The Maui Whale Festival begins on Saturday, February 1, with the annual Run and Walk for the Whales. We have several clients that own Maui timeshares at the Westin Kaanapali and Marriott Maui Ocean Club that have participated in this annual event in the past several years. If you will be on island Saturday, February 1, you might just want to check out the details of this fun event.
If you are concerned about the kids, check out their Child Care options if both Mom and Dad would like to race and if you aren’t going to be on Maui at all, see the details at the end of this article about how you can “race remotely” and still participate in this worthwhile event!
Whale breaching
The event will start and finish at the Ma’alaea Harbor Shops, about 15 miles or a 20 – 25 minute drive from Lahaina. This is one of Maui’s largest and most popular run and walking events and attracted more than 700 visitors and residents last year.
The race this year includes a 2.5 mile walk, 5K run, 10K run and half marathon run. The event is a fundraiser to support humpback whale research in Hawaii and other parts of the Pacific, fund marine education programs for local schoolchildren as well as funding conservation programs.
Post-race festivities will take place in the plaza at the Ma’alaea Harbor Shops and include live entertainment by Marty Dread, a post-race continental breakfast for runners, tours of the Pacific Whale Foundation’s research lab, education center and offices and discounted “whale watches” for race participants.
The entry fee includes professional chip timing for 5k, 10k and half marathon runners, plus clock timing for all walking events. Each participating walker and runner will receive a “Run and Walk for the Whales” t-shirt and there will be water and Gatorade stations along the course.
Medals and a pair of whale watch tickets will be awarded to each of the top 3 male and top 3 female finishers in the 5K, 10K and half marathon. In addition there will be medals presented to the top 3 male and top 3 female finishers for the 5K, 10K and half marathon in the male and female age divisions.
You can register online at http://www.flpregister.co/69 and get additional race information at http://mauiwhalefestival.org/events/2014-run-and-walk-whales. The deadline for online registration is midnight, January 30. You can also call (808) 249-8811 ext. 1 for additional information on start times, registration fees and any other questions you might have about this event.
Child care information: If you’ve got kids and Mom and Dad both want to race, Pacific Whale Foundation’s marine education team is offering a morning version of its popular Ocean Camp on race day for children ages 4 to 12. You’ll need to sign up in advance for this program and pre-registration is required. Call (808) 249-8811 ext. 1 for more information.
Race remotely: Not going to be on Maui and disappointed you can’t participate in this worthy event? Pacific Whale Foundation has figured out a way to participate remotely in this event! You can run, walk, snowshoe, log in miles on your treadmill – however you choose to be active for this fundraising event for the whales. Register for the Remote Run and Walk for the Whales and you will receive your race t-shirt and race number by mail. Remote participants are invited to supply photos and the details about their race to be displayed on Pacific Whale Foundation’s Facebook page. To learn more about racing remotely, visit http://www.pacificwhale.org/content/2014-remote-run-and-walk-for-the-whales.
Interested in finding out how affordable Maui timeshare resales can be? Click on Maui timeshares for sale and resale for our current Maui timeshare listings.
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