Two iconic events will now be held as virtual races. Organizers of the Honolulu Marathon and Great Aloha Run have recently announced the change, and now follow a long list of events having to go virtual due to the pandemic.
In the latest race update on Oct. 22, Honolulu Marathon organizers stated: “After consulting with all our stakeholders, the City and County of Honolulu, the State of Hawaii and our sponsors, the Honolulu Marathon Association has decided that the appropriate and safest course of action is not to conduct the 2020 Honolulu Marathon, Start to Park 10 and Kalakaua Merrie Mile in December.
“We understand that it has been difficult for you to train and to plan trips to Hawaii under these circumstances and we thank you for your patience in waiting for the final announcement.”
In addition, organizers of the Great Aloha Run announced this week that next year’s 37th annual event will also be held as a virtual race. The virtual running event will take place from Feb. 8-15. Participants will have those eight days to run 8.15 miles, which is the equivalent of running from Aloha Tower to Aloha Stadium. Proceeds of the Great Aloha Run will go to Hawaii charities.
Several Big Islanders who consistently make the inter-island trip for both races shared their thoughts on the transition to a virtual format.
“I can’t believe it took this long for them to make the call,” said Bree Brown, a 10-time Honolulu Marathon finisher. “And it’s really sad to see so many wonderful events have to make that hard call, but I think it’s the right call.”
Kailua-Kona’s Jon Jokiel added: “I think it’s a good idea to have a way to participate in these two great Hawaii events after many months of training. Personally, with COVID I shifted my training into shorter and easier workouts and took some time off. Did a lot of workouts with David Wild’s run club. I’m coming back from a knee injury now too, so I would not be ready to do the race in December anyway. It would have been my 15th in a row — looking to do 2021!”
December’s Honolulu Marathon, now being called the “Virtual Beachfest,” will allow marathon runners to complete the 26.2-mile trek over the span of multiple days or a single day if preferred. Those who have already registered for the 2020 event have received a unique code to transfer their entry to enter this year’s virtual option, or they can choose to defer to the 2021 events.
Participants will need to submit proof of their run with evidence via a running tracking app of their choice such as Strava, Runkeeper, Garmin or any other tracking app. Participants can alternatively run on a treadmill and submit a photo of the treadmill dashboard.
For the race to count, event organizers say participants must run anytime between Dec. 1 and Dec. 31. Registration is set to remain open through Dec. 31. All virtual finishers will receive their finisher shirts and medals in the mail, as well as digital race bibs, certificates, a digital finishers magazine and more.
For more information on the Honolulu Marathon and Great Aloha Run visit their websites at honolulumarathon.org and greataloharun.com.
