200-Plus Mile Hawai‘i Island Relay Set for Weekend

Athletes from all over the world will begin a 200-plus mile relay run across the northern districts of Hawai’i Island this weekend starting at 5 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 4, 2017, at the Hilo Bayfront Park.

The race will span two days, finishing on Sunday, Nov. 5, at Hapuna Beach State Park.

This race consists of 68 teams of runners, with a single runner from each team on the road at a time and a support vehicle for each team.

Over 200 volunteers across the island will be helping with the race.

Athletes will be running during the night hours in the Kohala area:

• Kohala Mountain Road between 2 and 11 p.m. on Saturday. Going northbound running with traffic from Hawai‘i Preparatory Academy
• Akoni Pule Highway (270) between 4:30 p.m. and 2:30 a.m. on Saturday and into Sunday. Going southbound running against traffic from Hawi.
• Kawaihae Road between 7:30 p.m. and 6 a.m. on Saturday and into Sunday. Going eastbound running against traffic from Hapuna into Waimea.
• Runners will travel down Waikoloa Road, enter Waikoloa Village via Paniolo Avenue and proceed to Waikoloa Elementary & Middle School before running back to Waikoloa Road and proceeding down Waikoloa Road to Queen Ka‘ahumanu Highway. They will be in the village between midnight Saturday and 9 a.m. on Sunday.

Electronic sign boards along the highway have served to warn drivers about the upcoming race. Drivers may experience traffic slowdowns this coming weekend. It is important that we be mindful of these athletes on our roads and drive safely.