The 2011 Kauai Marathon, Half Marathon and Marathon Relay were a resounding success with multiple course records broken, largest field boasted in race history and an abundance of aloha spread throughout the day. The performance of the morning came in the marathon from Tyler McCandless, 24 of Boulder, Colorado running 2:23:21 on an extremely challenging course in temperate conditions. He crushed the course record and won the Kauai Marathon Speed Challenge of a Sub-­‐2:30. Trailed closely by 2010 winner, Michael Wardian, 37 of Arlington, Virginia finished in 2:26:19. Both Americans eclipsed the elusive Sub-­‐2:30 mark each earning a share of $15,000.

The top female finisher for the full marathon was Rumi Otani of Iwaki City, Japan with a course record time of 3:10:5 followed by 2010 winner Becki Lassley with a time of 3:25:17. Neither came in under the women’s $15,000 Challenge standard of 2:45.

Clark Davis of Duncan, South Carolina won the half marathon in 1:19:53. The lead runner for the female division was Emily Shertzer from Jonestown Pennsylvania with a time of 1:20:09, which is a new course record. Kauai’s top finishers were Mark Bogner and Mary Castelanelli for the full marathon and Jordan Kahawai and Brook Sugahara for the half marathon.

The elite event featured 1,723 participants represented by 47 states, Guam and DC, as well as 13 countries. For the 2011 Half Marathon, there were 1,204 runners, while the full marathon had 424 runners. Twenty-­‐six relay teams were comprised of 95 runners. More than half of the participants were women.

Jeff Sacchini, race founder, long had a vision of bringing a world-­‐class marathon to Kauai. He knew that with great leadership and Kauai’s generous support, the island’s aloha spirit would be shared with visitors from around the world while enhancing the local economy. He states, “We successfully completed the 3rd Annual Kauai Marathon with the Speed Challenge broken by two runners. The community support throughout the course was abundant as a record crowd turned out to the support the runners. The participants passed hula dancers, Taiko drum troupes, striking mountain views, and each concluded their journey along one of the most beautiful oceanfront finish lines in road racing.”

Endurance sports celebrities Dean Karnazes and Runner’s World’s Chief Running Officer Bart Yasso were both on hand for the week’s festivities handing out tips and inspiration to all the runners. Yasso believes the event is one of the best because of the accessibility to his fellow running community through the Expo, expert panel discussion, pre race fun run and the carbo load luau. He loves the personal connections he makes and always looks forward to meeting the people of Kauai.

Amazingly two individuals completed their 400th lifetime marathon in Kauai this year. Robbie “Red Hat” Wilson and Yen Nguyen both successfully conquered their milestones on one of the most challenging, yet beautiful road courses in the world.

Several sponsors made the event possible including: Kauai Visitor’s Bureau, County of Kauai, Hawaii Tourism Authority, Sheraton Kauai Resort, Grand Hyatt Kauai, Fresh Point, Kauai Coffee, Kalapaki Joe’s, Kauai Heritage Properties, Poipu Beach Resort Association and Holo Holo Boat Tours. Many local businesses assisted by providing volunteer lunches, accommodations and supplies for the medical tent.

Over $7,000 was generously donated to numerous local non-­‐profit groups volunteering for race day activities. Kukui’ula Canoe Club, Kalaheo Elementary School, Koloa Elementary School, Kapaa High School Project Grad and the American Red Cross are just a few. Other non-­‐profit groups attended the event including A-­‐T and Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Collectively they raised over $220,000 for their charities.