Great Aloha Run

Great Aloha Run starts this morning at 7 a.m. The course is just over 8 miles long on fairly flat asphalt. It begins at Aloha Tower and end at the Aloha Stadium. Says the GAR website, “Ke Kukini Me Ke Aloha Pau‘ole [the Hawaiian translation of the Great Aloha Run] expresses the essence of the Hawaiian Telcom Great Aloha Run GAR.

In its 25th year, the 8.15-mile run benefits local charities including D.A.R.E, the Girl Scout Council, Hawai'i Newspaper in Education, Kick Start Hawai'i, Leeward Special Olympics, National Multiple Sclerosis Society, MWR Facilities, United Cerebral Palsy of Hawai'i, the Well of Hope Foundation, the Variety School of Hawai'i, and the Kaimuki YMCA. Since 1985, the race has raised more than $7.6 million and helped more than 150 nonprofit groups.

"Runner's World" magazine has called the event one of the top foot races in the United States. The 80 people who have done all 24 races will be honored at a party at the stadium. The course record was set at 40:02 by Rachid Tbahi of Morocco in 1996. Ala Moana Boulevard and Nimitz Highway east-bound starting at 4:30 a.m. to about 8 a.m. and then west-bound to Valkenburgh, until after the race passes.