One step at a time. That’s what Lahaina resident Nate Kahaiali’i reminds himself since the fire. It’s also his mantra as he runs marathons.
“When I was running, I was like saying things like, ‘Lahaina is with me,’ like ‘one step at a time,’” he said. “You know, it helped strengthen my purpose of what I'm doing.”
His purpose is raising awareness for his burned hometown. He just finished his sixth marathon last weekend in New York City. And his mission is working.
“The vision that I have of running these marathons, [is] I don't want people to recognize me — I want people to recognize Lahaina, or in Maui in general. That's what I'm here for,” he said. “In the New York City Marathon, I had people call me by name, or cheering on Maui and Lahaina and throwing the shaka at me so that was pretty inspiring and uplifting.”
During this year’s NYC Marathon, he also accomplished his goal of running 26 miles in under four hours: 3:48:58, to be exact.
When the fire broke out last year, Kahaiali’i was training for the Chicago Marathon. His orange running shoes were among the few possessions he grabbed when he and his parents evacuated their home.
He thought they'd be back in a couple of days.
Now, those shoes hold special meaning for him, and he wears them for every race, along with a red "Lahaina Strong, Mālama Maui" T-shirt.
“The shoes are symbolic, for me, of Lahaina town, for the Lahaina families, for people who've lost their homes and loved ones,” he said.
Kahaiali’i says he doesn’t feel like he runs by himself.
“The community of Lahaina is running this marathon with me as well, symbolically through the shoes, but in reality, its own marathon in itself, of recovery and healing for the years to come, for Lahaina down the line,” he explained.
Kahaiali’i is a teacher at Lahaina Intermediate School and he hopes to inspire his students toward physical fitness and accomplishing their goals. They also get involved before his marathons with activities like predicting his race time.
Though Kahaiali’i was born in Arizona, his dad is from Hawaiʻi and they have a lot of family on Maui. He moved to Lahaina when he was 6 years old, and had trouble fitting in. That’s how he started running.
“I was kind of alone and didn't have any friends,” he recalled. “So for fun, I would just start running around the playground by myself. And then these kids would notice me running, and then would want to race me. And so running initially was a way for me to gain friends, to socialize.”
Today, the sport continues to be a positive force in his life over the past year.
“I don't get depressed all that often, but since the fires, I had a couple of pretty major depressive episodes, and running… helps me focus,” he explained.
“Running helps put things in perspective, and don't worry about the big picture, but just focus on what's in front of you. And that's very much what running is. It's like, you're not thinking about the finish line, you're just thinking about like the here and now you're going to get to the end eventually, but just focus on what you can do now.”
“I've shared that with my students, especially when we talk about mental and emotional health,” he added.
The Kahaiali’i ‘ohana is currently living in FEMA housing in Kihei but they hope to be able to move back to Lahaina soon in a tiny home for now.
“Whatever can be done to keep families in Lahaina, I'm all here for it,” he said.
In this year's NYC Marathon, he was one of 26 runners out of more than 55,000 participants selected for Team Inspire — runners with powerful stories about why they raced the marathon — and was a panelist on the Citizens Stage at the NYC Marathon Expo.
As he runs, Kahaiali’i raises money for Lahaina Strong, a grassroots organization that advocates for housing.
“I'm doing the best I can with my love for running and trying to speak up for everyone that calls Lahaina home,” he said.
There are more marathons on the horizon for Kahaiali’i – he’s waiting to hear if he got selected for races in Berlin and London -- but in the meantime, he takes it one step at a time.
