Meet 2 runners who’ve laced up for every Honolulu Marathon since Day 1

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – In just a matter of days, tens of thousands of people will hit the road competing in the 52nd annual Honolulu Marathon.
Among them, will be a pair of particularly persistent runners.
Neuroscientist Jerold Chun was just 14 years old when his father signed him and his siblings up for the first Honolulu Marathon in 1973.
Their dad’s nickname was “Hunky” and they were a blended family of 8. They sported shirts that said “The Hunky Bunch.”
Since then, Chun has taken on the Honolulu Marathon every single year. He even ran 26.2 miles on his treadmill during the pandemic.
“That was hell,” he recalled.
And even when Chun lived on the East Coast, snowstorms couldn’t keep him from missing the annual race.
Of course, a lot has changed since the first Honolulu Marathon.
“There were no cool running shoes like they have today. I mean, in fact, there were still people running barefoot in some of those early marathons,” Chun recalled.
Now 65 years old, Chun says his 14-year-old self wouldn’t believe he’s still taking on the running challenge.
“I’m thankful to still be standing still,” he said. “It’s also a way to remember my late father who got us going in this activity.”
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The neuroscientist isn’t the only one that returns to finish the race every year.
For Gary Dill, it all started as a dare, or in his words “a spoof,” after a hearty Thanksgiving dinner in 1973.
“My roommate comes out with a sports page of The Advertiser back then, and it had an entry blank for the first-ever Honolulu Marathon. And if you finish within 5 hours — this is put on by the running club, by the way — you get a free T-shirt. I finish the Honolulu Marathon, a T-shirt for two bucks.”
And Dill’s motivation to run hasn’t changed.
When asked why he chooses to run in the Honolulu Marathon every year, he answered, “The t-shirt.”
Dill’s got quite the collection, including the first medal that was given to runners in 1988.
“Oh it kept on for another 15 years or so, the only big difference was what was printed on it,” he said.
Despite injuries and health problems, 80-year-old Dill — a former rugby player — persevered through it all to complete the race. And he’s focused on reaching the finish line again this year.
Like when he had the flu at the 20th annual Honolulu Marathon.
“I looked up at the clock and I realized I’ve been sleeping for like two hours, sleeping on a stone wall, you know,” he said.
Dill and Chun were inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2007, and then honored in 2022 for running the race 50 times.
To them, it’s more than just keeping the streak going.
“It’s indescribable, but it’s the human spirit, cooperativeness, camaraderie,” Dill said.
“It really is a celebration of life,” Chun said. “Fellowship that those relationships, they they all really matter especially as you get older.”
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