Steve Sobaje

Steve Sobaje dominated the Hawaii running scene from the late 70’s and into the 80’s, primarily in long distance races.  He completed 15 marathons, 11 of them under 2:30, and placed first overall in six of them. Steve qualified for the Olympic marathon trials in 1984 with a time of 2:18 and earned the Honolulu Marathon top kamaaina finisher award five times. Steve also ran marathons outside Hawaii, consistently posting impressive finishing times under 2:29. All this from someone who did not start running until his senior year in high school!

Steve is perhaps best known for winning the daunting 36.2 mile Haleakala Run to the Sun (which he co-founded) four times, setting the course record of 4:45:31, which he held for 25 years until the race was discontinued in 2011. 

A talented and versatile runner, Steve posted top three finishing times in races ranging from 4 miles to 30 K. His personal best is 4:20 for the mile and 2:04 for 800 meters.

After 25 years as a firefighter on Maui, Steve is now retired and lives in Haiku with his wife Linda. Their son Chris lives nearby in Makawao.  Gardening, home maintenance, and long walks with his above average dog, Rocky, are keeping Steve busy these days.