A 48-year-old Army sergeant major from the Islands has raised more than $10,500 — and counting — for wounded vets. And he did it by running 100 miles.

Ruben Cavazos was granted permission to remotely participate in one of his favorite races of the year: a 100-mile trek on trails through Manoa, Tantalus and Nu'uanu.

So he started his race on Jan. 19 at 6 a.m., just like his fellow Hurt 100 race runners. But instead of running on trails in urban Honolulu, he ran 20 times around a five-mile loop on Camp Arifjan in Kuwait, where he is deployed.

Cavazos finished the race in 18 hours and 59 minutes.

"I really don't know if I can run this time again," Cavazos said in an e-mail. "It was very sad to do it here and not in Hawai'i ... but by doing it here I truly experience something unique that no one else has done."

Cavazos has run the Hurt 100 six times.

And when he learned about his deployment to Kuwait, he approached race directors to ask whether he could run his seventh race outside the Islands. As part of the race, Cavazos planned to raise money for injured military veterans.

The money he got will go to the Wounded Warriors Project. He is still counting donations that were mailed in.

The Hurt 100, coordinated by the Hawaiian Ultra Running Team, covers 100 miles on rough Honolulu trails, in which long-distance runners finish five 20-mile laps.

Finish times vary between 22 and 36 hours.

Cavazos wore No. 100 in the Hurt 100 race this year.

He said his time was so good because of the much flatter terrain in Kuwait. It was also chilly, with moderate winds.

Though no one else ran the race remotely, about 35 soldiers took on five- to 30-mile stints alongside Cavazos in the race.

"Having many of my young soldiers, and older as well, coming out to support me ... made this event a good experience," Cavazos said in his e-mail.

Meanwhile, Cavazos is already planning for next year.

In 2009, though, he plans to run the race in Hawai'i.

Reach Mary Vorsino at mvorsino@honoluluadvertiser.com.