Posted on: Saturday, February 16, 2002
21,000 in Aloha Run to have staggered starts
By Karen Blakeman
Advertiser Staff Writer
Staggered start times and microchips worn on shoes are new features that will greet the 21,000 people expected to hit Honolulu's streets Monday morning for the 18th Great Aloha Run.
The event begins at about sunrise at Aloha Tower and continues until everyone — from the elite, super-fast runners to laid-back walkers pushing strollers — has made it to the finish line, 8.15 miles later, at Aloha Stadium.
Race director Alan Sunio said yesterday that 21,000 runners were registered for the charity event and more were expected to sign up over the weekend.
"It looks good," he said. "We're a little above last year."
Proceeds from the Great Aloha Run are donated to local charities. Last year's proceeds totaled $248,000, Sunio said.
The record time is just a few seconds over 39 minutes, set by New Zealand's Rex Wilson in 1987.
The majority of the contestants won't finish that quickly, however, and the finish line remains open until 11 a.m.
As always, many downtown streets will be closed from 4 a.m. until the race passes.
New for the race this year will be staggered start times, said race director Alan Sunio. Military participants begin at 6:48 a.m., elite racers start at 6:53 a.m., moderate runners at 7 a.m. and the last group crosses the start line at 7:08 a.m.
Participants with strollers should start with the last group to prevent congestion, injury and potential increases to Aloha Run insurance premiums, Sunio said.
"Other races on the Mainland have banned strollers," Sunio said. "We want to avoid doing that."
The method of timing runners is also new this year. Participants will wear microchips on their shoes that will record the time they cross a mat at the start line and the time they cross another mat at the finish line.
In the interest of maintaining relations with late-sleeping downtown residents, the Army National Guard's howitzer will be used only once, to start the elite runners.
