Kailua-Kona runners join PATH’s May Day 5K, celebrate 40 years
Forty-four runners took on PATH’s Kona 5K on the Ane Keohokalole path, turning a fundraiser into a push for safer streets and trail access.
The stretch beside Ane Keohokalole Highway became a showcase for Hawaii Island’s safer-streets push as 44 runners finished PATH’s third annual May Day 5K in Kailua-Kona, a fundraiser tied to the nonprofit’s 40th birthday and its broader transportation work.
Summer Corke won the overall race in 20:19.8, followed by Keegan Pacchioni in 20:47.3 and Jason Braswell in 21:21.9, according to the results posted for the event. The course was an out-and-back on the Ane Keohokalole walking path, with participants gathering at the West Hawaii Civic Center, 74-5044 Ane Keohokalole Hwy. The route started just south of the civic center and Kealakehe Parkway, ran south toward Palani Road and turned back without requiring road closures because it stayed on the path.
For People for Active Transportation Hawaii, the race was more than a timed run. Kelly Hudik, the organization’s chief operating officer and race director, said the event was meant to celebrate PATH’s walking programs and Bike Ed efforts while giving people a chance to be active and feel safe on the roads. That mix of recreation and advocacy has become the organizing idea behind the May Day 5K, which links a community race to the daily reality of getting around West Hawaii without a car.
This year carried added weight because PATH marked 40 years of work on Hawaii Island. A 2024 Hawaii Public Health Institute article said the nonprofit was established in 1986, and PATH’s track record includes helping get the Queen’s Lei trail built, the Walua Road trail built and sustaining a Bike Ed program for more than 25 years. PATH also says its bike education classes serve youth and adults, and children who participate receive free helmets. GuideStar says the program is offered free of charge to interested elementary schools on Hawaii Island through donor support.
The organization’s reach has also shown up in classrooms. A February 2025 West Hawaii Today story reported PATH’s Bike Ed program in fourth-grade classrooms at Kahakai Elementary School, part of an effort that teaches an average of more than 1,000 children a year how to ride bikes safely. That makes the Kona 5K less a one-day fitness event than a public reminder that trail access, bike education and pedestrian safety remain unfinished work on the west side.
PATH’s May Bike Month calendar also included a free group ride and talk-story event, along with the Ride of Silence at the Kona Aquatic Center on May 23. The Ride of Silence is a free, silent ride held during National Bike Month to raise awareness that cyclists have a legal right to the road and should be respected by motorists and officials.
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