Mayor-A-Thon 2014 Just for Fun

In addition to leading warm-up exercises and livening up the Zumba dancers during last year’s Mayor-A-Thon, Mayor Bernard Carvalho Jr. engaged Jerry Nishek and friends as he bicycled Ke Ala Hele Makalae.

Early in the morning of June 21, droves of bicyclists, runners, walkers and strollers will gather at the Kapa‘a Beach Park for the sixth annual Mayor-A-Thon.

The free event is co-sponsored by the Nutrition and Physical Activity Coalition-Get Fit Kaua‘i and the County of Kaua‘i to encourage physical health and fitness among island residents, and to celebrate Kaua‘i’s multi-use path, the Ke Ala Hele Makalae, or the path that goes by the coast.

Participants should be prepared to strut their smoothest Electric Slide dance moves, loosen up their hips for the hula hoop contests, get funky with Zumba, enjoy family closeness and laugh a lot.

Mayor Bernard Carvalho Jr. sums it up: “It’s a fun, family-oriented event that takes place on our beautiful coastal path! I encourage residents and visitors from across the island to join us.”

“The Mayor-A-Thon is an annual event—it’s a community event—it’s free, and its actually to celebrate a place on the island where we can walk safely, bike safely, and support physical activity in a safe environment,” said Bev Brody, Get Fit Kauai’s island coordinator. “We have had hundreds of people come out every year, and they use this path that we are continuing to build.”

You can get a fuller sense of this lighthearted event by Googling the video that Danica Ola and Melanie Matsunaga, of Chiefess Kamakahelei Middle School Media Productions Class, created in 2012.

In their report, Danica Ola observes, “The great thing about the Mayor-A-Thon is even if you walk, run, rollerblade, or ride your bike, you can go as far as you want, from one mile up to eight miles on this beautiful Kaua‘i path.”

“We didn’t want to have a marathon where people had to walk 26 miles,” Brody commented, “so we made it so anyone of any fitness level can do it — you can walk, bike, ride, stroll one-to-eight miles.”

The 2013 Mayor-A-Thon attracted more than 1,100 people, including several folks from the Mainland who decided to visit Kaua‘i over other islands due to this event, enjoyed a beautiful morning full of fitness, dancing, games, breakfast and celebration.

“I believe that this Mayor-A-Thon will get bigger and bigger each year,” Brody continued. “Every year this event draws more people, and every year the team who put it together reach out and get more people involved.”

During this year’s Mayor-A-Thon, our island will be hosting some very special visitors.

Tommy Noyes

Nearly 300 Army, Navy, Marines and Air Force reservists will be on island for Tropic Care Kaua‘i 2014, a deployment to offer eleven days of free medical clinics from June 16 to 26 at ‘Ele‘ele Elementary School, Kaua‘i Community College and Kapa‘a Middle School. Runners from the different military branches participating in Tropic Care Kaua‘i 14 are expected at the Mayor-A-Thon to compete for bragging rights.

Registration and event details are on-line at www.GetFitKauai.com, or you may call Tommy Noyes at 808 639-1018 for more information.

• Tommy Noyes works for the Hawai‘i State Department of Health’s Public Health Preparedness branch, serves on Kaua‘i Path’s board of directors, and is a League of American Bicyclists certified instructor.