Big Island International Marathon 2014

2014 was a year of changes for the Big Island International Marathon, as well as some weather-related challenges!  The weekend kicked off on Saturday morning with the Health and Fitness Expo at the Hilo Hawaiian Moku Ola Ballroom.  The big topic of conversation was what the weather would be like for the race.  With wind warnings and rain projected, everyone was stocking up on hats and Bodyglide.  Too bad we don't sell Run Big ponchos, because those might have sold out!

Photo by Marie Kuramoto

Later that evening after the vendors packed up from the expo, the ballroom was converted to the pre-race Carbo-Load dinner. In addition to the pasta selection, attendees were treated to a great hula show and random prize drawings.  Some of the prizes were Bioastin swag bags courtesy of emcee Eddie O and Big Island Running Company gear. 

At the dinner, I had the pleasure of sitting next to Michael Georgi, a Big Island International Marathon VIP.  He's won the race several times and finished this year's marathon in 3:32:13, winning the 60-64 age group and coming in 14th overall.  It was great listening to the stories of all the different races he's done. And he achieved his goal of setting the new course record for the 60-64 age group.

Me and Michael Georgi (Photo by Marie Kuramoto)

As we left the Carbo-Load dinner, we could hear the wind whistling off the ocean.  Runners staying at the Hilo Hawaiian might have lost some sleep listening to it rattle the windows all night long.  When it was time for the races to start, the wind was still blowing at Bayfront, but the rain had subsided for a time.  This year, race director Bob Wedemann adjusted the courses so that all runners started from Bayfront instead of shuttling people out to a start in Pepeeko.  The course ran north on the highway before venturing off onto the Old Scenic Road, with separate turnarounds for the half and full marathon.  There was also a staggered start as the marathon runners started at 6 a.m. while the half marathoners started at 6:15. 

When we showed up at the start line, we could kind of see that the tents used for post-race refreshments and massage had become a twisted mess, but the rain didn't start in full force until just after the gun went off for the half marathon. The rain was cold and stingy and made many runners (including myself) have second thoughts about continuing on the course. But luckily the rain subsided after the first mile or so and the run turned into quite a pleasant run.  We were already completely soaked, so any of the off and on sprinkles the rest of the race felt refreshing.  There were also several rainbows that made for beautiful backdrops on the course.

The first half of the race was a little challenging as you had to climb a slight hill out of Hilo and then run up and down through the gulches north of town.  But the scenery was incredible, as were the hearty spectators who came out to cheer people on (and offer donuts to the runners)! Once we reached the turnaround point, it was mostly downhill back to Bayfront before a short loop on Banyan Drive.  For me, it was great to be back running a race again after last year's battle with plantar fasciitis.  It wasn't my fastest half in 1:51:54, but I had a lot of fun running parts of the race with Sarah Nicola, Don Kirby, and Chitwin San Tun. Jason sat this race out and served as race photographer - more photos of the race are available here.

Men's top three overall

In the half marathon, Chris Gregory took first place overall with a time of 1:17:48, followed by Kelley Mckay in 1:20:20 and BIRC group member Brian Pruitt in 1:23:28.  The fourth finisher overall was the first woman, Kathleen O'Neil from Honolulu who finished in 1:24:01.  Abby Santurbane finished in second place for the ladies in a time of 1:30:27 and Chiho Morita was third in 1:33:49.  Full results from the half marathon are available here.

Brian, James and Ben

Big Island Running Company group members represented well with several top finishes in the half marathon.  James Resor, Don Kirby and Jon Kunitake all finished first in their age groups.  Ben Halpern and Sarah Nicola finished in second place in their age groups and John Ferdico took third in his age group.

Sarah Nicola

 

The Kirby brothers

Maggie Leite

Jon Kunitake

We are usually able to stick around for a bit to watch the marathon finishers come in, but the rain and wind this year didn't make that possible.  The race officials decided to hold the awards ceremony in the bottom of the Hilo Hawaiian Hotel, so we missed seeing a lot of the marathoners finish. 
Harumitsu Yoshinaga was the first marathon finisher in a time of 2:51:11.  Second place went to Will Mroz of Philadelphia, PA in a time of 3:02:02 and third place was Todd Reynolds of Fort Worth, Texas in 3:04:06. Annette Leistad was the first female finisher in 3:27:34, followed by Yoko Yamazawa in 3:27:49.  Kona's own Brooke Myers was the third female in 3:29:09. Full results from the marathon are available here.

While the rest of us were out on the race course, the event also hosted a 5k.  In that event, Dayson Sato was first in 20:50. David Pinyerd (21:19) and Florian Nussberger (21:35) followed in second and third place.  Jordan Concannon took first place for the ladies in 22:13, while Keri Fujiwara (23:33) and Melissa Wilson (23:41) completed the top three. Full results from the race are available here.

Congratulations to all of the participants and mahalo to all of the volunteers who braved the weather to make it a first-class event!  Also, mahalo to race directors Bob and Joe Wedemann for all their hard work putting this event on!