WAHIAWA, Kaua‘i — The Kaua‘i Marathon and Half Marathon, and one of its major sponsors, Kaua‘i Coffee, presented three $1,000 scholarships on Thursday at the Kaua‘i Coffee Visitor Center.
“We’re trying to do this early before the students get involved in their colleges,” said Robin Jumper, who along with Chelsea Smith-Wishard, represented The Kaua‘i Marathon.
Scholarships of $1,000 each were presented to Kimberly-Ann Vidina and Hope Newton, recent graduates of Waimea High School. The third $1,000 was presented to Emma Burgess, a recent Kaua‘i High School graduate who was unable to attend in person because she was already involved in college orientation in Texas.
“She’s focused on nursing,” said Coach Chelsea Smith-Wishard, who accepted the award for Burgess, a Kaua‘i Interscholastic Federation running standout in both cross-country and track and field. “She doesn’t plan to do any running for college, but might do some community club running.”
Vidinha was a sprinter for the Menehune in KIF track and field. She plans on attending the Pacific University to study business with a concentration on marketing.
Newton, another strong athlete for Waimea High School, is planning on attending the University of Texas Austin to study aerospace engineering after finding the field during the isolation of the COVID-19 pandemic.
With the distribution of the scholarships, Thursday, the Kaua‘i Marathon has distributed more than $15,000 in scholarships to Kaua‘i’s high school students. Kaua‘i Coffee joined The Kaua‘i Marathon Youth Running Program in 2014 and has been involved ever since.
The Kaua‘i Marathon Youth Running Program and Keiki race has reached more than 1,700 keiki over nine years. The culmination of the youth program is the 10th annual Kaua‘i Marathon Keiki Run presented by Wilcox Health on Sept. 2, taking place on the far west end of the Grand Hyatt Kaua‘i Resort and Spa. For registration and information, visit www.raceentry.com/races/keiki-run/2023/register.
This year’s Kaua‘i Marathon and Half Marathon takes place Sept. 3 starting at 6 a.m. Both events start on Po‘ipu Road in front of the Po‘ipu Shopping Village.
Registration to participate in the running event is available online at thekauaimarathon.com. Deadline for online registration is Aug. 30 at 11:59 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time.
Race packets, bibs, and participant bags must be picked up at the Wilcox Health Sports and Fitness Expo at the Grand Hyatt Kaua‘i on Sept. 1 and Sept. 2.
