Kona Marathon draws biggest turnout since return, kicks off Fourth of July day
Nearly 1,000 runners gave Kona’s July 4 celebration an early start, filling Alii Drive before sunrise and forcing closures through midday.
Nearly 1,000 runners and walkers filled the Royal Kona Resort and Spa at dawn Saturday, giving the 28th Kona Marathon Events its biggest turnout since the race returned to Kona and putting the west side on holiday footing before sunrise. The field turned the Fourth of July into both a visitor draw and a street-level disruption, with road closures and traffic changes set for Alii Drive and Kuakini Highway from 3:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
The races started with the marathon at 5:30 a.m., followed by the half marathon at 6:00 a.m., the 5K at 6:45 a.m. and the quarter marathon at 7:00 a.m. All four courses ran through Historic Kailua Village and back along scenic Alii Drive, with runners looping toward Old Airport Park before returning to the finish area near Royal Kona. Organizers and the Kailua Village Business Improvement District used the event as the opening act for a full day of Independence Day programming, with the parade scheduled for 6:00 p.m. and fireworks over Kailua Bay at 8:00 p.m.
The official results page listed 123 starters in the marathon, 235 in the half marathon, 168 in the quarter marathon and 316 in the 5K. Jarrett Gulden won the marathon in 2:53:22, while Rachael Sullivan finished in 3:41:22. Jeremy Keirn took the half marathon in 1:15:34. Runners were encouraged to stay for the parade and fireworks after collecting medals and snacks at the finish.
The day also carried a larger civic theme. Kailua Village Parade Committee materials tied the 2026 celebration to the nation’s semiquincentennial, the 250th anniversary of U.S. independence, and gave the parade the theme “America The Beautiful.” For Kona businesses along Alii Drive, that meant a pre-dawn rush of runners, volunteers and spectators before the holiday crowds shifted toward the evening parade route and Kailua Bay shoreline.
One of the race’s more visible human stories came from Marri Murdoch, an Oahu resident and visually impaired marathon runner, who tackled the Kona Coast with guide Eric Helms to raise awareness for Travel Visions Aloha for the Blind. The route’s runner- and walker-friendly design, along with aid stations and the compact downtown course, kept the event rooted in Historic Kailua Village even as it pulled in visitors from outside Hawaii Island.
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