Waikaumalo 7-Mile Challenge

Last Sunday there were two great races on the Big Island. In Kona, Team Mango hosted their last triathlon of February with a sprint triathlon. Meanwhile, the Big Island Road Runners hosted the Waikaumalo 7-Mile Challenge in Ninole. Since I still don't bike and the Waikaumalo run is similar to the start of the Hilo Marathon/Half Marathon, I decided to make the drive over early Sunday morning. (Jason stayed behind to get his long run in.)

The drive wasn't too bad, except for some really foggy portions going through Waimea. But I made it over faster than I thought and had plenty of time to check in and warm up. The run started in Waikaumalo Park and went 3.5 miles south on Old Mamalahoa Highway. The first 2 miles were a winding up and down through several gulches. (There was also a 4-mile distance that turned around at this point.) After the first 2 miles, the hills flattened out some as we ran past some meadows and ranchland to the turnaround before heading back the way we came.

Special thanks to the Big Island Road Runners and photographer Dano Banks for allowing us to post some of their photos here. More photos are also available here.

Getting course instructions

The start

As I mentioned above, the course started off hilly, with an uphill to start, so it was pretty hard to go out too fast. I was trying to focus on going slower at the start, so I'd have energy left for the end. Unfortunately, I might have underestimated the effect those hills were going to have on me. As someone who tries to avoid hills in every possible way, I certainly was not in good hill-running shape. I tried to take advantage of the downhills, but those uphills seemed so long! Needless to say, my pace ended up being not quite what I was hoping for. Now I see why they called it a "Challenge"!

Overall, the scenery was amazing and the weather was perfect. You never know if it'll be pouring rain over on the Hilo side or not, but it was a fairly cool, dry day. At the end of the day, it's nice to run courses that you're not used to. And now I have three weeks to get a little more prepared for the hills of the Hilo Half Marathon.

Big Island Road Runners

Happy runners post-race

Finish Line Timekeeper and Race Organizer Alan Ryan

The post-race spread was impressive for the size of the race. Plenty of fresh fruit, drinks and homemade baked goods. The banana bread I tried was amazing! Thanks to everyone who contributed to that! There were also awards for the top overall male and female and top masters male and female. Billy Barnett (below) won the men's race in a time of 40:39.

Nick Muragin won the men's masters award in a time of 47:38. Robyn DeBenedet was the women's overall winner in 52:56, while Lory Hunter took the master's ladies title in 55:56. Full results from the races are located at the bottom of the post.

After the awards, it was time for the lucky number drawings. There were tons of giveaways from Starbucks gift cards to McDonald's coupons to coffee. Marie Kuramoto (below) even won a Big Island Running Company gift certificate!

And then I won some coffee donated by Marie!

Mahalo to all of the volunteers who helped put on this fun event! Below is a picture of some of the aid station volunteers with Alan Ryan. I will definitely be back for this run next year - a little more prepared for the hills!

Big Island Road Runners

Waikaumalo 7 Mile Challenge
February 27, 2011 @ 7:30 am
Waikaumalo Park, Ninole, Hawaii

7	Mile Run				Pace
Plc	Name	Division		Time	(min/mi)
1	Billy Barnett	<<<>>>		40:39	5:48
2	Keoni Ucker	Open		43:01	6:09
3	Chris Mosch	Open		44:03	6:18
4	Justin Pang	Open		45:08	6:27
5	Isaiah Sato	Open		45:54	6:33
6	Paul Mauser	Open		46:33	6:39
7	Nick Hagemann	Open		47:11	6:44
8	Nick Muragin	++ Master ++		47:38	6:48
9	Lyman Perry	Master		48:12	6:53
10	Keith Marrack	Master		49:24	7:03
11	Steve Pavao	Master		52:46	7:32
12	Robyn DeBenedet	<<<>>>	F	52:56	7:34
13	James Imai	Open		53:08	7:35
14	Derek Dominguez	Open		53:10	7:36
15	Kirsta Andrew	Open	F	53:35	7:39
16	DJ Blinn	Master		54:56	7:51
17	Lory Hunter	++ Master ++	F	55:56	7:59
18	Rob Van Geen	Master		57:21	8:12
19	Ray Ibarra	Master		57:26	8:12
20	Maka'ala Cruz	Open		58:21	8:20
21	Melissa Braswell	Open	F	59:14	8:28
22	Nina Hagemann	Open	F	1:00:18	8:37
23	Barbie Nakamura	Master	F	1:01:24	8:46
24	Emily Kingery	Open	F	1:02:16	8:54
25	Harris Kaneshiro	Master		1:02:30	8:56
26	Donna Wong-Yuen	Master	F	1:04:00	9:09
27	Charlie Bostwick	Master		1:06:24	9:29
28	Andrea Hess	Master	F	1:07:15	9:36
29	Marti Banks	Master	F	1:07:38	9:40
30	David Hammes	Master		1:07:41	9:40
31	Kim Furumo	Master	F	1:08:48	9:50
32	Lindsay Englund	Open	F	1:09:02	9:52
33	Tiffany Lindsey	Open	F	1:09:24	9:55
34	Richard Grothmann	Master		1:09:48	9:58
35	Daria Cunningham	Master	F	1:11:15	10:11
36	Morgen Bahurinsky	Master	F	1:14:51	10:42
37	Betty Ben	Master	F	1:15:46	10:49
38	Kimi Jackson	Master	F	1:15:47	10:50
39	Lee Collins	Master	F	1:19:56	11:25
40	Bob Scales	Open		1:21:15	11:36
41	Rick Otani	Master		1:26:03	12:18
42	Claire Shigeoka	Master	F	1:34:06	13:27
43	Marie Kuramoto	Master	F	1:34:06	13:27
4	Mile Run				Pace
Plc	Name	Division		Time	(min/mi)
1	Stephen Hunter	Open		28:30	7:07
2	Carmen Garson-Shumway	Open	F	30:27	7:37
3	Timon Skinner	Open		34:00	8:30
4	Aleksandra Beloborodova	Open	F	37:08	9:17
5	Dawn Patterson	Open	F	37:28	9:22
6	Leslie Terada	Open		38:03	9:31
7	Bobby Nakamura	Master		40:00	10:00
8	Keleala DeCosta	Open	F	40:51	10:13
9	Cherie Berg	Open	F	41:09	10:17
10	Norman Skinner	Master		44:30	11:07
11	Dixie Newman	Open	F	48:48	12:12
12	Richard Alderson	Master		49:24	12:21
13	Rihei Grothmann	Open		52:43	13:11
14	Jordan Hirae	Open		52:43	13:11
15	Sharon Ibarra	Master	F	1:01:15	15:19