Lahaina teacher, marathon runner raising funds for Maui

One step in front of another.

Step by step, Lahaina Intermediate School teacher Nate Kahaiali‘i has faith there will be progress toward recovery from the Aug. 8 Maui wildfires that destroyed his childhood home.

Whereas running marathons had been a newly discovered pursuit prior to the wildfire, they now have a whole new meaning for Kahaiali‘i.

They represent survival, triumph over loss, and resilience — and present an opportunity to raise money for his community in Lahaina as they recover from the tragedy.

“Everyone has been saying this is a marathon, not a sprint,” said Kahaiali‘i. “The recovery’s going to take a long time. That’s basically how it is, one step at a time, one day at a time. It definitely gives new meaning to running to me.”

Kahaiali‘i will be running Sunday in the Honolulu Marathon, wearing a special red T-shirt he designed, to for families in Lahaina.

The Honolulu Marathon starts with fireworks at 5 a.m., with an estimated 18,400 registered runners, according to Jim Barahal, president of the Honolulu Marathon Association.

An estimated 27,000 runners are registered across all three of the association’s events, which include the Kalakaua Merrie Mile on Saturday and the Start to Park 10k and Honolulu Marathon on Sunday.

Several hundred more generally register last-minute at the Marathon Expo from Thursday to Saturday at the Hawai‘i Convention Center in Waikiki.

Barahal said the association is planning a special tribute to Maui participants at its “Aloha Friday” ceremony before marathon weekend.

The association also has replaced finisher medals and T-shirts for a number of Maui residents such as Kahaiali ‘i who lost those items to the fires.

“It’s a great reminder for us, as the organizer of the event, how important this event is to people’s lives and to the fabric of Hawaii,” he said. “The numbers demonstrate that the largest percentage of people in marathon are from Hawaii.”

This year 41% of runners are from Hawaii, about a third from Japan, 22% from the mainland and the remaining 5% from abroad.

Barahal said he is feeling upbeat about the 51st event this year, even though it is still recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic and though the Japan market has not returned in full force.

An estimated 9,170 runners from Japan are participating this year, Barahal said, up from about 5,200 in 2022, when the marathon celebrated its. In contrast, about 17,000 Japanese runners participated in pre-­pandemic years.

This year the marathon is unveiling a new finisher medal in partnership with the Supreme Gold Co. of Japan.

A full-circle journey Kahaiali‘i remembers seeing the thick smoke from Lahainaluna shortly after 3 :30 p.m. Aug. 8.

He expected firefighters to come by, but all was quiet as the hours passed and the growing flames approached. He remembers sitting on his home’s rooftop to monitor the glow of the fire, hoping it would not jump the Lahaina bypass.

When a police officer eventually told his family they had to evacuate his home in Wahikuli that night, Kahaiali‘i grabbed his running shoes — a pair of Nikes — some clothes and a few belongings.

He needed those shoes to continue training for the Chicago Marathon, which he was running for the American Red Cross, but fully expected to return home the next day.

Instead, the family would learn that the entire home, and pretty much the entire neighborhood of Wahikuli, had burned to the ground overnight.

It’s still surreal for Kahaiali‘i, a health teacher at Lahaina Intermediate who grew up and went to schools in the neighborhood.

At first he was going to withdraw from running the marathon in Chicago. But friends and family encouraged him to go ahead and run it.

On Oct. 8, Kahaiali ‘i finished the Chicago Marathon, wearing a custom, red T-shirt he designed to represent Lahaina. The experience was uplifting.

“As I was running in the marathon, complete strangers would say, ‘Go Lahaina, Go Maui Strong,’” he said. “It was really awesome to hear that.”

Running for the Red Cross also was a full-circle moment.

When he signed up to run for the national nonprofit 10 months ago, he had no idea what would transpire Aug. 8. The Red Cross was there, helping with shelter, food and supplies.

For him, running the marathon is symbolic of the Lahaina community’s resilience.

“I’m running with Lahaina, Lahaina’s running with me,” he said in a Red Cross interview. “We’re going to get through this marathon of recovery and rebuild, and it’s going to take a long time but we’re going to get there. … We just gotta keep working hard, not give up. We’re running this race together.”

Through separate sales of his T-shirt, he raised more than $3,600 for Maui.

He donated it to the Lahaina Strong Foundation and is partnering with the group in its to continue raising money for families affected by the fires.

Rebuilding roots Kahaiali‘i just started running marathons about a year ago after a friend initiated him to them.

Even though he had never run more than three miles, his friend suggested he go for the New York City Marathon. On a whim, Kahaiali ‘i entered a lottery for it and, when he got it, could not turn it down.

He finished that marathon despite never even having run a half-marathon. Now he’s hooked.

The T-shirt he designed for the Chicago Marathon says “Malama Maui” and “Lahaina Strong” in front, inspired by the many hands that came together.

The back features an ulu tree and “ka malu ‘ulu o Lele” — a line from the Lahainaluna High School alma mater song—meaning the shaded breadfruit grove of Lele, which is the historical Hawaiian name for Lahaina. The ulu trees represent the roots of Lahaina.

The border includes the names of four public schools affected by the fires: Lahainaluna High, Lahaina Intermediate, Princess Nahi‘ena‘ena Elementary and King Kamehameha III Elementary.

“Having the ulu print with the schools serving as a border is to help strengthen the focus on the rebuild and support that is needed for not just the community,” he said, “but also the support and strength the children will need moving forward who go to these schools in Lahaina.”

Kahaiali‘i himself attended Princess Nahi ‘ena‘ena Elementary, Lahaina Intermediate and Lahainaluna High. His dad, Wilmont Kahaiali‘i, is a kumu at King Kamehameha III Elementary School.

These four public schools represent the community, he said, and his link to them as a teacher.

“Almost all these kids and everyone who’s lived here has gone to these schools at some point in their lives,” he said.

Kahaiali‘i has returned to teaching at Lahaina Intermediate. These kids, he said, after all they have been through, including the pandemic, will be among the most resilient.

“Lahaina is a very small, tightknit community,” he said. “We’re not going to give up on each other; we’re family.”

This will be Kahaiali‘i’s second Honolulu Marathon in a row, and he aims to finish under four hours with the same pair of Nikes he evacuated with the day of the fires. After this he has set his sights on the Tokyo Marathon in 2024.

Kahaiali‘i said what keeps him going during a marathon is moving forward, one step at a time.

“As long as I am moving forward, I know I am making progress, and making progress is what helps me keep moving forward and not stopping,” he said. “I think that would be my mantra, progress one step at a time. That would be even more true now with what has happened to Lahaina.”

The same is true of his own future. His family is staying at a friend’s place until March but is unsure where it will go afterward.

And he plans to return to the New York City Marathon.

“As difficult as it was, it was one of the most awesome experiences in my life,” he said.

He also believes that his family will return one day to live in Lahaina again. But he knows that the rebuilding process could take years.

“At times it might seem easy to quit or stop, but as long as progress is being made, it’s enough to help you keep moving forward,” he said. “Finding the victories, great or small, is what can help move Lahaina in the right direction—and hopefully in a direction that will find much-needed aid and relief to Lahaina families soon.”

Nate’s Lahaina T-shirt Sales of Nate’s to support Lahaina families will continue through Dec. 11.