Terrific Turtle Trudge, Dragon Dash and Golden Fox Gallop 2011

In the midst of all the free triathlons this month, yesterday was a run-only Peaman event in Kona - the Terrific Turtle Trudge, Dragon Dash and Golden Fox 1-mile Gallop. There were two interesting twists to this race - first, the race was measured in inches, with the Terrific Turtle Trudge being 332,640 inches, the Dragon Dash at 126,720 inches and the Golden Fox Gallop at 63,360 inches. Second, the results were grouped not by age category, but by weight.

Eddie O and Jon Kunitake pre-race.
Uncle Jon saved the day by volunteering to skip his run and instead take cups to the aid station at the turnaround.

Since this was only a run event, both Jason and I were able to participate, which meant we weren't able to take any pictures of our own. However, Eddie O was filming the race for his Living In Paradise segment "Get Game," which will air every night in the month of March on Channel 27 at 8 p.m. He was assisted by his daughter Katrina, while daughter Skye and wife Rose ran the 1-mile distance. Mahalo to Eddie O and Katrina for letting me share their excellent race photos here!

Eddie O and Katrina - the photographers!

Me, Jason, Skye and Rose pre-run.

Skye had a great run and finished second in the 1-mile race in 7:18, behind only Ziggy Bartholomy's time of 6:04. Skye is getting ready for track season at Waiakea High School and her form is really looking great! Riley Wilson came in third for the Golden Fox Gallop in 7:20; Elijah Reed was 4th in 7:48; and Malachi Lehmann was 5th in 8:14.

Skye Ombac

Matt Ward finished first in the Dragon Dash in 11:30, followed by Miles Cannon in 11:43 and Tim Robinson in 12:39. The first female finisher in the Dragon Dash was Katherine DuBose in 16:30, followed by Lori Montgomery in 16:34 and Raine Kolman in 16:50.

In the Terrific Turtle Trudge, Jason hung on for the win in 29:50, followed by Jon Jokiel (31:55) and Geoff Whitener (32:13). As a brief sidenote, Geoff is a senior at Kealakehe High School and is putting on his own free swim/run event on Sunday, March 13 at 8:00 at the pier. It will be a 1/3 mile swim and 2 mile run, and we encourage everyone to come participate in this new event!

Jason with his game face on?

Geoff Whitener

On the ladies' side of the Terrific Turtle Trudge, Rani Tanimoto started out conservatively, but then turned on the jets in the back half of the race to come in first in 34:24. Rani was also the recipient of the Perpetual Pea this month. Marketa Myatt was second in 35:12, and Anita Leao was third in 36:54. Unfortunately for me, I started out a little too close to Rani and ended up dying in the second half. I hung on for fourth place for the ladies, though, in 38:33 - a 45-second improvement over the same race last year. Not quite as fast as I was hoping, but at least it's still a Peaman PR.

Full results from all the races are here. (I think the official results must have gotten off track at some point, since they show me finishing in 37:12. As much as I'd love to claim that time, I know I didn't do that, since I timed it with my own watch and definitely finished in the 38:33 time. So some of the results above may be a little off as well.)

And here are some more pictures from the event:

Susan Nixon

Patti and her dog

Happy walkers

A balance beam-walking dog

Rose finishing the 1-mile distance

Time-keeper extraordinaire Laura Dierenfield

Congrats as always to all participants and mahalo to all of the volunteers! Up next weekend is a Team Mango Sprint Triathlon with a 1/3 mile swim, 14 mile bike, and 2 mile run on Sunday, February 27. The race starts at 8:00 at the pier.

Also next Sunday, on the other side of the island is the Waikaumalo 7-mile challenge on the beautiful Hamakua Coast. Hosted by the Big Island Road Runners, this event is a perfect training race for those doing the Hilo Marathon or Half Marathon in March. The course will be tough, with plenty of hills, but the views will be amazing. The race starts at 7:30 a.m. at Waikaumalo Park.