Light for Lāhainā

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Light for Lāhainā

Two summers ago, when his world turned upside down, Nate Kahaiali’i thought long and hard about withdrawing from the Chicago Marathon. 

He, like thousands of others, lost his home in August 2023 as catastrophic wildfires swept through his community in Lāhainā, on the Hawaiian island of Maui. He was still processing the magnitude of what happened. 

Chicago, his second marathon, was just two months away — too soon, Kahaiali’i thought, as his town came to terms with the disaster, and set out on what would be a long road to recovery. 

It was his parents who persuaded him to reconsider. He ultimately decided to fly to Chicago that October, and run the marathon as planned – not to race, or run the iconic course for fun, but to represent Lāhainā, and remind the world of its need to rebuild. 

“This is something that's important to me,” he said in a recent interview. “It's a way for me to not just cope with the loss of my home, but also in a way to fight for anyone who calls this place home, and making sure their home will be rebuilt sometime soon." 

He still gets goosebumps thinking about that day in Chicago, and the crowds of people who cheered for his community as he navigated the Windy City. “It pushed me,” he said. “It definitely made me feel like this is something good; I'm doing something right.” 

Kahaiali’i was only getting started. 

Not realizing the evacuation would be the last time he left his home, he grabbed only a handful of personal items, including a pair of bright orange Nike Vaporfly running shoes. 

In this pair of shoes, Kahaiali’i now hopes to run the original six Abbott World Major marathons. “I'm running for my community, and trying to do something,” he said. “It may not be something as grand or as big as donating a million dollars. But I'm doing my part to help.” 

Three down — Chicago (2023), Tokyo (2024), New York City (2022; 2024) — and three to go. 

During the final stretch of the New York City Marathon last November, Kahaiali’i was making his way up Fifth Avenue, and the gradual, grueling, climb into Central Park, when someone in the crowd caught his eye. 

“Nate, Nate,” the man shouted, making shakas, the Hawaiian gesture, with his hands. “Maui Nō Ka ʻOi,” he said. (“Maui is the best.”) 

Kahaiali’i threw shakas back, and headed to the finish, buoyed by this expression of love and support for his home, some 4,900 miles from it. 

This, in his view, is the power of marathons. Whatever you’re running for, however quickly, wherever you’re from, “people are cheering for you,” he said. “People are cheering for your cause. Everyone is there to support each other.” 

In a few months Kahaiali’i will fly to London to run his fourth World Major. Winding from Blackheath to Buckingham Palace, in whatever weather the British springtime has to offer, he will represent Lāhainā once again. 

His community is still slowly, but surely, recovering. The news cycle has long moved on, though. More wildfires ripped through a different corner of America just last month, devastating another community. 

A few weeks ago, in the throes of training for London, Kahaiali’i wondered aloud if people would still care about the struggle of his community. “It's important to me,” he said, after a brief pause. 

And if people see it’s important to him, he hopes it will be important to them, too. 

“In the end, I'm running for something,” he said. “I'm running for my community. Doing my best and showing up. That's my goal.” 

The shoes are already “a little faded,” with three marathons left to run. But he’s still carrying a bright light for Lāhainā.

• Nate is supporting Lāhainā Strong. Find out more.

Around and about

😎 Training trend: Walking during runs is in vogue, Danielle Zickl reports in Outside RUN, and it’s even got a new nickname: Jeffing. Next time I fall apart on a long run, I'll tell myself I'm just on trend.

📉 Data distraction: How smart actually is your smartwatch? Wearables “have shifted from innovative tools with the potential to better understand our physiology to toys that mostly chase engagement,” the data expert Marco Altini argues in an essay.

🏅 Millrose message: After a spectacular Wanamaker Mile at the Millrose Games on Saturday, US Olympian and American record holder for the mile Nikki Hiltz was asked about the Trump administration’s executive order on transgender athletes in women’s sports.

“It’s been hard and heavy. But I’ve actually never felt more supported,” Hiltz, who is nonbinary, told CITIUS MAG. “I think sports is a place for everyone. I think we need to spend our time focusing on trying to find ways to include everyone because sport is such a beautiful thing. And noone should be excluded from it, ever.”

🎤 Treadmill triumph: French rapper Rilès ran for 24 hours on a treadmill to promote his new album, and then shot a music video. Think I might stand more chance making it as a rapper than spending a whole day on a treadmill.

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Have a great weekend.

- Callum