By Rani Henderson Special to West Hawaii Today
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In the final virtual event highlighting a theme based on Legends of Hawaii, race organizers from Aloha Sports Kona presents The Legend of Makoa Virtual 5K, 10K, 8-mile and 10-mile runs.

According to the virtual event flyer, Kukini were among an elite group of men who ran great distances to carry out messages between Alii (chief) to summon warriors, and to procure items from afar. It is said that when Makoa was young, he would walk on his toes without his heels touching the ground to increase his leg strength.

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One day while at Kawaihae on the island of Hawaii, King Kamehameha sat for his meal. When his retainers found no fresh amaama or pond mullet available in the area, the King summoned the swiftest runner to fetch this from his pond in Waiakea, on the east side of the island, a journey of over 80 miles long.

Makoa left early in the morning and returned with the amaama in a ti leaf before sunset. When they unwrapped the fish from the ti leaves they noticed that the fish was still alive! Thus, the King sat and enjoyed his meal.

The Legends of Hawaii Virtual race series of four progressive events started in February beginning with the Legend of Naupaka Virtual 5K, followed by The Legend of Pele and Pohaku in April, then July’s Legend of Haloa, and finally The Legend of Makoa. The virtual races series is intended to be progressive with participants given four weeks to complete each event all in preparation for Aloha Sports Kona’s live 10-mile trail event scheduled for Nov. 20th.

Janet Higa-Miller, co-founder of Aloha Sports Kona, said the live 10-mile event — The Hapuna Trail Runs — will be held at Hapuna Beach State Park on the 2019 XTERRA Hawaii Island bike course. Featured distances for the in-person event will be 10 miles, 5 miles and 5K. Details and a registration link will be available in September.

“We are very excited to currently have the green light on our live trail run event for November, and are constantly monitoring the COVID-19 pandemic conditions so that we can ensure it is as safe as possible for the runners and the community when the final decision is made to get to the start line and hold this event in real life,” Higa-Miller said. “We are hopeful that the state parks will be open in November and that outdoor activities will again be encouraged. We have made plans for masking, social distancing and sanitizing protocols to be in place as needed.”

Higa-Miller added the event is co-ed and each age group will start in a separate wave to comply with state and county limitations on group gathering size. Should it be determined that holding the event live is not in the best interest of our community, Higa-Miller said the event will then go virtual with the live event rescheduled.

“We at Aloha Sports Kona believe trail running can benefit overall health and wellness,” Higa-Miller said. “Taking the time to venture outside can result in a newfound appreciation for the great outdoors and having a little adventure puts some fun in your day.”

Registration begins today for The Legend of Makoa Virtual 5K, 10K, 8-mile and 10-mile runs on Active.com. Each participant will receive a cool trucker hat and entered into weekly prize giveaways from local sponsors. For more information about the virtual trail run series and the upcoming live 10-mile event scheduled for Nov. 20th visit alohasportskona.com.