Run for Hops 5k/10k

Saturday morning over 500 people gathered for one of the biggest 5k/10k races on the island - the Run for Hops.  This is the fifth year of the event that is held in connection with the Kona Brewer's Festival.  For the first four years, the event was held at the Kona Brewing Company, but as the race and the brewfest got larger, they had to find a new space to host.  So this year the start and finish line moved to BMW Hawaii, which had a great location for a fun race.  Not to worry, though, the beer kegs moved as well, so runners were treated to a frosty Kona Brew after the run.

The morning started off with the 10k runners, who made a loop into Old Airport before heading out towards the highway with a loop through old Industrial.  This is not an easy course, but Sam Corace made it look like one, coming in first in 36:45. Paul Needham from Vancouver, BC was second in 39:33, followed by Joel Anhalt of Arcadia, MI in 39:49.

Rick Vidgen

For the women, Brooke Myers took first overall in 43:42. Jeni Winegarner was second in 44:02 and Chelsea McKenzie was third in 44:34.  Although this race brings in a lot of mainland runners, the top three women in the 10k are all from West Hawaii!

Race to the finish!

The 5k race started about 10 minutes after the 10k and made one loop through Old Airport before heading back to the finish line.  This race was filled with both fast runners and families.  Levi Thomet of Kodiak, AK was the first runner to cross the finish line in 17:01, although he pulled up a little short a first, so would have definitely come in under 17 minutes without that slip-up! Justin Butler (18:26) from Kona and Ziggy Bartholomy (19:36) from Hawi were the second and third place finishers.

An Oka family!

The ladies' 5k was won by Mellissa Davidson of Hanscom Air Force Base, MA in 22:08.  Vickie Zeman of Hartland, WI was second in 23:55 and Shauna Turner of Honolulu was third in 24:21.

Full results from both races are available here. 

Kellie Kurashige and Titan

After the race, the real fun began, with post-race refreshments, beer and awards.  Thanks to Chico Barrios for catching some of the action for us! More pictures are available here.

Congratulations to everyone who ran the race and thanks to all of the volunteers who helped out for a fun morning!

Up this weekend is the Big Island International Marathon, Half Marathon and 5k in Hilo.  For those in Kona, there is also a 5k Leprechaun-a-Thon and Sham-Walk hosted by the Waverider Tri Club.  We hope you can make it to one of those events!

Zoomin' Zak Plunge and Plod Biathlon!

Last weekend racers gathered at the pier for Peaman's Zoomin' Zak Plunge and Plod Biathlon.  Thanks to John Simmerman who helped out with the timing, I was actually able to race a Peaman event for the first time in about six months.  Of course, that means we still aren't able to take pictures of the races.  The one token picture in this post is from last year's event, but you can imagine it looked very similar.

The distances for this race were a half mile swim and a 3.9 mile run.  The water was pretty calm and there was a good sized crowd for the race. Full results from the race are available here.

In the overall race, Tommy Vonach came in first in 37:51, followed by Don Baldasari in 41:25 and Chris Prater in 41:54.  For the ladies, it was Hannah Seifert taking first place in 47:17; Cobey Ackerman was second in 48:15; and Marissa Bryant-Manago was third in 49:34. I squeaked out fourth in 50:12.

On the way out, I had a great swim, reaching the turnaround about 1 minute faster than usual.  Of course, I gave almost all of that back by swimming way crooked on the way back in, finishing about 10 seconds faster than usual.

After transition, it was out onto the run course.  After running with Chitwin for the first mile, I spotted my targets ahead - Bree Wee and Mike Masuda.  Bree had raced the swim portion and then waited for Mike to come out of the water and ran with him. I kept reeling them in until right before the turnaround when I made my move.  After passing them, I knew I had to keep pushing until the very end, otherwise they were very likely to pass me again! One of the benefits (or downsides) of a small race like this is that you know everyone coming in the other direction so they all give you a cheer or encouragement.  Of course, they also all know Bree and Mike, so I could count the time between cheers for me and cheers for them and know how close they were staying behind me.  And it was close, as they both finished less than 10 seconds behind me.  But I appreciate the push they gave me!

In the relay portion, the father/daughter relay team of Charlie Camacho (run) and Leahi Camacho (swim) took first place with a time of 44:37.  For the run only group, Chico Barrios finished first in 29:44, followed by Ariana Bahret in 29:55 and Alan Ryan in 29:59 (run-only participants started 15 minutes after the initial start).

In the peawee portion of the race, Kanaipono Eckart was first in 12:05, followed by a finned Lainey Eckart in 12:19 and Hana and her dog in 14:02.



The weekend before last had two races that I didn't recap.  The results from the unofficial Mango spring triathlon are here.  I haven't been able to find results from the Waikaumalo Challenge that I ran on the Hilo side of the island, but if those ever appear, I'll make sure to post them.

Up this weekend is the Run for Hops tomorrow morning at 7:30 a.m. at BMW Hawaii on Loloku Street.  This event features both a 5k and 10k and of course, post-race beer. See you out there!

Trudging, Dashing and Galloping

The middle of February means it's time for Peaman's annual run-only event that's measured in inches.  The Terrific Turtle Trudge (332,640 inches), Dragon Dash (126,720 inches) and Golden Fox 1-mile Gallop (63,360) are also divided into weight classes for the finishers. Full results from the races are available here.

As usual, Jason and I had to split this one up, so he timed the race while I got to run it. And thanks to Maggie McCleery for sharing some of her photos with us!

Everyone lined up and got ready to run:

Since all the races start together, it's a little difficult to tell who's racing which distance. At Bubba Gump's the participants in the Golden Fox Gallop started to turn around.  Coming in first in that distance was Jake Lacey in 7:29, followed by Max Musacchia (8:20) and Michael (Teagan) DeCarli (8:26). 

The runners in the Dragon Dash had to climb the hill by the Royal Kona and then turned right to make the loop past the Royal Kona and Huggo's before finishing back on Alii Drive. Carl Millen came in first in that distance in 12:41.  Ruben "Shark Bait" Ruiz was second in 13:49 and Mike Masuda was third in 14:12. And some of the participants in our last Couch to 5K group came out to run, too!

The runners in the Terrific Turtle Trudge finally got to turn around just past Royal Poinciana at Living Stones Church before heading back along Alii Drive.  Allen Wagner was the first place finisher in a time 28:25, breaking the course record that Jason set last year by just a few seconds.  Tai Scarbrough came in second, finishing in 31:50 even while pushing his son in a baby jogger!  Bree Wee was the first female and third place finisher in 33:00.

I was a little bit worried about this race from the beginning because it had been a rough week of running for me.  And I knew what I had done the race in last year and all I was really shooting for was getting under 38.  But I wasn't even sure that was going to happen.  On the way out I tried to keep the pace under control but pushed it a bit to keep up with a pack of runners, including Kawika Singson.  The two of us ended running the majority of the race together, and I think it really helped both of us keep the pace going. Kawika pulled away on the way up the last hill, but I managed to keep it pretty strong after the top of the hill. I never caught up to him again, but I did finish in 37:28, over 30 seconds faster than my run last year.  I was definitely pleased with this effort and am looking forward to the next couple months of racing coming up!

This weekend's Team Mango event has been cancelled due to permitting issues, but some people are getting together around the same time to do some informal swim-bike-run training.  Also on Sunday, there is a run on the other side of the island - the Waikaumalo Challenge at Waikaumalo Park at 7:30 am.  There are two distances in this run, 4 miles and 7 miles.  The course is on the Old Scenic Route, so it's a great practice run for the start of the Big Island International Marathon and Half Marathon.

Team Mango's Monster and Mini-Monster Races

For the past three years, Team Mango and Carl "Gecko" Koomoa has been putting on an event that allows people to compete in an Ironman-distance race in Kona, without having to qualify.   That event took place this past weekend with the Monster and Mini-Monster Triathlons.  Another nice thing about these events is that relays are allowed, so more people can get in on the fun.

Water Patrol

The day started off with the pre-race briefing by Gecko. 

Both the Monster and the Mini-Monster started at the same time, with a swim out to the 1.2 mile buoy and back. For Monster participants, it was then back into the water for another loop.  Meanwhile, the Mini-Monster participants headed out on the bike course, which was on the highway out towards the Mauna Lani and back to Alii Gardens Marketplace on Alii Drive.  From there, the runners ran out towards Old Airport and essentially took a lap around Target before heading back down Alii Drive, all the way to the bottom of the hill in Keauhou.  The finish line this year was in Alii Gardens Marketplace, which really was an ideal location for a post-race gathering and transition area.  The Monster participants rode all the way out towards Hawi on the bike before turning around and heading back to the transition area.  Their run course was two loops of the Mini-Monster run course.  Full results from the races are available here.

Jason with swim coach Steve

Jason and I decided a couple of months ago to do a relay.  Obviously Jason was going to be the cyclist and I said I would do the run.  Somehow I then got assigned the swim portion as well, which I was dreading.  Enter my savior, Sarah Chang, who stepped in last Thursday and agreed to do the swim for us.  Add the fact that she's a fantastic swimmer to my great relief in not having to do the swim, and I was a happy camper.

Sarah getting (or giving?) race tips

The day before the race, rumors were circulating that there might be a super speedy swimmer doing the relay.  That turned out to be true as Lance Armstrong came to swim for Bree Wee's relay team. Regardless of everyone's personal opinion towards him, everyone showed their aloha towards him. Of course, he turned in the fastest swim split of the day with a 26 minute swim. 

Lance after the tag

Tony Frost from Canada came out of the water second in 29:14.  Next came the first woman and our relay partner Sarah who swam a 30:19 and got Jason out onto the bike in good position.   

The rest of the swimmers kept streaming in, with Lori Montgomery leading the way for the Monster participants with a time of 1:03:23 for her finned swim.  Kuba Wuls (1:11:06) was second, followed by Dene Sturm in 1:12:20.  

After the swimmers were done, it was time for a little waiting and resting while the bikers were out on the course.  Everyone moved down to Alii Gardens Marketplace where T2 was set up.

Sarah and Chico

Meanwhile, the cyclists were having a heck of a time out on the Queen K.  Everyone commented on how strong those winds were.  Apparently most people were struggling to hit double digit miles per hour on the way out, but once they turned around they were immediately up to 30 MPH! I'm guessing the ride in was a lot more fun than the ride out.

Thomas Vonach hit T2 first after the fastest bike split of the day, but Bree Wee was hot on his heels.  She tagged off to Dana Hendry for her relay run, while I waited to see how much time I'd have to try to make up on the run. As usual, I initially said I'd do the run as a "training run" (and Jason agreed), but as it got closer to the race I started realizing that neither Jason or I would be happy if I didn't try to run a little faster than training run pace, depending on where the other relay teams were. In a little bit, Jason came in after a 2 hour and 50 minute bike. At that point I pretty much realized we weren't going to catch Bree's team, but we still took off at a pretty good pace.  (My running partner Chitwin came out to run with me, which was a little crazy, but super nice of him).

For the first part of the run, you could see where the people around you were - the bikes were coming in along the same route and runners were going back and forth. I was a little worried about this run, since it was taking place at 10:30 in the morning, which is not a time I usually run.  And boy was it hot! But luckily the aid stations were plentiful, and they were handing out full bottles of water. At each aid station I grabbed a bottle and threw 3/4 of it over my head and tried to drink the rest.  By the end of the run I was dripping wet and could wring out my clothes.  But that really helped, along with the arm coolers I wore for the first time, and I was able to run just a bit faster than last week, finishing in 1:49:47, a time I was pretty happy with given the conditions.

Our relay ended up in third place. I never really came close to Bree's runner and their team took first. I did catch up to Rob Van Geen who was doing the relay with Kym Kiser (and then later that night ran the marathon portion of the Monster for a relay, too!).  But at about that same time I got passed by a super speedy Dan Hodel who was running for Dave Pratt, taking second place for the relays. 

In the Mini-Monster race, Thomas Vonach held on to his lead to win for the third year in a row in a time of 4:21:28.  Christopher Caswell of Canada was second place in a time of 4:38:21 and Jano Soto was third in 4:40:30.  Jeni Winegarner was first for the ladies in 5:01:44.  Nancy Fedeyko was second for the women in 6:07:52 and Susan Nixon was third in 6:11:28. 

For the full Monster distance, Dene Sturm was the first one to complete the full distance in a time of 13:10:15.  Kuba Wuls was second in 13:37:07 and Jim Moore was third in 14:52:50. 

In the Monster relays, the team of Lori Montgomery, Jay Plasman and Chica Barrios edged out the team of Daniel Brandis and Rob Van Geen by about 1 minute.  Congrats to everyone who competed, especially those who were doing this distance for the first time! You completed a hard course without a ton of spectator support, which is quite an accomplishment! 

Special thanks to Gecko and all of the volunteers for making this event a success and an enjoyable way to spend a Sunday!

February's Kickoff

While the pro football season was winding to a close last Sunday with the Super Bowl, local athletes were kicking off a busy month of events in Kona.  Two events were held simultaneously last weekend before all the Super Bowl parties got underway.

At the pier, triathletes gathered for Team Mango's Springtime Triathlon, a 1/2 mile swim, 15 mile bike and 6 mile run.  The bike was three loops of the hilly course that we covered a couple weeks ago at Team Mango's Super Sprint Triathlon.  Then the run was one loop of that same hilly course.  At the end of the event, Thomas Vonach was first with an overall time of 1:25:56.  Kym Kiser was the sole woman to complete the course in a time of 1:44:59.  Unfortunately the other female race participant, Ricci Racela, had a bike wreck mid-race so we wish her a speedy recovery.  Full results from the race are available here.


At the same time, runners gathered north of town for the annual Strang Super Bowl Sunday 1/2 Marathon and Pick-up Run.  The unofficial first starting point was the Four Seasons where four individuals ran all the way into town to Yoga Hale for a 16.25 mile run.  Congrats to Brooke Myers, Scott Jewsbury, Jeff Strang and Jessica Robinson for completing that long run!

16.25 Mile
Brooke Myers 2:16
Scott Jewsbury 2:17
Jeff Strang 2:25
Jessica (& Wyatt) Robinson 2:40

Photo by Dana Strang

A short while later, a little larger group gathered at Kua Bay for a 13.1 mile run into town.  This is the group I joined up with, along with Chitwin San Tun and John Ferdico.  After a slightly fast start, Chitwin and I slowed it down (and I dragged quite a bit by the end) to finish in 1:51.  My stated goal before the run was to at least finish under 2 hours, so that goal was accomplished! Congrats to Daniel Hodel and Julie Curwin for their first place finishes and to Kevin Lannen and Joe Piekarski for setting new PRs!

Photo by Dana Strang

13.1 Mile
Daniel Hodel 1:35
Chris Milburn 1:40
Julie Curwin 1:40
Stephen Cosgrove 1:40
Jesse Palema 1:41
John Ferdico 1:44
Jeni Winegarner 1:44
Kevin Lannen 1:46
Joe Piekarski 1:50 (PR)
Melissa Braswell 1:51
Chitwin Santun 1:51
Cassidy Landes 1:52
Nadia Stanis 1:57
Tiffany Lindsey 2:03
Raul Ramirez 2:03
Martin Evangelista 2:06
Wendy DeWeese 2:13
Colin Whiting 2:13

Another group started their 8-mile run at Kaiminani before following the same route back into town. Andrew Delos Santos and Kerstin Busse were the first finishers in that distance.

8 mile
Andrew Delos Santos 1:04
Kerstin Busse 1:04
Vicki Brasher 1:08
Jenna Fear 1:09
Rockey Shorey 1:10
Hazel Brackett 1:11
Diana Trevino 1:14
Rebecca Dewhirst 1:20
Cliff Acheson 1:20
Ryan Nuckols 1:26
Michael Traub 1:27
Mike Drutar 1:27
Lisa Vos 1:27
Monica Scheel 1:27
Maria Hillman 1:27
Jess Knudson 1:27
Patty Ferrington 1:40
Angee (& Kids - plural) Lincoln 1:41

A couple of others joined in at different distances:

6.2 mile
Lani Kai Lindsey 1:08 (First ever 10k!)

4 mile
Joni Loando 54:00

Stevie (& Emmy) Strang 1:27

This was a really fun event and definitely something different.  I never realized how many hills there were running in that way! Those little coolers of water along the way were definitely a nice, welcome surprise.  Thanks to Jeff and Dana Strang for hosting this, along with the Mullaheys and Janet Miller (and I'm sure many others) for helping out with the event.   

Up this weekend is Team Mango's Monster and Mini-Monster Triathlons. The Monster race is a full Ironman distance race with a 2.4 mile swim, a 112 mile bike, and 26.2 mile run.  The Mini-Monster is half the distance of the Monster with a 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike and 13.1 mile run. Relays are allowed, so look for Jason and I out there, along with our super swimmer Sarah Chang! To do this race, you must register and pick up your packet at Alii Gardens Marketplace by tomorrow (Saturday). I also heard they are still looking for volunteers, so if you are interested, contact Carl Koomoa at teammangoraces@aol.com.

 

Peaman's Super Bowl Shuffle Biathlon

This past Sunday was the first event on Peaman's 2013 calendar, the Splish Splash and Super Bowl Shuffle Biathlon.. The distances were a 1/2 mile swim and 3.1 mile run, along with the ever present shorter peewee course. Participants were encouraged to wear the colors or apparel of their favorite NFL team.  We can report that Peaman will be cheering for the 49ers in this weekend's Super Bowl (as I'm sure many other locals will, too).

Photo by Kawika Singson

In the full distance race, it was Tai Scarbrough taking first place in a time of 34:31 after passing some people on the run (oh, and he was pushing a baby jogger while doing it!).  Bryan Unger was second with a time of 35:00 and Karlyn Pipes was just a few seconds behind at 35:05. 

For the peawee course, it was a family affair in the top three! Kanaipono Eckart was the first to cross the finish line in 12:04, followed by Lainey Eckart in 13:03 and Lawrence Eckart in 14:47. 

A family team also won the relay division with Heather Scarbrough completing the run off of Tai's swim in an overall time of 34:54.  In the run-only event, Chico Barrios outran Jason Shepard with a time of 23:36 to Jason's 23:50. Jason's son Zac Shepard won the bike only event by completing the 3.1 mile course in 13:25.

Full results from the race are available here.

The great thing about Peaman races is that there are always races going on within the races.  One of the notable ones this week was Lexi DeCarli (below) outswimming her dad Mike for the first time in the race! Congrats, Lexi!

Photo by Kawika Singson

Another big congratulations goes out to Chico Barrios who was the recipient of the Perpetual Pea for the month.  Thanks for all your volunteering and energy, Chico!

Up this weekend, we have two events on Sunday, Team Mango's Springtime Triathlon - a 1/2 mile swim, 15 mile bike and 6 mile run - starting at 7 a.m. from Kona Pier.  Also starting at 7 a.m. is the Strang's Super Bowl Sunday Half Marathon and Pick Up run. The half marathon starts at Kua Bay for the run into town, runners can also start at Kaiminani at 7:45 for about eight miles or at Kona Mountain Coffee at 8 a.m. for a 10k run. It's going to be great way to work off some calories before all those Super Bowl parties in the afternoon!

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.