NiteRun – Hawaii

MOST HAZARDOUS AND POORLY ORGANIZED RACE I’VE EVER RUN!
A few key talking points:
1) COST: The cost was excessive, $ 39.50 for early registration and $ 49.50 for same-​day registration. For twice the cost of a normal 5k, you would think you’d at least get a t-​shirt… But no. All you get is a lousy headlamp (I didn’t know they mad such lousy headlamps).
2) RAFFLE: Apparently the race included a raffle. Unfortunately, only a few families were told about it. The same three families won almost all the prizes… pretty bogus.
3) NO TIMING OR PLACES: For $ 49.50, you would think the race would at least be timed, but no. Although the race issued bibs (mine was made of printer paper and disintegrated in the rain before the race even began), no times were kept, no places recorded, and no awards or honors presented.
4) POORLY MARKED ROUTE: The route was poorly marked. Cones were spread out too far, making it difficult for runners to identify the route. Runners had to stop several times in order to try to identify the route. Most cones marking the trail lacked any lights, some had headlamps on them, which were more of an annoyance than anything as they temporarily blinded runners. The race organizers could have utilized chemlites (glow sticks) to mark the route. They are cheap, easy to spot, and wouldn’t blind runners.
5) DANGEROUS: Running in the dark on pavement isn’t too bad. Running on difficult terrain in the dark is another story. The race route spanned very difficult and uneven terrain. The cheap headlamps the race organizers provide are inadequate for the terrain. If you run this race, you run a serious risk of personal injury. Medical support? Not at this race!
In conclusion, my wife and I will not be participating in any more NiteRun events. They are expensive, poorly organized, and straight up dangerous!

A friend of mine has Type I diabetes and was diagnosed when she was only 10 years old. When she asked me to do the Nite Run in Kakaako (
is the specific link to Kakaako NiteRun) with her, which supported the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, I definitely said yes!
The course was a 5k starting from Kewalo Basin, circling to and through Kakaako Waterfront Park, and finally back to Kewalo Basin. My group definitely walked the entire thing, instead of ran… and we had the liberty of finishing in last place. I honestly don’t know how that happened, but I think the people behind us cheated! The sad thing was, the guys in the ATVs were following us, picking up cones, as we walked past them… and the finish line arch was deflated after we went through it. In the other hand, this was a great and enjoyable experience to support JDRF, in hopes of fully understanding the causes of Type I diabetes, and hopefully finding a cure. I mean… I have no idea how to donate some of my pancreatic islets or beta cells to patients with Type I diabetes… and if I did, their antibodies and killer T cells would probably destroy all of them before they could produce enough insulin! So really, $ 40 for entry to the NiteRun as a donation to JDRF is really not much!
With entry to the NiteRun, you receive a headlamp. A tshirt costs $ 15, but again… what a great way to give to JDRF!
There are many NiteRuns around the island, so I definitely suggest you check one of them out! It’s for a great cause!

Cure type 1 diabetes!
Why not run for the cause? That’s right, not only was this a fundraiser, it was also several hours of hours spent healthy!
My friend and me arrived about ten till 6p so the festivities were alrdy going strong. We had some coconut water and hit the road like some thugs.
It was fabulous fun, and it did start late, but I’m assuming that has smthg to do with the sundown time.
The races was a gorgeous 5k course. I could have done it two or three times for fun… all the while peeping the view and appreciating a healthy Friday!
So much fun!

Finished the Kailua Night Run last night. Could definitely overlook the disorganization and late start.
Was definitely not pleased when I was told no matter how early you registered groupon and Unilocal registered runners did not get a shirt. Cheap and plain sad organizers. Add it to the fine print! It is not like we really paid less — we just learned about the race in a different way.

Pretty good time. I try to avoid runs with hills because I always end up with shin splints. The info for this run didn’t mentions hills, so… I have shin splints. Oh well, my husband loved it and usually hates group runs!

Run? Night? Those two don’t usually go together in my books unless someone is chasing me and that would be a «help» moment not a Unilocal one. This was my first race ever and enjoyed the experience for these reasons…
1. 5k, which made it doable (LOL)
2. Beautiful setting at Kualoa Ranch, simply breath-​taking
3. For a good cause — Juvenile Diabetes Research
4. Good excuse to be with awesome friends while stirring up a little friendly competition :)
5. Running at night* — when would I have a chance to do that with several hundreds of people with headlamps?!
*I wouldn’t say running at night made it «cooler» because as we all knew it was super hot-​humid that night with no trade winds!!!
This event would also make for a good team-​building event for companies, businesses, clubs and other organizations to build morale and a fun way to incorporate well-​being into the workplace, boosting productivity.
If you registered early or by the deadline, you scored a free t-​shirt and headlamp; needed to read the fine print on the groupon or living social deals.
A note for event organizers, as Ward K. mentioned in his review, need to have safety cones set up for the main cattle grate at the beginning of the course or wood planks covering them to prevent slips and falls in between the grates. Our friend who slipped through the grates was tough enough to finish the course but not without some wincing.
We were so looking forward to the «brain and brawn» challenge of this race, only to find it was just brawn, the brain was missing, meaning, there wasn’t anyone manning the brain-​teaser portion of the course. Kind of disappointing. The course itself was fun and at times a little challenging for this «runner»…but I’m happy I did it… I can say that now after having trudged, trekked, tramped up and over «the Hill»! *Argh* That hill seemed to have gone on for days, or should I say, nights?! LOL.
Another plus and kudos to the Nite Run organizers for posting updates on their FaceBook page. This was quite an effective way to get the info out to folks, especially about the parking entrance (thank you). Overall the experience was enjoyable… live acrobatic performers, fairly uncomplicated registration process, good access to water, restrooms and plenty of parking. Thank you Nite Run for a fun time!

Recently did the «Nite Run» at Kualua Ranch. I have to say, I LOVED it! It was not only fun (at night! Headlamps! Costume contest! Obstacles! Cows mooing LOL!) BUT it was pretty tough! After doing the Glow Hawaii Run the night before (easy, shorter than advertised) it was nice to be able to really push myself and race. The trail was mostly dirt road but there were areas that were gravel road, grassy areas, etc. Started up a hill, did an obstacle, more killer hill, followed by another hill. Didn’t expect that! Race was also longer than a 5k, didn’t expect that either LOL! ;) There were a few cow patties and cattle gates so just trying not to break an ankle kept me really paying attention to where my feet were LOL.
The whole set up was great. Great food venders, plenty of potties, easy packet pickup and we parked pretty close to the race area so heading back to the car was easy if you needed to put stuff away. NO FEE for parking. Loved that too. So many races make you park far away, pay for parking, pay to «store» your stuff they give you at the race, etc. I loved that I didn’t feel nickel and dimed for this event. I purchased it as a Living Social deal and it was easy-​peasy to get my tshirt, headlamp and number. LOVED that we were all chipped, gave me more incentive to run and try to get a decent time. They did run out of headlamps w/​batteries (LOL) but we got there early so we got ones w/​batteries.
I’d definitely do this race again. I can’t wait until they plan another one!

This was a 5k night run at Kualoa Ranch. Some people (probably because they didn’t read the instructions didn’t register) didn’t get a headlight. If you didn’t have a light, it probably was a little more challenging as this was at night, hence the name «Nite Run.» Right from the start one of our friends got injured as she didn’t see the cattle guard and her foot went through the metal bars making a huge bump on her shin. What was messed up was that the other cattle guards were coned off to avoid them and to go around but not the first one. I felt bad for her but when she said she was going to suck it up and still do it I kicked some dirt on her and said see you at the finish line. I’m joking, I just kicked some dirt on her.
Like I said the run was a 5k. It was for the most part on a dirt roadway. There was a pretty steep part that kind of kicked my butt. I thought I was going up Koko Head for a minute. Argh, Kill me now! lol
They said there were supposed to be some kind of brain test or something as well as strength test which they had. I believe they went over the question and what the correct answer was supposed to be but what looked like a place they might have had someone asking you a question, there was no one, no one anywhere which was a little disappointing. Maybe next time they will have something. Another thing that was disappointing was that you didn’t have to do the strength test and made it optional. One was you had to grab a sandbag (maybe around 10lbs) and carry it and go under a couple of beams. Next one was walking on rope (around 20′). It did get bottle necked as some people took forever to cross and when some fell they ran back and tried again. The wait time was around 12 minutes or so. They had at least 5 different lines. They also had another type of obstacle course… If you remember the movie Pretty Woman when they were on the Polo Field and the announcer says to «avoid the Steaming Divot.» That’s right, there were horse manure here and there that you had to hopscotch around.
As most know Jurassic Park was filmed there and one part of the course you could hear dinosaurs in the background. Just thought that was cool of them. Maybe if one came out I would of ran faster.
I heard that they ran out of some headlamps and t-​shirts but was able to get more by the time people finished.
Water stations were around the course. Free water, gatorade. At the end they brought out some free desserts. Had a couple of food vendors, music, Mc, and acrobatic act.
Pretty fun event, especially when doing it with cool people.