Kaua‘i Marathon will go virtually

The 12th Annual Kaua‘i Marathon and Half Marathon, scheduled for Sept. 6, has been moved to virtual status, its name changed to Stride for Kaua‘i 2020, organizers said Tuesday.

“While our community and world face new challenges daily, we understand that there is a huge responsibility to the health and well-being of our participants, volunteers, staff, spectators, sponsors and island resources required to produce a safe race,” states the announcement from marathon organizers.

“We also realize that runners/walkers/skippers are in dire need of camaraderie, motivation and the aloha spirit, so we are announcing the shift to virtual with the help of professional runner Tyler McCandless, co-founder and CEO of Soul Focus Sports, JT Service and runner extraordinaire and virtual event host Bart Yasso.”

Details for the switch are simple — all registered participants for the 2020 Kaua‘i Marathon or Half Marathon will be contacted with the option to go virtual or defer their registration to the 2021 event.

“These last few months have brought many changes to all of our lives,” said Jeff and Liz Sacchini in a letter posted to the Kaua‘i Marathon website. “Liz and I are well aware that you have been training extremely hard on your journey to The Kaua‘i Marathon and Half Marathon start line, and we want to honor those efforts and commitments the best we can.”

Participants who opt for the virtual event and register for the 2021 event will receive an added bonus of a long- sleeve logo T-shirt in their swag bag.

For those already registered for the 2020 Kaua‘i Marathon or Half Marathon, there is no need to do anything. Organizers will switch the runner to the virtual event. For new participants, there is accommodation for registering on thekauaimarathon.com website.

From Sept. 1 to 6, virtual-race participants can complete the marathon or half-marathon mileage continuously, on the same day and on the route and time of their choosing.

Once executed, they can upload their time to raceentry.com by the end of day Sept. 6.

“With the virtual option, you will be able to choose your own path, record your time, receive a race bib, finisher’s certificate, and earn a fabulous swag bag of goodies in the mail, including a logo-ed race bag, logo-ed performance T-shirt, slippah finisher’s medal as well as Kaua‘i-themed products from our sponsors like Kaua‘i Coffee, the Grand Hyatt Kaua‘i and Wilcox Health,” the Sacchinis said. “We also plan to offer Zoom training meetings as well as clever social-media giveaways.”

“By supporting our race, you are helping our island community heal, one stride at a time, and helping to ensure we can all be together at the start line in 2021,” the Sacchini’s said.

posted Wednesday June 10th
by Dennis Fujimoto