New Year, New Events

Like many other people, I made some New Year's Resolutions this year.  One of them was to update this blog more frequently, since the last post is from (gasp) October! Of course, writing the first new post on January 27 of the new year probably means that I already broke this resolution, but we're still going to give it a shot!

So much has happened over the last several months:

• We opened a new store location in Hale Ku'i Plaza out by Costco.  The new store is three times as big as our Alii Drive location and lets us do some cool things like video gait analysis on a treadmill, expand into different shoe brands, bring in kids' shoes and new products like swimwear.  If you haven't checked it out yet, make sure to stop by on your way to Costco! We're also right next door to Cycle Station, so you can pick up all of your triathlon needs in one stop!

• Our Couch to 5k group was the largest ever and had a great time completing the Jingle Bell Beach Run. Full results are available here. Most of those new runners have kept up with their running into the new year!

• On a sad note, Wayne "Big Dog" Joseph, race director for the Big Island International Marathon, lost his battle with cancer. His absence will be missed in the running community on the Big Island, but his spirit will live on.

Photo by Marie Kuramoto

• Last weekend, I completed my first triathlon ever - Team Mango's Super Sprint Triathlon.  It was a 200 yard swim, 6 mile bike, and 1.5 mile run. I had fun, except for the initial bike portion climbing Hualalai Road from Alii Drive to the Highway.  That was quite the challenge considering I never cycle, but I made it! I don't see too many triathlons in my future, though. Full results from the Super Sprint Triathlon are available here.

Photo by Kiser Motorcycles

• Over this weekend, Jason competed in one of the craziest events ever on the mainland - the Krispy Kreme Donut Dash. The race started out with a two-mile run, then you had to eat a dozen Krispy Kreme donuts before running the two miles back to the start.  According to Jason, this run was a lot more about the eating than the running.  Jason finished the race in 34:30 and his brother-in-law finished in 47:37.  But the real star of the family was his sister Erica, who apparently is a champion eater, as well as a super-speedy runner.  She was the first female and second place overall with a time of 31:22.  I don't know if you'll be able to convince any of them to ever do that again, though!

Doesn't that look like fun? Photo by Wendell Braswell

This morning was Peaman's first race of the year - the Super Bowl Shuffle Biathlon, a 1/2 mile swim and 3.1 mile run. I'll post some pictures and results from that race in separate post tomorrow (keeping this resolution going!)

Next weekend there are two events happening on the west side of the island.  The first is Team Mango's Springtime Triathlon, a 1/2 mile swim, 15 mile bike and 6 mile run, starting at 7:00 a.m. from the Kona Pier.  Also that same morning is the Strang Super Bowl Sunday Half Marathon and Pickup Run.  The 13.1 Mile course runs from Kua Bay to Yoga Hale starting at 7:00 a.m.  If you don't want to run quite that far, you can join the group at Kaiminani at 7:45 for an 8 mile run or Kona Mountain Coffee at 8 a.m. for 6.2 miles. 

Race Report: Peavine Falls Run

The Peavine Falls Run is a classic Birmingham, Alabama race.  It takes place in the very beautiful Oak Mountain State Park, just south of Birmingham.  Always run on the Fourth of July, this race is never short on heat or humidity.  It is also not lacking for hills.  The course runs up the road to Peavine Falls (which is now entirely paved; in the past it was dirt), which is a climb of about 550 feet over 3.5 or so miles.  You then turn around at the blessed water stop at the top and head back down.  When you're about a mile from where you started, you turn onto a rolling, wooded section of singletrack and head for the finish.  The total course is about 8.2 miles.  Because of conditions and terrain, this is always one of the more challenging races around and is quite popular with those who like challenges and the insane.  Falling into at least one of those categories, Erica and I could not resist the race.  (Both of us have done this race several times in the past, yet still keep coming back.)
Race morning was about what you would expect for Birmingham on the Fourth--probably around 80 degrees with full blast humidity.  Soon after the gun (and the pre-race prayer asking God to take pity on the poor runners about to run up the hill), I settled into 4th place and got ready to do some climbing.  I managed to reel one suffering soul in during the climb to the top but found myself about 1:30 back of the lead two at the turnaround.  As you might guess, the trip down was a lot more fun than the slog up, but I gave up more ground to the leaders.  I finished in 52:19, which was good for 3rd place.  As I crossed the finish line, the announcer told me and the finish line observers that third place was good for $50,000.  Since this race cost only $5 to enter and had a field of about 400, I quickly surmised that the race organizers had found a way to tap into federal bailout/stimulus funds.  It turns out, instead, that I had actually won $20, which was still a nice return on my investment--especially since Erica paid my $5--and more than enough for some delicious postrace Chik-Fil-A.

Erica wasn't too far behind, cruising in at 54:14, which was the first female and 6th overall.  Her stated winnings of $100,000 turned out to be a tidy $50, which was promptly invested into provisions for her Fourth of July party.

The winner was of the race was Scott Strand of the Trak Shak.  Scott is a very accomplished runner and a Birmingham legend, so I couldn't feel too badly that he leaned at the tape and beat me by 4:07.  Full results are here.  After the race, Scott and I discussed his impressive run and the unique facets of the running store biz.  We were also joined at the race by spectators Wendell Braswell (famous for his crewing duty during the Hilo to Volcano relay), Jenny Clay (famous for drawing Big Island Running Company's logos), Robin Hollon (who took the photos in this blog post), and Jason Hollon (who shared in the running fun experience).

Jason H, happy to be home:


Jenny tried to inspire a finishing kick by Erica, but it was not to be:

Race Report: 2010 Mercedes Half-Marathon

On February 14, while Jason and Melissa got to enjoy the warm weather in Hilo for a 5k, the other member of the Big Island Running Company's racing team, Erica, braved the unseasonable cold in Birmingham, Alabama for the Mercedes Half-Marathon. Undeterred by the cold, Erica was the winning female in a new PR and Alabama state record of 1:18:37 on a tough course! Full results of the race are here. Erica was running the race as part of her buildup to the 13th Annual Big Island International Marathon in Hilo on March 21. The coach of the BIRC racing team had this to say about Erica's run: "It was a great effort by Erica, but not a surprising result. Her training is going very well, and she's right on pace for a great run in Hilo. Jason better lay off the loco moco if he's going to be able to keep up with her."

In a Big Island Running Co. blog first, here's some video of Erica's run--look for the "Run Big" shirt (thanks to Ryan Speegle for the video):