What began as a new community event with a turnout of one 5K entrant and a handful of young runners for the keiki dash just two and half years ago, has blossomed into a monthly activity that families can look forward to every third Saturday.
LavaKids continued their popular series of Family Fun Runs on Saturday taking place on the Queens’ Lei trail path along Ane Keohokalole Highway, which started and finished in front of the West Hawaii Civic Center parking lot. The free events featured a 100-yard Keiki dash, followed by a 1-mile, 2-mile and 5K run/walk.
Claudia Kane, who is the co-director for LavaKids alongside her husband, Ted Spitaleri, said the idea to create the monthly fun runs stemmed from the annual LavaKids Youth Aquathon held in conjunction with the Lavaman Waikoloa Olympic Distance Triathlon.
“We have been doing the LavaKids races that has been associated with the Lavaman race for many years,” Kane said. “So we wanted to be able to offer something on a more consistent basis, and instead of once a year, offer something that we could get people off the couch to be active. We do time (the run/walk) but it’s not a race – it’s more so that everyone can see how they are progressing. That way when it’s a monthly thing, they have more incentive to improve on their times.”
While some may have the misconception that it’s a community event targeting only the island youth based upon its “LavaKids” name, Kane stressed that the focus is getting the entire family active and educated on how to live a healthier lifestyle.
“We are not just targeting the kids, but the whole family,” Kane said. “So we are helping to get the parents off the couch so that they too, can set an everyday good example for their children. We do have a guest speaker each month, from Ironman finishers to people talking to them about nutrition, as it’s great to have different people in the community be able to tell the kids why it’s great to have a healthy and active lifestyle. So we try to do something different each time.”
Kane added that their ongoing partnership with Club Rehab, along with several other community contributors that include PATH, BioAstin, Big Island Honda and Ironman, have proved to be invaluable toward offering an event that is free.
“Club Rehab, that is spearheaded by Barbie Nakamura, have been equal partners in that they have truly embraced the importance of having the monthly LavaKids Fun Runs,” she said. “They provide all the snacks and the personnel to help out with the events, so it’s been a great partnership. “And I cannot express how grateful we feel to all of the volunteers – it’s truly a team effort in making it a success.”
The morning kicked off with guest speakers from the Inspired to Tri female Lavaman relay team, Alexis DeCarli, Barbie Nakamura, and Christine DeCarli, who shared their experience competing in the Lavaman triathlon consisting of a 1.5K swim, 40K bike and 10K run. Then staff members from Club Rehab led the group through a series of stretches while talking about the benefits of warming up before working out.
From there, it seemed that the younger kids, all under the age of 10 years and who routinely participate in the Family Fun Runs, took control of the morning as they led everyone — including parents, volunteers and spectators — to the start line of both the Keiki Dash and 1-mile, 2-mile, and 5-K run/walk.
While Kane explained that it’s wasn’t a race, some of the older kids had other ideas as they kidded with each other on who was faster and who would “win” the runs.
Yet in the end, it turned out to be a win for everyone who finished the fun morning with sweaty smiles, new friendships, and a desire to live a healthier lifestyle.
As for the future of the monthly Fun Runs, Kane said there are some exciting ideas and upcoming events everyone can look forward to.
“We are looking at expanding it — hopefully to get something like this running down South. We have been in touch with some people in the Ka‘u district so we may be expanding there. Also maybe up towards Waikoloa. It would be taking our model, and doing it elsewhere. It may not start off as a monthly thing, but maybe as a bi-annual or four time a year type of thing. This is so that we can expand our reach to other keiki and families on the island.
“Also this summer we will again have the Fun in the Sun Summer Camp and we are also bringing to Kona its very own Bike Fest. It will be similar to the Waimea Bike Fest and we are partnering with Bike Works to do that. We now have all the permits in place so the Kona Bike Fest will be on July 1 at Old Airport, and July 2-3 will be our Fun in the Sun Summer Camp.”
The next Lavakids Family Fun Runs will be held on May 19. For more information on the event or to preregister visit lavakids.org.
Coming Up
Sunday: Team Mango will host the 36th Annual Captain Cook Challenge featuring a 1-mile swim across Kealakekua Bay, followed by 2.5-mile trail run, a 28-mile hilly bike, and finishing off with a 4-mile run. The event will begin at 7 a.m. at Kealakekua Bay. For more info and registration details visit www.teammangoraces.com, or contact Carl Koomoa at 324-7252.
