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!