There is plenty to be excited about as registration for the 14th Annual Run for Hops slated for March 12 is now open.
Held in conjunction with the Kona Brewers Festival — the longest running premier beer event in Hawaii — the 6.2-mile and 3.1-mile footraces held at the BMW of Hawaii dealership have become a tradition for athletes taking part in the multi-day community fundraising event.
“It’s really exciting and a happy feeling,” said PATH Run for Hops race director, Joe Loschiavo. “I think it’s exciting to be the first IRL (in real life) running race coming up this year. It’s taken a lot of behind of scenes work. I’m sure that everyone that signs up for the race will show Aloha to their fellow runners and volunteers considering all the circumstances that we are going to have to outline for everyone.”
In March of 2020, just two days before a record turnout of 667 participants, Loschiavo had to make the devastating call to pull the plug on the popular footrace due to COVID-19 that hit the Big Island.
“It was heartbreaking,” Loschiavo said. “I knew people were looking forward to it. We had 667 people registered and the disappointment was really palpable to all of us who are involved with PATH (People for Active Transportation Hawaii). It is a fundraiser for our bike and pedestrian education program. The Kona Brew Fest has been a great partner over the years as well as all of the cooperation we get from everyone who supports this race. Then in one day, we had to get the word out to explain why we needed to cancel.”
No explanation needed. After March of 2020, all Big Island sporting events were forced to cancel or postpone due to a looming pandemic with only a few race organizers offering virtual options.
The Run For Hops would have celebrated its 13th annual event in 2020. Then, Loschiavo was forced again to cancel the event in 2021. While the footrace returns with an outpour of community support and excitement, like all races organized during a pandemic, there will be several notable modifications.
The 10K and 5K event will be limited to 250 participants overall. Athletes will be required to follow Hawaii Island COVID safety protocols, which will include wearing a mask and being socially distanced at the start and finish line area of the BMW of Hawaii dealership.
Masked athletes will be chipped timed and start in waves of 25 runners, with each consecutive wave spaced one minute apart. Runners will be allowed to remove their masks after 200 meters of the 10K and 5K course and will re-mask upon crossing the finish line.
There will also be a drastic change to the 10K course. In years past, Loschiavo said permitting was a challenge as the second half of the 10K course looped through the Old Industrial area that had several traffic intersections to monitor. This year, the 10K will be a double loop of the 5K course.
“I wanted to change it for this year to keep it simple,” he said. “The 10K course will be much flatter. It should be a faster course. I anticipate the 5K runners will finish about the same time, but the 10K people should finish with much faster times as runners will not have to climb the punishing hill on Luhia Street.”
Runners in the 5K will start street side of the BMW of Hawaii Dealership and head north toward the Old Kona Airport State Recreation Area runway strip. Athletes will then loop back and run through the Makaeo Walking Path, onto Makala Blvd, then to Luhia Street before a final turn on Loloku Street to sprint back to the finish line. Athletes in the 10K race will do a double loop.
“We will have a short ceremony at the start with Kumu doing a blessing and short safety briefing, but there will be no closing awards ceremony,” he said. “Results will be all posted on JTL’s website. We will have a limited amount of refreshments and no food.”
And to the question that is on everyone’s mind, Loschiavo answered it right away. Yes, there will be beer for participants waiting at the finish line!
“I think participating in the Run for Hops is a great opportunity to stay active,” said Loschiavo, who is in his 8th year as race director. PATH, which stands for People for Active Transportation Hawaii, really promotes people to be active. One way you can be active is to come out and do the Run for Hops which will help support all the great things PATH does for Hawaii Island.”
Online registration can be found at https://www.athlinks.com/event/2022-run-for-hops-23388. Limited to 250 runners overall, entry fees are $50 for Adults (15 and over) and $40 for Keiki (14 and under). There will be no race day registration. Packet Pickup will be on Friday, March 11 at Bike Works Kona from 9AM – 5PM. Start time is 7:30 AM for the 10K and 5K races on Saturday, March 12th at the BMW of Hawaii dealership. For more information email joe.loschiavo@pathhawaii.org.
