Q: Why is it so expensive to take part in the Great Trans Koolau Trek across the H-3 freeway? For our family of five, it will cost $200. Also, how many people have signed up? Fee for H-3 trek is high
but maybe not high enoughA: The trek, planned for May 11, 1997, has so far attracted "well over 5,000 applications," according to co-director Alan Sunio. But the co-sponsors, the nonprofit Asian Pacific Association of Marathoners and Applied Arts and the state Department of Transportation, were expecting as many as 100,000 participants in the first - and last - 10-mile race on the yet-to-open H-3 freeway.
After that, the H-3 will open for traffic.
As for the $39 entry fee for Hawaii residents ($44 for visitors), "it really is low compared to other major races throughout the mainland," Sunio said, noting the $60 to $80 fees charged for the New York and Los Angeles marathons.
As it is, organizers may have priced the fee too low, Sunio said, considering the "enormous expenses" that need to be covered: police support, renting buses, medical equipment, supplies.
The $39 fee was considered reasonable because "we wanted to be sensitive to local entrants and knew we would have to explain" the pricing, he said. But since "nobody has done a mega-event like this before," he said, no one anticipated all the costs involved.
"We've been trying to seek out sponsors because monies used for pre-race publicity and marketing need to come out of sponsorship dollars," Sunio said. Entry fees are supposed to cover expenses.
Deadline for registration is Dec. 31. After that, it will cost $49.
Call 521-4351 for information on where to pick up applications.
- Bus shelters
- Street lights
- Auwe and Mahalo