On IRONMAN Saturday, Hāwī Becomes the End of the Road. Here's the Clock That Runs It.

Next Saturday, October 10, 2026, Akoni Pule Highway closes between the Kawaihae junction and Hāwī town from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The official detour into town is Kohala Mountain Road, Highway 250, from Waimea. For most of the day, the coastal road out of Hāwī belongs to the bike course, and the town sits at its far end.

Every rider in the field will come up that road, turn in front of Kohala Coffee Mill, and head back to Kona. This year that field is larger than it has been in years. Three times shape Saturday in Hāwī: when the road closes, when the last riders have to make the turn, and when the road reopens.

Why this year's field is different

From 2022 through 2025, the IRONMAN World Championship was split up. First it ran over two days in Kona, then it alternated men and women between Kona and Nice, France. Last year's Kona race was women only, and Big Island Now reported about 1,600 triathletes competing that day.

On October 10, men and women race on the same day in Kona for the first time in seven years. IRONMAN told Big Island Now that 2,548 athletes from 85 countries have registered, including 110 professionals. The professional men start at 6:20 a.m. at Kailua Pier, and the professional women follow at 6:30 a.m.

The bike leg is 112 miles from Kailua-Kona to the Hāwī turnaround and back. The last time Hāwī hosted a combined field on a single day was 2019. That year, a Kohala resident wrote on her blog about watching both the first man and the first woman make the turn in front of the coffee mill.

The race-day clock for North Kohala

The guide places the 2:40 p.m. cutoff at the Hāwī turnaround, about 59.3 miles into the bike course. Athletes who have not reached the turn by then are not allowed to continue, and an IRONMAN support vehicle takes them back to the race venue. IRONMAN says its cutoffs follow the approved traffic plan, which is why the times match when the roads reopen.

That makes 2:40 p.m. the useful time to remember in town. After it, the last riders are on their way back toward Kawaihae and the road is close to reopening. Before it, riders keep coming.

For when the first riders arrive, the only first-hand timestamp in local reporting is from 2017. That year, West Hawaii Today reported that Lionel Sanders was the first athlete to reach the turnaround, at 9:37 a.m. Start times and conditions were different then, so 9:37 is a reference point, not a forecast. Either way, the leaders reach Hāwī well after the road has closed, so if you're there for the first riders, you'll already be parked.

Getting in and out when the coast road is closed

The closed stretch of Akoni Pule Highway is the road between Hāwī and the Kohala Coast. From 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., anyone driving between Hāwī and Kawaihae, the Kohala Coast resorts, or Kona needs a different route.

The guide names Kohala Mountain Road from Waimea as the alternate way to reach Hāwī. If you're going south past Waimea, you'll hit a second closure. Queen Kaʻahumanu Highway is closed from the Kawaihae junction to the Kaiminani intersection from 7:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. The guide sends traffic between the hotels, the airport, and Kona over Waikoloa Road, Māmalahoa Highway 190, Kaiminani Drive, and Ane Keohokalole Highway, race traffic permitting.

A Saturday trip from Hāwī to Kona can involve both detours: over the mountain to Waimea, then upcountry on Highway 190. Big Island Now's October 3 race guide links an interactive road-impacts map with the official closure segments. It's worth opening before you plan any errand that leaves North Kohala.

The guide also tells athletes that the course runs up Akoni Pule Highway and asks them to "be alert for possible local traffic." If you live along the route, follow the course officials' directions and give yourself extra time near any barricade.

What the turnaround looks like up close

The guide lists the Hāwī turnaround as one of the course's official checkpoints. It also places one of the course's penalty tents there, so a rider who was carded earlier may stop in town to report before heading back.

West Hawaii Today's 2017 account is the most detailed published description of race morning at the turn. Early risers were sitting outside Kohala Coffee Mill when a moving van pulled up across the street. Volunteers unloaded it, set out traffic cones to separate incoming and outgoing riders, and put up a sandwich board with the turnaround symbol and one word on it: "Hawi." Another group iced drinks and cut orange segments for riders on their way back out of town.

Dot Seymour of Keauhou, who had volunteered with the race for 25 years and had worked the Hāwī turnaround for three, told the paper why she liked that spot:

"You get to see every single biker, even if they're coming in packs, because they all have to go around the turn basically one at a time."

That year the volunteers included North Kohala youth. A volunteer handed out bananas, oranges, and energy bars with the 4-H Pony Club Program. Renee Perez of the Kohala 4-H and Kohala Ride Wild clubs said the program, part of the North Kohala Community Resource Center, would receive a donation from IRONMAN for volunteering. No 2025 or 2026 source we found names the groups staffing the Hāwī station this year. IRONMAN's volunteer sign-up does list a bike-course aid-station role for October 10 in West Hawaiʻi, with shifts that vary by location.

Once the turnaround was ready in 2017, spectators turned the cafe chairs to face the street. Others lined both sides of the road and stood behind the barricades just feet from the turn. Some spectators drove up because they expected too many people at the finish line.

The wind is part of the scene, too. The athlete guide warns riders that from the airport area to Hāwī they will be biking into the trade winds, and that gusts can reach 60 mph in extreme conditions. After the turnaround, those winds are usually at their backs as far as Kawaihae. The riders coming into town have just finished the hardest part of the ride out.

A Saturday in town inside the closure

Because the road is closed only south of town, Hāwī's own Saturday can go on around the race. The businesses closest to the turnaround are all on the same short stretch of Akoni Pule Highway. The hours below come from current or recent listings, not race-day announcements, so call or check before you go.

1. Hawi Coffee Company at Kohala Coffee Mill, 55-3412 Akoni Pule Hwy, is the landmark the riders turn in front of. Its listing shows 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily, including Saturday, and the operator describes a menu of breakfast, lunch, smoothies, and coffee.
2. The Hāwī Farmers Market sets up under the banyan trees at the corner of Highway 270 and Hāwī Road, close to the turn. A 2025 guide lists Saturday hours of 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., while an older Kohala Mountain News item gives 8 a.m. to noon. We found no notice about race-day plans.
3. Bamboo Restaurant, 55-3415 Akoni Pule Hwy, lists lunch Tuesday through Sunday from 11:30 a.m. to about 2 p.m. That window closes shortly before the 2:40 p.m. cutoff.
4. Kohala Grown Market, 55-3419 Akoni Pule Hwy, is listed as open Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., with produce and local products.
5. Our Founding Farmers, the ice cream shop at 55-3409 Akoni Pule Hwy, is listed as open daily from noon to 5 p.m.

All five addresses are on the 55-34xx block of Akoni Pule Highway, a short walk from the turn. If you start the day at the coffee mill, the morning's food, shopping, and race-watching are all within walking distance until the road reopens at 4:30 p.m.

If you're coming from Waimea or anywhere else south of Hāwī, plan to drive Kohala Mountain Road both ways. Coming from Kapaʻau, the closed segment is south of where you're going, not between you and town.

I grew up between Waimea and North Kohala, and Hāwī's race Saturday is one of the town's biggest days of the year. If you have questions about getting around North Kohala that week or about life in this part of the island, reach out to Denni Keyes. Let's Connect.