The Hawai'i Pacific Health Great Aloha Run is a road race that takes place annually in Honolulu, Hawaii on the third weekend in February (Washington's Birthday in the United States). It is a charity event that benefits Carole Kai Charities, a philanthropic fund run by Hawaii entertainer Carole Kai. Kai, Honolulu Marathon founder Jack Scaff, M.D., and publicist-journalist Buck Buchwach founded the race in 1985, and since its inception it has donated over $14 million to over 100 non-profit organizations in Hawaii. [1] [2]
Kaiser Permanente was the title sponsor for the 2010 race until 2018, when Hawai'i Pacific Health took the title sponsorship. Prior to that, local telephone company Hawaiian Telcom was the title sponsor from 2005 to 2009, while the Honolulu Advertiser has been a sponsor of the race since its inception.
The 8.15 miles (13.12 km) course starts in downtown Honolulu on Nimitz Highway across from Aloha Tower, and runs west on Nimitz Highway along Honolulu Harbor, under the Interstate H-1 viaduct near Honolulu International Airport, and along Kamehameha Highway, finishing on the floor of Aloha Stadium. The Aloha Tower to Aloha Stadium route gives the race its name.
About 25,000 runners, mostly Hawaii residents, run the race each year. This number also includes as many as 5,000 members of the United States Armed Forces who run in formation as the "Sounds of Freedom" division. The Great Aloha Run is the second largest road race in Hawaii, after the Honolulu Marathon, which attracts an international field and is marketed heavily in Japan. [3]
Honolulu is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is the unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island of Oʻahu, and is the westernmost and southernmost major U.S. city. Honolulu is Hawaii's main gateway to the world. It is also a major hub for business, finance, hospitality, and military defense in both the state and Oceania. The city is characterized by a mix of various Asian, Western, and Pacific cultures, reflected in its diverse demography, cuisine, and traditions.
Interstate H-3 (H-3) is an Interstate Highway located entirely within the US state of Hawaii on the island of Oʻahu. H-3 is also known as the John A. Burns Freeway, after the second governor of Hawaii. It crosses the Koʻolau Range along several viaducts and through the 5,165-foot-long (1,574 m) Tetsuo Harano Tunnels as well as the much smaller Hospital Rock Tunnels.
Kāneʻohe is a census-designated place (CDP) included in the City and County of Honolulu and in Hawaiʻi state District of Koʻolaupoko on the island of Oʻahu. In the Hawaiian language, kāne ʻohe means "bamboo man". According to an ancient Hawaiian story, a local woman compared her husband's cruelty to the sharp edge of cutting bamboo; thus the place was named Kāneʻohe or "bamboo man".
The Honolulu Marathon is a marathon in Honolulu, Hawaii, first held in 1973. It is one of the world's largest marathons, taking place annually on the second Sunday in December. The marathon is popular for its location in Hawaii, and is also popular among first-time marathoners, many of whom are visitors from Japan.
Aloha Stadium is a closed multi-purpose stadium located in Halawa, Hawaii, a western suburb of Honolulu. It is the largest stadium in the state of Hawaii. As of December 2020, the stadium ceased fan-attended operations indefinitely, and placed a moratorium on the scheduling of new events. It is located next to the Hālawa station of the Skyline rail system.
The Hawaiʻi Bowl is a college football bowl game that has been played in the Honolulu, Hawaii area since 2002. The game was originally held at Aloha Stadium in Halawa, Hawaii, a suburb of Honolulu, before moving to the Clarence T. C. Ching Athletics Complex in 2022. The bowl is one of the post-season contests run by ESPN Events. Typically played on or near Christmas Eve, the bowl normally features a team from the Mountain West Conference, playing a team from either the American Athletic Conference or Conference USA. Since the 2021 edition of the bowl, it is sponsored by EasyPost. Previous sponsors include ConAgra Foods (2002) and Sheraton Hotels and Resorts Hawaii (2003–2013), and SoFi (2018–2019).
Salt Lake is a neighborhood of Honolulu, Hawaii on the island of O‘ahu. The area is also known as Āliamanu after a nearby crater, although Salt Lake itself is in a crater called Ālia pa‘akai — meaning "salt pond" in the Hawaiian language. The Salt Lake community was developed in the 1960s during a construction boom, providing residents with an expansive view of downtown Honolulu and the sugarcane plantations of the central plain of O‘ahu. It is a community of high-rise condominiums, mid-rise town-dwellings, and houses snaking around the remnants of a now freshwater lake.
The Aloha Tower is a retired lighthouse that is considered one of the landmarks of the state of Hawaii in the United States. Opened on September 11, 1926, at a then astronomical cost of $160,000, the Aloha Tower is located at Pier 9 of Honolulu Harbor. It has been, and continues to be, a guiding beacon welcoming vessels to the City and County of Honolulu. Just as the Statue of Liberty greeted hundreds of thousands of immigrants each year to New York City, the Aloha Tower greeted hundreds of thousands of immigrants to Honolulu. At 10 stories and 184 feet (56 m) of height topped with 40 feet (12 m) of flag mast, for four decades the Aloha Tower was the tallest structure in Hawaii. It was built in the Hawaiian Gothic architectural style.
Honolulu Harbor, also called Kulolia and Ke Awa O Kou and the Port of Honolulu, is the principal seaport of Honolulu and the State of Hawaiʻi in the United States. From the harbor, the City & County of Honolulu was developed and urbanized, in an outward fashion, over the course of the modern history of the island of Oahu. It includes Matson, Inc. harbors on Sand Island.
Honolulu Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium located in the Moʻiliʻili district of Honolulu, Hawai'i, at the corner of King and Isenberg Streets. Opened in 1926, it was the primary sports venue in Hawaiʻi preceding Aloha Stadium. During its final years, the stadium could hold about 25,000 fans; it was demolished in 1976. A public park, Old Stadium Park, now occupies the location. A plaque at the corner of King and Isenberg commemorates the stadium. Some of the property wall that stood behind the stands on the west end still remains.
The following is an alphabetical list of articles related to the U.S. state of Hawaii:
Downtown Honolulu is the current historic, economic, and governmental center of Honolulu, the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii. It is bounded by Nuʻuanu Stream to the west, Ward Avenue to the east, Vineyard Boulevard to the north, and Honolulu Harbor to the south. Both modern and historic buildings and complexes are located in the area, with many of the latter declared National Historic Landmarks on the National Register of Historic Places.
Hawaiʻi Pacific University (HPU) is a private university in downtown Honolulu, Makapuʻu and Kāneʻohe, Hawaiʻi. Oceanic Institute of HPU, an aquaculture research facility, is located at Makapuʻu Point. HPU is also present on military installations on the island of Oʻahu.
The Royal Hawaiian Band is the oldest and only full-time municipal band in the United States. At present a body of the City & County of Honolulu, the Royal Hawaiian Band has been entertaining Honolulu residents and visitors since its inception in 1836 by Kamehameha III. During the monarchy it was nominally a military band. It reached global prominence under the leadership of Prussian Heinrich "Henri" Berger, an officer of the imperial German army loaned to the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi in 1872. Berger composed many beloved marching tunes and other melodies, and would later be honored with the title of "Father of Hawaiian Music." He collaborated with King Kalākaua in creating Hawaiʻi Ponoʻi, the national anthem of Hawaiʻi; it is still used today as the official state song.
Kamehameha Highway is one of the main highways serving suburban and rural O‘ahu in the U.S. state of Hawai‘i. Informally known as Kam Highway, it begins at Nimitz Highway near Pearl Harbor and Hickam Air Force Base in Honolulu, serves the island's older western suburbs, and turns north across the O‘ahu Central Valley to the North Shore. At the North Shore, Kamehameha Highway heads northeast around the northern tip of O‘ahu, then southeast to and just beyond Kāne‘ohe Bay on the windward coast. The road was named after King Kamehameha I.
Carole Kai is an entertainer, recording artist, and philanthropist from Hawaii.
Honolulu County, officially known as the City and County of Honolulu, is a consolidated city-county in the U.S. state of Hawaii. The city-county includes both Urban Honolulu and the rest of the neighborhoods on the island of Oʻahu, as well as several minor outlying islands, including all of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands except Midway Atoll.
Route 72, commonly known as Kalanianaʻole Highway, is the main highway serving southeast Oʻahu. Beginning at the eastern terminus of Interstate H-1 (H-1), the east–west highway travels along the southeastern shore of Oʻahu through various residential neighborhoods, including Hawaiʻi Kai. It turns northwest at Makapuʻu and runs through Waimānalo before terminating in Maunawili at an intersection with Kamehameha Highway and Pali Highway. The highway is named for Jonah Kūhiō Kalanianaʻole, a former prince of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi.
Hālawa station is a Skyline metro station in Hālawa, Hawaiʻi, serving Aloha Stadium, ʻAiea, Salt Lake, and Moanalua. The station is located alongside Kamehameha Highway above its intersection with Salt Lake Boulevard. It serves as the eastern terminus of the current rail system and opened on June 30, 2023. The station has a 590-space park and ride lot.