Resolution Run 2010

I must be getting older, since I didn't even make it up to midnight on New Year's Eve this year! And to be honest, I didn't really mind that much. The reason for my early retirement to bed was the New Year's Day Resolution Run 5K in Hilo, and I had to get up early for the drive. Thankfully, the race didn't start until 9:30, so I didn't have to get up at a ridiculous time, but it was still dark when I started the drive.

The sun started coming up just as I was driving up the Saddle Road (the road connecting the Hilo side and the Kona side). For those of you that don't know, the first 10 or so miles at the west end of the Saddle Road is rutted, curvy and all around awful. Add to that the fact that I couldn't see much in front of me because of the blazing sun, and it was a white knuckle ride for about 20 minutes. Once that challenge was over, it was smooth sailing into Hilo.

I arrived at Coconut Island in Hilo for the race around 9, signed in, met Wayne "Big Dog" Joseph who hosted the race, and took a little warm-up. By 9:30 about 75 people had arrived to start the New Year off with a little 3.1 mile run. The race course took us out through the Coconut Island Park, to the main road and along the bay. A very nice, flat course.

Start/Finish Area for Race

View of beginning of course

View of Hilo Bay from Coconut Island

Since I was on my own (Jason stayed back to open the store), I wasn't able to get any photos of the actual race. But Alan Ryan won the men's race in 18:25 and Lory Hunter won the women's race in 22:25. Full race results are available on the Big Dog's blog: http://waynejoseph.wordpress.com/2010/01/01/new-years-resolution-5k-runwalk-results/

Everyone seemed excited about the start of a New Year and the Resolution Run was a great way to start it. As one fellow runner put it, everyone ran their best time of the year in the Resolution Run. Hopefully there are many more PRs to come.

Once the race was over, I headed back over the Saddle Road to Kona. It was a rare clear day and along the way, I was able to get some great shots of Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa.

Mauna Kea

Mauna Kea

Mauna Loa behind the lava

Happy New Year everyone!