Kona Running
Big Island, Hawai‘i
Kona, Big Island
Big Island Miles
Running here takes a short adjustment. Heat, humidity, hills, and not much dedicated path. None of it is a dealbreaker, and all of it is worth knowing before you arrive rather than finding out on your first Tuesday.
What Nobody Tells You First
Three things reshape how you run in Kona. There are very few dedicated paths, so most people share Aliʻi Drive, the Queen’s Lei Trail along Ane Keohokalole Highway, and Walua Road. Midday is genuinely not an option most of the year. And almost all of Kona sits on the slope of Hualalai, which is why every house has a view and why nothing is flat.
The upside is that you can drive twenty minutes and change climates entirely. Cool forest at Kaloko, open ranch land in Waimea, exposed lava on the Kohala Coast. Most people here settle into two or three routes and rotate them by what the weather is doing.
The Jingle Bell Beach Run
My wife, Rani, started the Jingle Bell Beach Run in 2005, and we have put it on together every year since. It is now the largest 5K on the Big Island, and it manages to be two things at once.
On the surface, it is a holiday morning. Costumes, families, giveaways, and a keiki dash that is worth showing up for on its own. Underneath that, it is often the most competitive 5K race in the state. Elite runners come through over the holidays, and we have seen sub-15-minute 5Ks come off this course. If you race, this one is on the calendar.
Kona Running Events
Kona Marathon
The island’s largest marathon, and a full weekend rather than a single race. Full, half, quarter, and 5K, with a coastal course through Aliʻi Drive and the Keauhou stretch. It is beautiful, and it is hard, because June on this coast means heat and humidity from the gun. Runners come from the mainland and abroad for it, making it the closest thing Kona has to a destination race.
Run For Hops
A 10K and 5K run and walk in March that benefits PATH, the local advocacy group behind Safe Routes to School and bike education. The course zigzags through Kona’s Old Industrial area, starting and finishing at the BMW dealership, which sounds unpromising and is actually a fast, fun morning. It runs alongside the Kona Brewers Festival and draws a genuinely competitive local field.
Mac-A-Thon
The oldest annual road race on this island, a 10K and 5K organized by the Keoua Canoe Club on the old single-lane Government Road above Honaunau Bay. Out and back, undulating, and run on Easter Eve every year. Families here have been doing it across generations. The mac-nut pancake breakfast afterward is not a side detail. For many people, it is the reason.
The PATH May Day 5K
A 10K, 5K, and Keiki Dash held during IRONMAN™ race week, starting and finishing at Hale Halawai in Kailua-Kona. It draws a strong field, partly because the island is full of very fit people that week. Proceeds fund the PATH bike and safety education program, which reaches more than 1,000 students and adults each year. Good way into race week without racing.
Pure Kona Half
A half marathon and 5K in November along Aliʻi Drive, run by the 100% Pure Kona Coffee events group. Mostly flat with a few short climbs, the worst of which is the pitch at the Keauhou turnaround that everyone here calls The Pit. Starts and finishes at Coconut Grove Marketplace, and there is Kona coffee at the end, which is the correct incentive.
Run For Hope
A 10K and 5K run and walk at Four Seasons Resort Hualalai in September, benefiting cancer research in Hawaii. The course runs through the golf course and the resort pathways, which makes it one of the prettier and more unusual race routes on this coast. It is built as a weekend rather than a morning, with dining and golf events around it.
Run For The Dry Forest
A trail race at Puʻu Waʻawaʻa, twenty minutes north of Kailua-Kona, with a 10K, a 5K run or walk, and a half-mile keiki run. Proceeds go toward conserving the dryland forest there, which is home to bird and plant species found nowhere else on Earth. Off-grid, genuinely scenic, and a completely different surface than anything in town.
Hearts and Trails
A women’s trail race at Puʻu Waʻawaʻa in February, with three-mile and five-mile options hosted at Makani Golf Club. The course traverses exposed ranchland and sections of the golf course, offering long views down the Kohala Coast. Hilly throughout. Proceeds benefit the Puʻu Waʻawaʻa Dry Forest Reserve, same as the October race.
Kona Running
Where to Run in Kona
Ali‘i Drive
The default Kona run and the one everybody goes to for a reason. Flat, oceanfront, and you can turn around at whatever mileage you want. It is also part of the IRONMAN™ marathon course, so you are running the same road the world championship finishes on. Busy with traffic and pedestrians through the day, which is another argument for going early.
Old Airport
The closest thing Kona has to a proper running park – which is being kind. A flat mile of old runway plus the beach path alongside it, with parking, restrooms, and shade at the edges. It is where people go for intervals and where a lot of the local run groups meet. Short enough that you loop it several times, which some people mind and most do not.
Queen’s Lei Trail
Known here as the Queen’s Lei Trail, a dedicated paved path running alongside the highway above town. It is the rare Kona option with real separation from traffic, which matters if you are running with kids or a stroller. Fully exposed and it climbs gently, so it is honest work in the middle of the day.
Kaloko Trails
Trail running in cool ohia and fern forest fifteen minutes up Kaloko Drive. Soft surface, real shade, and a genuine break from the heat down at sea level. Roots and rock in places, and it gets slick after rain. You have to drive to it, but on a hot week it is worth the fifteen minutes.
Pine Trees Beach
My favorite run in Kona. Mixed surface along the ocean between Pine Trees at Kohanaiki and the Energy Lab, roughly two miles each way, and you repeat it for whatever mileage you want. The footing is softer than pavement and easier on the body over time. It is also genuinely beautiful and unlike anywhere else you will run. Fully exposed, so go early morning or the hour before sunset.
Walua Road
The neighborhood run, and the one you will see a lot of local residents on – especially walkers – and sometimes “packs” of walkers. A quiet stretch above Kuakini Highway that walkers, runners, and dog owners have used for years, with shade in places and far less traffic than the coast road. Rolling rather than flat. If you live in town, this is the route you fall into without planning to.
GIving Back
Twenty Years of Early December Mornings…
Community is everything
Much of what I know about running in Kona I learned putting on a race. Rani and I have organized the Jingle Bell Beach Run since 2005, which means two decades of course permits, road closures, water stops, and standing in the dark at five in the morning waiting for the volunteers to arrive.
That teaches you a place from an angle most people never see. Which roads the county will close and which they will not, who to call, how a neighborhood actually moves on a Saturday morning. It is not the kind of knowledge that shows up in a market report, and it comes up more often than you would think.
Planning Ahead, What to Know:
Beat the Heat
Run early or run late. Kona heat, humidity, and UV are not a suggestion, and the middle of the day is not a training window here; it is a risk. Most locals are out before seven. Carry water on anything over four miles, because there is very little shade and almost no public fountains.
About Those Hills
Almost all of Kona is built on the slope of Hualalai, which is why the homes here generally have great views, and why your legs will notice. Very little here is truly flat except Aliʻi Drive and the Old Airport. Plan for it. It is also free hill training, which is helpful if you are building toward something.
Running Stores
Big Island Running Company in Kailua-Kona handles shoes, fitting, and gear and is the hub for much of the local running community. Bike Works carries running gear as well. Between them, you can get properly fitted here without ordering off the mainland and guessing at sizing.
What Runners Ask Me Before Buying
The question underneath most of these is whether you can run out the door. In Kona, that is a real variable. Some neighborhoods put you on Aliʻi Drive or the Old Airport in a few minutes. Others put you on a highway shoulder with no sidewalk, at which point you are driving to every run, and most people who drive to every run stop going.
Elevation is the other half. A house at eight hundred feet is a different climate than one at sea level, and that shows up every single morning. If running matters to how you want to live here, it is worth building into the search from the start.
If You Love to Run, Here is Where to Buy
FAQ
Common Questions About Running In Kona
Talk Story
Every Big Island move starts with a conversation. Tell me what you are looking for, and we will take it from there.
75-1029 Henry St., Suite 301
Kailua-Kona, HI 96740
Phone: (808) 345-6214
Email: penn@pennhenderson.com
