club and Mac-A-Thon race director, is a well-known barefoot runner in the state and owns numerous ultra-running records. And as with tradition, Spaulding once again blew into a massive conch shell to start the perennial races.
Defending champion, Billy Barnett of Volcano, saw no competition as he eased his way to the front of the field to win in a stellar time of 35 minutes and 29 seconds – a sizzling 5:43 pace per mile.
Following Barnett in the men’s race was Glen Weissman of Washington in 38:23, and Kailua-Kona’s Joe Fairchild in third at 41:42.
The lone barefoot runner of the morning, Spaulding, completed the race in a fabulous time of 1:03:47.
Like Barnett, Hilo’s Ana Baker-Mikkelsen defended her title to win the women’s race in 44:03. A distant second was Washington’s Gaylene Donner in 49:38, followed by Robyn Dicesare with her time of 51:21.
In the shorter 5K race, Kilauea’s Allen Ryan battled it out with Kona’s Adam Ankrum to claim victory in a swift time of 18:13. Ankrum followed in second place with a time of 18:42, with Logan Goering in third at 19:24.
Honaunau’s Heather Scarbrough, who has multiple 5K victories listed on her resume, secured another win with a great time of 21:27. Second and third place went to Megan Sporny of Illinois and Holualoa’s Laura Ankrum, who finished in 22:44 and 22:53 respectively.
It is also worth mentioning that the Ankrum family claimed five spots within the top 15. With dad, Adam, placing second in the men’s division and mom, Laura, third for the women, their sons Alec (13) finished sixth overall in 21:07, Aiden (11) in 13th place with his time of 23:29, and their youngest, Archer (8), in 14th overall in a great time of 23:46.
With the Keoua Honaunau Canoe Club celebrating 35 years of family traditions, history and Hawaiian culture, their story will surely be told for generations to come.
