Run WILD, … or just run for wildlife from November 1st to December 26th and support Hawai‘i Wildlife Fund to protect native wildlife. For the second year, the Aloha Virtual Challenge is encouraging folks around the world to run, walk, skip, paddle, swim 60 or 120 miles “around the island of Oʻahu” (virtually) in the coming months. Vision Event Management is the mastermind behind this great fundraiser to support our conservation activities … and they’ve landed again on the beaches of O‘ahu. O‘ahu offers beautiful beaches and breath-taking topography, a diverse culture, deep history, amazing cuisine and more!

Sign up TODAY!  You’ll have eight weeks to complete your distance! Join us at our virtual start line at the iconic Duke Kahanamoku bronze statue on Kūhiō Beach in Waikiki. Whether you choose to complete your distance running, walking, biking, paddling or some other form of exercise, let’s do this! There’s even an “Island Hopper Club”, if you want to push yourself to go beyond the 120 miles. Along your journey, you can track your progress on the website. Weekly, we will share with you upcoming island highlights. Slap on your shades; there’s a lot to see, and you won’t want to miss any of it!

Aloha Virtual Challenge packages run from $29.99 to $44.99, and a portion of the proceeds will support HWF activities on Maui and Hawai‘i Island.

The impact of your donations:
– $1,000 can provide support for the Nest Watch Volunteer Coordinator to manage more than 100 volunteers camping on Maui beaches to protect sea turtle nests.
– $500 can help pay for a new infra-red camera to watch for predators sneaking up on turtle nests and observe nesters without disturbance.
– $250 can support our environmental education mentors to visit a grade-school classroom (remote or in-person) on two occasions with our youth wildlife programs.
– $150 can pay for the cleanup supplies plus one 4WD off-road vehicle to conduct a remote coastal cleanup event on Hawai‘i Island.
– $100 can provide one new tent for protecting volunteers from the elements while they conduct night watches for Maui sea turtle projects.
– $50 can pay for our quarterly dues for native plant seed collection storage.
– $25 can provide one red-light headlamp to help researchers protect turtles from predators or other threats.
– $10 can provide a HWF volunteer with a t-shirt or cap.

Register and learn more here: https://runsignup.com/Race/HI/Honolulu/TheAlohaVirtualChallenge

Get inspired for your challenge by HWF partner and O‘ahu trail runner, Alyx Barnett of Hawai‘i Mountain Running from our August 2021 blog feature here.