The Kona Marathon Events will have much to celebrate as Sunday marks the 25th Anniversary of the popular endurance running event.
Presented by title sponsor Ueshima Coffee Company (UCC), the weekend festivities begin on Saturday with the Health & Fitness Fair at the Hilton Waikoloa Village Convention Center and will include over 30 vendors, entertainment, guest speakers and food for attendees.
The Health & Fitness Fair is open to the public at no charge from 10 a.m to 5 p.m., and will also serve as the race number pickup and late registration for all Kona Marathon and Family Fun Run participants.
The celebration then continues early Sunday morning at 5 a.m. with opening ceremonies for the 25th Anniversary of Kona Marathon Events held at the Waikoloa Bowl located next to Queen’s Marketplace. The Waikoloa Bowl will also serve as the pre-race staging area, and later as the finish line for all running events.
According to race director Sharron Faff, approximately 1,800 participants are expected to register in the combined four races — the marathon (26.2-miles, 5:30 a.m. start), half marathon (13.1-miles, 6 a.m. start), 5K (3.1-miles, 6:45 a.m. start), and the quarter marathon (6.2-miles, 7 a.m. start). It will be the largest field since the Kona Marathon Event’s 20th anniversary, with runners coming in from around the world and nearly all 50 states.
A few notable athletes planning to toe the line in the marathon will be Kailua-Kona’s Bree Wee, Oahu’s Jeannie Wokasch-Parente, and the “Marathon Goddess,” Julie Weiss.
Wee won the women’s marathon division last year in a time of 3 hours and 8 minutes and is looking forward to a repeat. The 38-year-old former professional triathlete turned endurance trail runner also owns an impressive resume with five Kona half marathon wins under her belt. She is the favorite and will be hard to beat.
While Wokasch-Parente — who no longer races competitively but for the sheer joy and fun of running — currently holds the record for the most Kona Marathon wins with eight titles. Look for the smiling veteran marathoner to do her trademark dance, prance and cartwheel over the finish line.
And Weiss, not only returns to fulfill her role as Kona Marathon Ambassador, but to also continue raising funds for Pancreatic cancer research.
In 2013, the Marathon Goddess ran an impressive 52 marathons in 52 weeks at the age of 42 in an effort to raise awareness and in memory of her father who passed from pancreatic cancer in 2010. According to her website, Weiss has currently raised $444,014 for the charity.
On the men’s side, Kailua-Kona’s Patrick Stover and Volcano’s Billy Barnett are the favorites. Last year, the 29-year-old Stover placed second in a time of 2:54:21 to Japan’s Kentaro Masuda, who won in 2:52:20.
While Barnett has not competed in the Kona Marathon since his debut in 2009, the speedy 34-year-old began the year on fire with impressive wins at the Hilo To Volcano 50K Ultra Marathon and the Mac-A-Thon 10K.
Another who could surprise is Kailua-Kona’s Ben Halpern. Halpern was the top Big Islander at December’s Inaugural Hawaii Bird Conservation Marathon finishing 5th overall in a time of 3:07:02.
Last year’s winner Masuda however, has yet to register for the marathon event.
This year’s Kona Marathon theme will honor and celebrate the worldwide voyage of the Hokulea. Images of the Hokulea will be engraved on the ceramic tiles for all age group winners, medallions for the marathon and half marathon, and race shirt designs. Winners of the event will also receive outrigger canoes.
“Every year we try to do the event for something here in Hawaii,” Faff said. “Usually an animal of some kind. Last year was the turtles, the year before dolphins, and we’ve done whales, manta rays and more. This year we are celebrating the worldwide voyage of the Hokulea.”
If you have not already, there’s still plenty of time to register for the 25th edition of the Kona Marathon events. For more information and late registration details visit konamarathon.com.
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Q & A with Kona Marathon Event’s race director, Sharron Faff
With the 25th Anniversary of Kona Marathon Events upon us, I caught up to the busy race director, Sharron Faff, to discuss her inspiration and passion for running events, the popularity of the half marathon race, and the future for the Kona Marathon races.
Q: As the race director for the last ten years to largest marathon on the island, what inspires you the most with the Kona Marathon Events?
The runners themselves are the inspiration for producing these events. The stories of how they got here, the training they had to go through, the money they had to raise, the commitment to succeeding under all kinds of trials and tribulations. To be at the start line and see the anticipation in their eyes and them knowing that they actually made it here and are ready to take on one of the most known events across the running world, is what brings that smile and joy in my heart. And then to be at the finish line when they come through, tired and exhausted but full of life because they made it.
There is nothing like that feeling of satisfaction for a race director that another successful event has happened for hundreds of runners and walkers.
Q: In addition to the Kona Marathon, you also organize the Aloha Keiki Fun Runs and the annual Volcano Rainforest Runs. Where does you passion for running come from?
Not being a runner since high school — many years ago — I do like to organize events and I am pretty good at it. I have learned a lot being a race director for over 15 years, but still I have to say, it’s the runners that make me do it. Their energy, their commitment is what spurs me on. Runners are a special breed of people, most partly because they are healthy, happy and get up early in the morning with a smile.
Q: While the marathon is the featured event, why does the half marathon continue to attract the most participants each year?
When the Kona Marathon started back in 1994, marathons were the race to do – mostly done by men, very few women. Then women started getting more and more into running, but didn’t have the time mainly because of family commitments, jobs and not having the time to train for a marathon. And they started choosing to do the half marathon. Since then, women dominate the half marathon field in almost event around the world and men still dominate the marathon. More and more people of all genders are choosing the half over the full.
Q: What do you foresee as the future for the Kona Marathon Events?
Every year we work on making the events safer, cooler, and more fun which brings more participants. Waikoloa Beach Resort is a great venue for this size of an event and having our host hotel, the Hilton Waikoloa Village, as a gorgeous place for the runners to stay and providing a large area for the Health and Fitness Fair and packet pick-up.
For the future, we hope to attract more and more runners to the Big Island of Hawaii from Japan, China and other Asian countries plus mainland travelers who want to run in Paradise — the Land of Aloha.