POIPU — Mathea Allansmith said she will be 94 years, 3 months and a day old on Sunday when the Kaua‘i Marathon starts at 6 a.m. with a field of more than 2,000 runners at the entrance to the Poipu Shopping Village.
“They need to know the exact age on Marathon Day,” Allansmith said. “I’m trying to break the Guiness record for The Oldest Female to Finish the Half Marathon.”
Allansmith is one of the runners in the 15th running of the Kauai Marathon, being joined by Lisa Ledesma who is a veteran runner of all 15 marathon events. The runners were picking up their race packets and bibs on Friday during the muilti-day Wilcox Health Sports and Fitness Expo at the Grand Hyatt Kauai Resort and Spa.
“We’re doing the skin tests, tomorrow on the outside area of the Grand Ballroom,” announced Faith Campbell of Wilcox Health. “Following the Kauai Marathon, we’ll be preparing for the annual Keiki Halloween Parade that always takes place on Oct. 31.”
Wilcox Health also presents the 11th annual Keiki Run that takes place on Saturday starting at 9 a.m. at the west end of the Grand Hyatt Kaua‘i. The event, according to the Kauai Marathon website, is sold out.
Darla Domingo, of Kauai Coffee, another major sponsor of the Kauai Marathon, said her grandkids are registered for the Keiki Run and she’ll be there to support them like she did during the 2023 event.
Following the start, Kauai Marathon runners, including winning runners, one male — Sdeiya Waragai — and one female — Saki Shimada, from the Iwaki Sunshine Marathon in Japan, head east to the Poipu Bypass Road.
“There are only two of us that’ll be running,” said Dr. Joel Punzal of Punzal Vision. “The rest of the staff are all ‘athletic supporters’ and we’ll have an aid station across from the moto-x track on the main highway. We’re here at the expo to get the shots for the staff. We support local, you know.”
Passing aid stations featuring hula dancers, taiko ensembles and more, the group will make its way up Maluhia Road that will be completely closed from 6 a.m. to 8 a.m. to Kaumuali‘i Highway, where the group will make a left turn to run to Omao Road.
At the bottom of Omao Road at the Koloa Roundabout, the group will separate from the full marathon runners heading west through the neighborhoods of Lawai and Kalaheo. The half marathoners head to Poipu and the finish line set up near the Koloa Landing Resort, where the awards will be announced starting around 10:30 a.m.
Traffic modifications will impact the south side through most of the day, especially from 5 a.m. until approximately 1 p.m. A full listing of all the traffic advisories can be found on The Kauai Marathon website at thekauaimarathon.com.
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Dennis Fujimoto, staff writer and photographer, can be reached at 808-245-0453 or dfujimoto@thegardenisland.com.
