Maui man completes fourth trek around the island
Brian Sato raises funds for The Maui Farm in Makawao
Makawao resident Brian Sato and friend Ali Cotsoradis take a selfie during their nearly two-week walk around Maui to raise money for The Maui Farm. Photo courtesy Brian Sato
Brian Sato of Makawao is pictured at the Ahihi-Kina‘u Natural Area Reserve last week in South Maui. Sato completed his trek around the island on Sunday, raising about $23,000 for his employer, The Maui Farm, through community donations and the help of one big, anonymous donor. Photo courtesy The Maui Farm
Makawao resident Brian Sato and friend Ali Cotsoradis take a selfie during their nearly two-week walk around Maui to raise money for The Maui Farm. Photo courtesy Brian Sato
Brian Sato of Makawao is pictured at the Ahihi-Kina‘u Natural Area Reserve last week in South Maui. Sato completed his trek around the island on Sunday, raising about $23,000 for his employer, The Maui Farm, through community donations and the help of one big, anonymous donor. Photo courtesy The Maui Farm
Trending
Finding kindhearted people and making new friends is what truly makes a 165-mile walk around Maui enjoyable for Brian Sato, who completed the feat for the fourth time.
The 64-year-old Makawao man arrived at Baldwin Beach Park on Sunday morning, wrapping up a nearly two-week walk around the island. His treks benefit local nonprofits, with this year's beneficiary his own employer, The Maui Farm, which provides transitional housing and farm-based, family-centered programs that teach essential life skills for self-sufficient living.
His walking partner this year, friend and former Maui resident Ali Cotsoradis, elected to finish the walk a day earlier, Sato said. The pair began their journey together on April 14 at Baldwin Beach Park.
"I feel good. I'm relieved it's over now," Sato said about half an hour after he completed his walk. "I'm now on my way to get something to eat."
One of Sato's souvenirs from the trip included a big blister under his left foot, which he posted a photo of on Facebook.
Sato said he believed he had surpassed his goal of $10,000, garnering nearly $13,000 in donations. An anonymous donor came forward prior to his walk and pledged $10,000 if Sato could match that amount on his own. The walk has raised about $23,000, Sato estimated.
"I always say this is going to be the last one," Sato said of his islandwide walks. "It's going to be one of those things, if some other nonprofit pops up that I think deserves the help, then maybe."
Kandice Johns, executive director of The Maui Farm, said in an email last week that Sato is "a true hero" of the organization and "champion of the families in our programs."
"He has inspired compassion and support from dozens of others in the community; and with each step of his journey he embodies strength, commitment, determination and resilience - and is a living example of many of the same values we focus on with families daily at The Maui Farm," Johns wrote.
Raising funds for a worthy cause and meeting new people is what drives Sato each time. He said the treks under the hot sun and occasional stormy weather is no longer a personal goal, since he has done the same route multiple times before and already seen the the beautiful scenery.
"The thing that I like about it, is the people that I meet along the way," he said.
This year was no different.
When Sato and Cotsoradis needed help moving their van from Keanae to Hana, a worker from Travaasa Hana said she would give them a ride after her shift. Another East Maui resident offered to take the pair to get their van "any time."
Sato said they took up the offer from the man, whom they now know as "Clayton." He gave up an hour and a half of his time to give them a ride to pick up the van to move it to a new location.
Whenever the pair got stuck and needed something, Sato would put out a call on his Facebook events page, and to the Hana Alerts & Highway Updates Facebook page when they were in East Maui.
Sato said he gets to interact with people during the walks, too. Some knew what he and Cotsoradis were up to, while others stopped and asked. Old friends also showed up offering meals along the way.
He added that Cotsoradis did well in her first walk around the island. The 24-year-old Michigan woman squeezed in her second COVID-19 shot in between the daily treks and felt ill after the East Maui-to-South Maui portion of the walk. She took a short break before joining Sato again.
Cotsoradis was the one who convinced Sato to do this walk, having missed out on previous walks when she lived on Maui.
With youth on her side, Cotsoradis "set the pace," walking ahead of Sato and stopping every 10 to 15 minutes to see where he was before picking it back up again.
"I don't know if it's old age, (but) after eight miles every day, the bottoms of my feet would be sore," Sato said.
He joked that the older he gets, the longer the treks seem, even though he takes the same route every time.
"Sometimes, it feels like it has gotten longer," he said.
For highlights of the walk, see Sato's personal Facebook page as well as his events page, "Brian walks for The Maui Farm."
Donations may be made through The Maui Farm's website at themauifarm.org or Sato's GoFundMe page at gofundme.com/f/1wszvyr7k0.
* Melissa Tanji can be reached at mtanji@mauinews.com.