Jack Karbens

Kāne Ng-Osorio on June 12, 2026

Jack Karbens is being inducted into the Hawaii Running Hall of Fame for his contributions to the sport of running in Hawaii.  He has served as president and in other key positions with the Hawaii Masters Track Club since 1973.   

Jack’s most significant contributions were promoting, organizing and administrating track and running events.  He competed, coached and inspired many athletes of all ages to train and commit to lifetime physical fitness.  At local, regional and national track and road races, he did not care if he came in first or last, just have fun, finish and give 100%.  His notable competitions are as follows: 

  • 2003, U.S. national masters outdoor pentathlon championship (200 meter run, 1500 meter run, long jump, javelin, and discus) 60-64 division, 1st place. 
  • Starting in 1973, completed 11 Honolulu Marathons, 50 decathlons, 70 track pentathlons, 50 throws pentathlons, 30 Hawaiian Scottish Games, and two Waikiki Rough Water Swims.  The marathons, and hundreds of other road races, including the Hana Relays, were run for fun.  Track workouts were three times per week for 50 years.  Member of Mid-Pacific Road Runners Club since 1973. 
  • Honolulu Marathon best time: 3 hours, 43 minutes. 

Jack taught accounting and business subjects at the University of Hawaii, Chaminade and Hawaii Pacific University for 49 years.  He is a retired CPA with a doctorate (EdD) from UH. 

Matthew Holton 

Kāne Ng-Osorio on June 12, 2026

Matt Holton ran competitively in Hawaii since first starting cross country in middle school at Seabury Hall in Maui. He transferred to Maui High School in his junior year.  As a senior, Holton was third overall in the 1995 Cross Country Championships and was integral for Maui High’s team winning the 1996 State High School Track Championship. 

After competing at a high level on the mainland in longer distance events, he returned to Maui in 2005. Holton consistently won races on Maui and earned spots on Team Hawaii for the Hapalua Half Marathon an impressive eleven times. At the Honolulu Marathon, he placed as First Kamaʻaina Finisher in 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2022. His PRs include a 2:23 marathon, a 1:06 Half Marathon, and a 30:01 10K. 

Throughout his life, Matt Holton has been an inspiration for others, demonstrating that hard work and focus can lead to great success in distance running. He was always open to sharing his knowledge and experience with others as a teammate and coach, or training partner. He loved interviewing elite athletes and covering world class events as a videographer, and he assembled an incredible library of running history on his YouTube channel. Matt traveled to Iten, Kenya for over a month to learn more about the training and culture that has produced such amazing, high-level runners.  Matt is the author of a book entitled Mindful Miles, a book on the philosophy of running (2024). 

Besides being a competitive runner, Matt was an artist, running coach, sports journalist, and author. 

Matt Holton passed away in his home in Volcano, Hawaii on January 14, 2026. He was 47 years old.  Matt is survived by his partner Cristina Pineda, parents Steve and Doreen Holton, and sister Jessica (Morgan) Gerdel. 

Steve Jenness 

Kāne Ng-Osorio on June 12, 2026

Steve Jenness was a gifted runner with the heart and soul of a teacher and mentor: his real gift wasn’t just how fast he ran, but how well he taught others to do the same. Jenness achieved success as a runner in high school, college, and post-college, and later became a dedicated and inspirational high school coach for 35 years.  

Jenness demonstrated a remarkable talent for running early in life, running the Honolulu Marathon — his first race ever — at the age of 14 (3:22) and improving his time to 2:47 the following year. He was an exceptional runner at Kalaheo High School, winning the OIA cross country championship in 1976 and 1977.  On the track, he won six OIA championships.  At the state track championships, he won the mile race in both 1977 and 1978 and the two-mile race in 1978. 

Jenness attended the University of California Riverside on a track scholarship.  In 1982, he was an All- American at 1500 meters, with a best time of 3:44.72.  In addition, Jenness was a four-year letter winner in Cross Country and Track. After college, Jenness won many road races in Hawaii in the 1980s and 1990s.  

Jenness led the Kamehameha Schools boys’ cross-country and track programs to sustained excellence, demonstrating a rare ability to develop talent, motivate athletes, and build a winning culture. He served as head cross-country coach from 1988 to 2020, earning Coach of the Year honors 15 times. In track, he was distance coach from 1985 to 2015 and head coach from 2016 to 2019. Between 1997 and 2015, his teams captured 13 state championships, along with four runner-up and two third-place finishes, scoring under 100 points every year during that span. He also coached 18 individual state champions across cross-country and track. 

Jenness is a retired firefighter and was recently appointed to the new City and County of Honolulu Ocean Safety Commission. He resides in Hawaii with his wife Cynthia. 

Stein Rafto

Kāne Ng-Osorio on June 12, 2026

Dr. Stein Erik Rafto’s life reflects a remarkable blend of athletic excellence, academic achievement, professional accomplishment, and lifelong service to his community. 

Born in Tacoma, Washington, Rafto came with his family to Hawaii in 1963 when his father was stationed at Lualualei. The family made the five-day ocean voyage aboard the MSTS Barrett, beginning a lifelong connection to the islands. He grew up in Makaha, graduating from Makaha Elementary and Waianae Intermediate before attending Mid-Pacific Institute. 

At Mid-Pacific, Rafto quickly distinguished himself as both a scholar and athlete. Graduating in 1974 as salutatorian, he served as junior class president, was inducted into the National Honor Society, and earned the alumni-sponsored college financial grant and book award. A two-time Scholar-Athlete and Athletic Department MVP, Rafto excelled in competition while maintaining academic excellence. 

Under coach Johnny Faerber, Rafto became one of Hawaii’s premier young runners. He won five HHSAA state championships—two in cross-country, two in the mile, and one in the two-mile. Among his standout performances were a 4:18.9 mile and a 9:25.0 two-mile to win the 1974 state championships. He also set meet and course records, including the HHSAA cross-country course record of 10:37, and captured the AAU 3-mile championship in 14:17.7, establishing a Cooke Field record. 

Decades later, Rafto continued supporting his alma mater when Mid-Pacific president Joe Rice asked him to re-establish the M Club, the school’s athletic booster organization. Serving three years as president, he helped raise more than $1 million to support Mid-Pacific athletic programs. 

Shortly after graduation from Mid-Pacific, Rafto traveled to Norway to connect with his father’s family heritage. During a six-week stay, he continued running and qualified for the Junior National Championships. 

Rafto went on to attend Harvard College, graduating cum laude in Biochemistry in 1978. His undergraduate research thesis received one of only three summa honors in the department, and his work was published in the journal Biochemistry. At Harvard he earned 10 varsity letters—four in cross-country, three in indoor track, and three in outdoor track—while also serving as cross-country captain and distance section captain for track. He received All-Ivy League and All-Eastern honors, including a standout performance at the Ivy League Cross-Country Championships and competition in the NCAA Division I Cross-Country National Championships. He was also the recipient of the J.D. “Don” French ’56 Cross Country Award. During his time with the program he helped lead track team fundraising efforts, raising over $11,000 for Friends of Harvard Track & Cross Country. 

Rafto has remained deeply connected to Harvard throughout his life, serving as class marshal for the 30th, 35th, and 40th reunions and as his class’s “medical officer,” organizing health-focused symposiums. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he founded and served as chief medical officer for the Harvard COVID-19 Initiative, coordinating more than 150 volunteer professionals who provided free confidential consultations to alumni during the first two years of the pandemic. 

After graduating from Harvard, Rafto moved to the San Francisco Bay Area, where he coached distance runners at Mt. Tamalpais High School and the Marin Racers. 

He later returned to Hawaii and attended the John A. Burns School of Medicine (JABSOM), graduating in 1983 with honors in several pre-clinical and clinical disciplines. During medical school he served as a teaching assistant in anatomy and physiology and worked weekends at the Running Room annex at Kaimana Beach Hotel while completing his internship in Hawaii. 

Rafto completed his radiology residency and extended neuroradiology fellowship at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, where he served on the junior staff and conducted innovative research imaging the cat visual system, supported by NIH R-1 grant funding. His academic work included several book chapters, peer-reviewed publications, and numerous scientific presentations. 

Returning to Hawaii, Rafto was co-director of Hawaii’s first high-field MRI facility at Kewalo Basin. He served as a staff radiologist with Kaiser Permanente from 1991 to 2016 where he oversaw site selection, magnet acquisition, installation, training, and management of personnel for Kaiserʻs new MRI. He also served as a JABSOM adjunct professor for 15 years, teaching medical students and residents the fundamentals of medical imaging. In the mid-1990s he served as a neuroradiology consultant at Tripler Army Medical Center. 

Internationally, Rafto helped advance imaging medicine through visiting professorships at Haukeland Regional Medical Center in Bergen, Norway, where he taught advanced neuroradiology techniques and assisted in establishing the region’s first MRI facility. 

He also served the profession through leadership roles including president of the Hawaii Radiological Society, two four-year gubernatorial appointments as the chief physician on Hawaii’s Radiation Safety and Imaging Applications Board, and executive committee service with both the American Society of Neuroradiology and the Western Neuroradiology Society. 

Even while building his medical career, Rafto remained an accomplished runner on Hawaii’s roads. He won the Norman Tamanaha 15K twice, the Honolulu Symphony 4-Miler twice, and the Sports Invitational 4-Miler at Ala Moana Park. In the 1983 Honolulu Marathon, he ran 2:27:57 to win the Kamaʻāina Award as the top Hawaii resident finisher. 

Rafto has also been a generous mentor and coach. Over the years he served as a volunteer and assistant coach for cross-country and track at Punahou School, working with head coaches Michael Georgi, Micah Pavich, and Duncan Macdonald. 

Beyond athletics and medicine, Rafto is widely remembered for his enthusiasm for education and community outreach. For more than a decade he visited elementary classrooms—including Punahou, Kamehameha, Holy Nativity, Aina Haina, and Ewa Beach—during Halloween with his teaching partner “Oscar,” a six-foot skeleton. Using X-rays, a view box, and creative art projects, he introduced students to the world of medicine and the human body. 

He and his wife Haven Young, whom he describes as the rock of their family, raised three children in Hawaii while he pursued his medical career and remained active in the running community. 

Rafto has always embraced adventure with his family, traveling widely and exploring cultures and landscapes around the world. His journeys have included rafting Class V rapids in Idaho and West Virginia, skiing in the Rocky Mountains, riding camels in the Sahara, hiking the Inca Trail, visiting the Norway–Russia border, and celebrating family heritage in Norway with a memorable trip to the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer to honor his father’s 70th birthday. 

From Makaha to Mid-Pacific, from Harvard to the world of medicine, and from championship races to mentoring future generations, Stein Rafto’s life reflects dedication, curiosity, and generosity of spirit. His extraordinary accomplishments and lifelong contributions make him a proud and deserving inductee into the Class of 2026 Hawaii Running Hall of Fame. 

Jeannie Wokasch (Parente) 

Kāne Ng-Osorio on June 12, 2026

Most people cross the finish line in pain and exhaustion, and our 2026 Hawaii Hall of Famer Jeannie Wokasch is no exception. However, after handily beating the women’s field, she also managed to cartwheel across the finish line, which soon became her trademark. 

Jeannie Wokasch excelled in races locally, nationally, and internationally. She was recruited to run for the Hawaii Pacific University cross-country team in 1993. She was a well-known presence at races of varying distances in Hawaii, winning many of them. She completed six Honolulu Marathons (1989-1998) finishing among the top eight in all of them. She also received the Kamaaina award (fastest local women’s finisher) in the 1992 Honolulu Marathon (2:49:29). Her six Maui Marathons (1990-1999) resulted in first place finishes in all those races but one, and she finished first in all five Kona Marathons (2000-2006) except one. 

Nationally, Wokasch won top awards in the Big Sur Marathon (1992, 2:51:06, 1st place women/1995, 2:48:25, 2nd place women), San Francisco Marathon (1992, 2:43:58, 5th place women), California International Marathon, Sacramento (1991, 2:45:57, 5th place women), Las Vegas Marathon (1992, 2:47:28, 3rd place women), and Grandma’s Marathon (1993, 2:42:16, 5th place women). Wokasch also competed in the Olympic Marathon Team Trials in South Carolina in 1996 (3:00:25). Internationally, Wokasch competed in marathons in Italy, Vancouver, and New Zealand. 

Wokasch was born in Sioux Falls, South Dakota as one of eight children.  

Wokasch’s volunteerism includes assisting at Mid-Pacific Road Runners Club races and four years coaching the girls’ cross-country team at Moanalua High School. 

Wokasch worked as a teacher’s assistant at a Honolulu pre-school and raised three sons, all of whom reside in California. 

Gordon Dugan

Kāne Ng-Osorio on November 16, 2023

Gordon Dugan was born in Illinois and grew up in Colville, Washington.  He started running in grad school in California, but really became a serious runner after moving to Hawaii in 1971. 

Gordon’s running forte was the ultra-distance races during a span of 37 years.  At the national level during the 1970s and 1980s, Gordon conquered the Western States 100 Miler seven times.  Four times from that race, he brought home the coveted Silver Belt Buckle, awarded to runners who completed the distance in under 24 hours.  In 1977, Gordon was the masters champion at the AAU 50-Mile Championship, held in Santa Monica, California.

In Hawaii, among many impressive finishes, the following are a sample of races won by Gordon:

  • 1975 Hawaii 50 Mile Run at Schofield Barracks
  • 1980 100KM Primo Relay Ultra
  • 1986 50 Mile Bud Light Ultra
  • 1987 50 Mile Bud Light Ultra
  • 1990 100KM Honolulu City Lights Ultra

In 2007, Gordon was one of three runners inducted into the Honolulu Marathon Hall of Fame.  Gordon and the other two were the only ones to have finished the Honolulu Marathon 34 consecutive years, including the inaugural race in 1973.  In 1985 and 1986, Gordon and his son, Patrick, won the father-son division in the Honolulu Marathon.  Amazingly, Gordon accomplished one of his last Honolulu Marathons in a walking boot.

Gordon served as president of the Mid-Pacific Road Runners Club two times in the 1980s.  In addition, Gordon helped guide the very first Ironman Triathlon, held in Honolulu in 1978.

Gordon earned Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in civil engineering at Washington State, and his PhD in Environmental Health Sciences at the University of California, Berkeley.  Gordon is a University of Hawaii Professor Emeritus of Civil Engineering.  Gordon and his wife, Barbara, reside in Honolulu and have been married for 68 years.  They have four children, Patrick, Suzanne, Daniel and Samuel.

Johnny Faerber

hirunning on March 11, 2022

Johnny Faerber is a prominent figure in Hawaii’s running history for his performances in the open and masters’ divisions, as well as for his successful coaching career. He has inspired, nurtured, and motivated hundreds of aspiring runners throughout his extensive coaching career.

Born in Romania, Johnny spent much of his childhood in German refugee camps before migrating to the United States in 1952. He lettered in cross country in Los Angeles and has been involved with cross country, track, or road racing in one way or another since then. In the military, he became an Army airborne officer and completed Ranger and Special Forces School. After the military, he joined the Peace Corps and was assigned to the Hawaii Training Center in 1963, eventually joining the University of Hawaii track team in 1964.

Highlights

  • Johnny’s first real taste of victory came in the1957 National Burro Derby in Southern California, a 43-mile trek through the desert with a burro in tow. He won the race 2 more times (1960 and 1966).
  • Won the Hawaiian Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) Marathon in 1967 and 1969.
  • Won the first Maui Marathon in 1971.
  • Named “Runner of the Year” in 1971 by the Mid-Pacific Road Runners Club.
  • Won the first official Run to the Sun, a 37.5-mile race from sea level to 10,000 feet to the summit of Haleakala Crater on Maui, in 1978.
  • Teamed with Jim Gallup and Dave Cadiz to win the AAU National Masters Team, part of the 1976 Honolulu Marathon.
  • Teamed again with Jim Gallup and Mike Tymn to win the same title as part of the 1977 New York City Marathon.
  • Teamed again with Jim Gallup and Mike Tymn to take 2nd place in the Nike National 10K team championship in San Diego.
  • Completed the Western States 100-mile race in 1981 under 24 hours to earn the coveted Silver Belt Buckle.
  • Recorded a 2:36.47 at age 41 in the 1977 Honolulu Marathon.
  • Internationally, was 3rd overall in the Hungary Marathon, 4th overall in the Tahiti Marathon and competed successfully in other international long-distance events.

Coaching

Johnny is probably best known for his coaching style and success. He coached at Mid Pacific Institute for two years, then at the University of Hawaii for nearly 30 years (1972-2000). He has a running club named after him, the Faerber’s Flyers, which started in 1980 as an all-women’s running club. In 1982, the Faerber’s Flyers organized the first All Men’s 10K with over 900 entrants. The race later became co-ed and was re-named the Johnny Faerber 10K, which will celebrate its 40th anniversary this year.

Johnny is a certified national official for track and field and officiates for USA Track and Field (USATF) events in Eugene, including the Prefontaine and the upcoming World Championships in July 2022.

Johnny and his wife Janet have lived in Cottage Grove, Oregon since 2002. Janet passed away in March 2022.

Michael Georgi

hirunning on December 26, 2022

Starting with high school Cross Country and Track in Santa Barbara in 1968 Michael moved on to the DIII level in college in the Bay Area.  In 1978 upon his arrival in Hawai’i for graduate school he immediately joined up with the Tantalus Gold running team.  His career teaching and coaching at Punahou School began in 1980 and continues today. 

Michael recorded an impressive running streak from Oct 12, 1982 until Oct 29, 2019 covering 138,973 miles over 13,532 days (37 years, 18 days) averaging 10.27 miles/day.  This was followed by a second streak from Dec 29, 2019 until June 9, 2022 covering 8,312 miles with an average of 9.21 miles/day.  These were not “junk” miles; Georgi was one of Hawai’i’s top competitors during the 1980’s – 1990’s.  Over the decades he has competed over 750 times in races ranging from the 800m to the “Run to the Sun” up Haleakala without a single DNF.  He is one of a select few Hawai’i residents to go under 2:30 in the marathon, doing so on four occasions (Maui 1980, Honolulu 1981, Hilo 1982, Oakland CA 1984).   In total he has run 122 marathons – 73 in Hawai’i to include 34 Honolulu where he was the top kama’aina six times.  His lifetime marathon PR was set in Honolulu in 1981 with 2:25:12.

A synopsis of his island marathon victories:

1st – Maui 1980, 84, 85, 86, 88, 89 (PR of 2:28:19)

1st – Hilo 1985, 97, 98, 00 (PR of 2:29:55)

1st – Kaua’i 1980, 81, 83 (PR of 2:31:03)

1st – Windward 1985 (PR of 2:31:05)

1st – Volcano 1986 (PR of 2:56:45)

Mainland efforts include:

1st – Tacoma WA (2004)

2nd – Lompoc CA (1991)

2nd – Catalina Island CA (1995)

2nd – Crater Lake OR (2005)

3rd – Midnight Sun AK (1988)

He has competed overseas in New Zealand, Australia, Thailand, Japan, Canada, Germany, Poland, Italy, Turkey, Switzerland, Spain, England, and the Netherlands.

Gerry Lindgren

Kāne Ng-Osorio on November 16, 2023

Olympian Gerald “Gerry” Paul Lindgren moved to Hawaii 44 years ago in 1980.  He has been active in the local running community coaching runners in his own Coconut Runners Club both on the track and road for many years.  He also led the 4-mile run from Niketown every Wednesday for more than 10 years until the store closed.  More recently he has coached for the Hawaii Running Project.  He has given talks to cross country teams at local high schools, at Mid-Pacific Road Runner events and has coached runners everywhere over the internet.  

Gerry’s running accomplishments as a world class champion during high school, college and beyond are well documented.  By the time Gerry moved to Hawaii he could no longer compete in national/ international competitions, plagued by injuries that hampered him throughout his career.  Still, he entered many local races often winning his age group and completed 14 Honolulu marathons.  

“I couldn’t let America down. I had to do my best.”

In 2022, the Collegiate Athlete Track & Field and Cross Country Hall of Fame inducted Gerry in their inaugural event.  At the induction banquet they mentioned the 1964 USSR vs US Dual meet where the then 18-year-old in his first international meet beat the Russians in the 10,000.   At the time considered one of the greatest accomplishments in U.S. track history.  “I knew people would judge our system by this one race.  I couldn’t let America down.  I had to do my best.”

Another notable race occurred in 1969 at the Hawaii Invitational, AAU International Track and Field Championships, 2-mile race at Honolulu (Punahou track) between 18-year-old Steve Prefontaine, 23-year-old Gerry Lindgren, Frank Shorter and Marty Liquori.  Gerry wins. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=csZGZZMLkOc

Some say, possibly America’s greatest ever high school distance runner.

Highlights of Gerry’s running career:

  • 8 high school world records
    • 5000-meter record that stood for 40 years until 2004 (13:44, 2nd all-time U.S.)
    • Indoor two-mile record that stood for 49 years until 2013 (8:40, 2nd all-time in-doors, PR-8:34 in 1967)
  • 1964 Track and Field News Highschool Athlete of the Year
  • 1964 US-USSR Dual Meet (10,000, 29:17)
  • 1964 U.S. Olympic trials, Gold-10,000 (29:02)
  • 1964 Tokyo Olympics (10,000, 29:20)
  • 1965 World record – 6 miles (27:11)
  • 1967 USA Outdoor Championships: 3000 (1st), 3 miles (1st)
  • 1968 and 1972 U.S. Olympic trials
  • 1969 Hawaii Invitational 2-mile race, AAU International Track and Field Championship (8:45)
  • 11 time Collegiate All American
  • 11 NCAA championships/tittles.  Won all but one NCAA races he entered, the most in history at the time.
    • 1st 3-time individual winner of the NCAA cross country championships.
    • 1st collegiate distance triple crown – titles in cross country, indoor track and outdoor track in the same academic year 1966-67.
    • Three-straight titles in both the 3-mile/5000 meters and 6-mile/10,000 meters outdoors, the first to do so in either event.
  • 57 American records – 3,000 (7:58), 5,000 (13:33), 10,000 (28:40), and 3-mile (12:53). He set the American records twice each in the 3,000 and 5,000.  Records encompass outdoor, indoor and cross-country.
  • 11 American high school records – 3,000 indoors (8:06), 10,000 (29:17), and 3-mile (13:17)
    • 1-mile (4:01) 2nd fastest in history in 1964

Inducted into the:

  • National High School Track and Field Hall of Fame in 1964
  • Washington State University Hall of Fame in 1978
  • Washington State Sports Hall of Fame in 1979
  • Road Runners Club of America (RRCA) Distance Running Hall of Fame in 1999
  • National Track and Field Hall of Fame in 2004
  • National Distance Running Hall of Fame in 2006
  • Collegiate Athlete Track & Field and Cross Country Hall of Fame Inaugural event in 2022
  • Hawaii Running Hall of Fame in 2024

Although Gerry’s most notable running achievements were outside of Hawaii when he was younger, it is through that experience and dedication to running that inspired those that ran with and were coached by him in Hawaii.  His induction into the Hawaii Running Hall of Fame is to recognize him for a lifetime of achievement representing the U.S and therefore Hawaii on the world and national stage as well as his many years of contributing to the local running community.

Gerry works at the University of Hawaii in the Building and Maintenance Department and lives in Hawaii Kai.  He enjoys gardening and is immensely proud of his Koi pond.

Jonathan Lyau

hirunning on January 9, 2022

For more than forty years Jonathan Lyau has been one of Hawaii’s premier runners, from middle distances to the marathon. He started running in the 10th grade (1979) as a McKinley High School cross country and track runner and in 1982 was the Hawaii State High School Track Champion in the 3200 meters.

Internationally, he has represented Hawaii at the Rotorua Marathon (New Zealand) in 1993, the Miura Half Marathon (Japan) from 1994-2004, and the Ichinoseki Half Marathon (Japan) in 2010.

Nationally, as a masters runner, Jonathan is a six-time All American:

  • 2006 Track & Field All American 3000m 40-44 age group, Nationally Ranked #3
  • 2006 Track & Field All American 5000m 40-44 age group, Nationally Ranked #3
  • 2014 Track & Field All American 1500m 50-54 age group, Nationally Ranked #8
  • 2015 Track & Field All American 1500m 50-54 age group, Nationally Ranked #12
  • 2019 Track & Field All American 1500m 55-59 age group, Nationally Ranked #16
  • 2019 Track & Field All American 1 Mile 55-59 age group, Nationally Ranked #5

Locally, he has won nearly every major road race in Hawaii including the Great Aloha Run (1994 and 2002) and the Norman Tamanaha 15k (five times). As for the Honolulu Marathon, Jonathan is a seventeen-time Kamaaina Champion from 1993-2004, 2006-2009, and in 2012. In 2009 he was inducted into the Honolulu Marathon Hall of Fame. An outstanding achievement is the fact that Jonathan has run a sub three-hour Honolulu Marathon in five different decades of his life – from his teens into his fifties.

In 2020, Jonathan joined a unique group of runners who have logged over 100,000 running miles in their lifetimes. https://www.100klifetimemiles.com/2020/09/jonathan-lyau-reached-100000-miles-on.html

His personal records at various distances include:

  • 800 meters 1:59.4
  • 1500 meters 4:00.3
  • 5 kilometers 15:07
  • 4 miles 19:29
  • 10 kilometers 31:56
  • 15 kilometers 49:07
  • Half Marathon 1:09:06
  • Marathon 2:29:25

Jonathan has coached on the personal, group, and high school levels, his runners ranging from teens to seniors:

  • 1994: Established Personal Best Training which helps runners with their running goals by providing a personalized run training program https://personalbesttraininghi.com/home-page
  • 1995: McKinley High School Head Boys’ Cross Country Coach
  • 1996-2013: Hawaii coach for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s Team in Training Marathon program.
  • 2002-2011: Kamehameha Schools Assistant Track Coach (girls’ distance)
  • 2015-2018:  Renegades Track Youth Coach
  • 2016-2020:  Lanikai Juice Run Club Coach
  • 2008-present: Iolani School Assistant Girls’ Cross Country Coach 

Additionally, Jonathan has made many and varied contributions to the Hawaii running community:

  • Authored many newspaper articles pertaining to running
  • 2014-present: Race director of annual Pearl Harbor 10k Run
  • 2009-present: Founder and director of Aloha Cross Country Camp for 7-12th graders https://www.alohacrosscountrycamp.com
  • Donated post event snacks to various local road races
  • Provided free weekly run group training (1994-present)
  • 2011-present: Hapalua Half Marathon, Team Hawaii Chase coordinator
  • 2016-present: Honolulu Marathon Race Staff

Jonathan is the owner and President of A.C. Lyau Company, LTD., a wholesale candy distribution company. He lives in Honolulu with his wife Kelli, a Kamehameha Schools math teacher and avid runner, daughter Sierra (18), and son Spencer (15).