Very Fast Visitors to Big Island Running Company!

Being in Kona, we get to meet and talk story with a lot of elite triathletes, which is always a good time, but it is a rare treat when we are fortunate enough to run into an elite runner. Imagine our surprise when we bumped into one of the top American distance runners visiting our little corner of paradise!

As we mentioned in our post yesterday, Thursday morning started off with the Wobble & Gobble race on Walua Trail. The race attracted many residents as well as several visitors to the Kona area. Prior to the race, we were talking to a very nice woman from Oregon, who was vacationing in Kona with her husband and his family. Imagine our surprise when she turned out to be professional runner Lauren Fleshman, with her husband Jesse Thomas! Both Jesse and Lauren attended Stanford where Lauren was a 15-time All-American and 3-time 5K national champion and Jesse was the 2001 Pac-10 Steeplechase Champion.

Lauren was nursing some injuries, so she did not compete in the Wobble & Gobble, however, she assisted at the finish line and helped pass out medals to the keiki. Jesse competed and set the course record. After the race, they stopped by the Big Island Running Company for some pictures.

Congrats to Jesse on his win and best of luck to Lauren and Jesse in their upcoming training and races!