Jeff and Liz Sacchini of the Kaua‘i Marathon were on-island to wrap up the 2022 Kaua‘i Marathon by donating a total of $20,000 to three Kaua‘i nonprofit organizations through the charitable giving arm of the event that was run during the Labor Day weekend.
“This is the best part of the Kaua‘i Half Marathon and Marathon,” Jeff Sacchini said.
The Sacchinis were joined by Kaua‘i coordinator Robin Jumper as the trio presented $10,000 to the Boys & Girls Club of Hawai‘i Kaua‘i clubhouses on the grounds of one of the marathon sponsors, the Grand Hyatt Kaua‘i Resort & Spa.
“We just received a new lease for the Boys & Girls Club Kapa‘a Clubhouse,” said Tina Albao, the Boys & Girls Club of Hawai‘i Kaua‘i director of operations and development, who was accompanied by Asaka Herman, the Boys & Girls Club Lihu‘e Clubhouse director, and B&G board’s Jim Braman.
“This award was a surprise for us, but we can certainly use the funds to help with long-awaited improvements to the Kapa‘a Clubhouse. With the new lease, we already have people in place to start work during the winter break.”
The charitable giving also gave a boost to running as the group presented a $5,000 award to Run Kaua‘i, a group that was born of the work by Kaua‘i High School senior Emma Burgess during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic when schools were shut down to athletics.
Burgess, a strong cross country and distance runner for the school’s teams, was scheduled to participate in this year’s marathon, but an ankle injury forced her to withdraw. Instead, she helped Jumper with administrative duties as finishers from the more than 2,000-runner field crossed the finish line fronting the Koloa Landing Resort while her school mate Brennen Corregedore finished fourth overall in the half marathon.
Keith Burgess, Emma’s father and an athletic trainer at Kaua‘i High, said Run Kaua‘i was preparing to shut down following the resumption of school and athletics, but the response to the group led to them hosting a successful Middle School Invitational utilizing the same course (but on a shorter distance) as the course utilized by the Kaua‘i Interscholastic Federation cross country runners.
He said Run Kaua‘i plans to utilize the award to develop a program for elementary school runners to hone their skills for running in track and field events.
“I don’t know how many times I said, ‘Oh, wow!’” said Kumu Hula Leina‘ala Pavao Jardin of Halau Ka Lei Mokihana O Leina‘ala, the recipient of a $5,000 award. “Every time I turned and looked, I couldn’t help but say, ‘Oh, wow!’ The performers with the halau who were helping were so impressed with everything, a lot of them are already saying they want to walk or run the event in the future.”
Jumper said plans for the 2023 event have already started for the Labor Day weekend races.
• Info: thekauaimarathon.com
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Dennis Fujimoto, staff writer and photographer, can be reached at 808-245-0453 or dfujimoto@thegardenisland.com.
