Chasing the Lottery 5k Guest Recap

Thanks to John Ferdico for summarizing this year's Chasing the Lottery 5k:

This year the folks at Ironman decided to start the annual Big Island lottery drawing with a friendly little race, so last Saturday was the debut of the Chasing the Lottery 5K. Ironman recruited help from Dana and Jeff Strang of iWorkouts and Melissa and Jason Braswell of Big Island Running Company. They even convinced Jason to run in costume: he would get a thirty-second head start, and any runner who could catch him would win a prize. Since you can never have too many Ironman bags or water bottles, I figured I would join the fray.

Now, few people around here can beat Jason in a 5K even without giving him a head start, so I hoped this costume would be heavy, hot, and constricting. If it made him look utterly foolish, all the better.

The race began at the King Kamehameha Hotel amidst the cheerful chaos of the Kamehameha Regatta next door. It was a fine morning for racing, both on land and water.

Jason appeared in his costume, a white satin cape emblazoned with the Ironman M-dot logo. Contrary to my hopes he looked rather posh, and not at all slow.

Lottery Rabbit Jason

As he raced off on his 30-second head start, it appeared the cape might actually provide additional speed. Or maybe everyone just looks faster with a cape flowing behind them. In any case, he made the first turn and was completely out of sight when we were finally allowed to pursue.

Two Big Island Running Company training group regulars, James Resor and Brian Pruitt, darted off after their friend and rival. Fresh off a top-100 finish at Ironman Honu last week, Mike DeCarli tucked in behind them, and me behind Mike.

Emerging onto Kuakini after a series of twists and turns, an odd sight spread out before me: in the distance, three large, shirtless men chasing a guy in a flowing white cape. Only in Kona.

Out to the Old Airport, around the loop, and back again. Mike and I kept a 6:20 pace for the first two miles. Still, Jason appeared no closer than he had after the first turn. Clearly, there would be no bottles or bags for us.

Brian, on the other hand, caught Jason around mile two, with James was only a few seconds from doing the same. At that point, Jason tipped his cap to Brian, and settled into a race with James.

Overall Winner Brian Pruitt

It seemed Mike conceded we had little chance of catching the leaders, and let off the gas pedal just a little. Feeling like a sub-twenty minute finish was still a possibility, I held pace and soon glided past Mike. It was exhilarating. And then terrifying. I was in unfamiliar territory, and few have made a move on Mike DeCarli and held on to boast about it.

I would not be one of the few. It was like running in a nightmare, except it wasn't my imagination: I was indeed being chased. Returning to the twists and turns that signaled the last 500 meters of the race, I heard what a cavalry charge must sound like. That one man can evoke a hundred thundering battle horses is a testament to the ferocity of Mike DeCarli. He darted past, legs a blur. While humbling, I could not help but enjoy the sheer majesty of it.

Jason, in his dandy outfit, would also be humbled at the finish. James passed him to join Brian as the only two runners to beat the caped Ironman rabbit.   Now, there are rumors that Jason suffered a mysterious cramp just moments before finishing, hobbling as he relinquished his lead to James, then recovering miraculously. While I didn't see the finish, being a minute behind with troubles of my own, I am certain that the humiliation of running around town in a silly cape took a staggering toll on Jason's physical and emotional reserves.

James outsprinting the lottery rabbit to the finish

James won fair and square, and he would be rewarded for a great run. Perhaps Ironman didn't have any drawstring bags or water bottles handy, because they soon announced that Brian and James had each won a complimentary entry to the 2015 Ironman 70.3 Hawaii. They are bound for Honu. Jason and James can settle the controversy in a 70.3 mile rematch. Brian will have to learn to swim.

There were prizes for Mike and I, and for the first two female finishers as well. The Strangs donated a great iWorkouts package including a fitness evaluation, personal training session and yoga class. Wow! One went to DeCarli and another to the first female finisher, Susannah Roy. As if Mike can get any fitter.

Eve- Marie Quinton, the second female finisher, won a gift bag from the Big Island Running Company which included a running shirt, trucker hat, and water bottle. How do I know? Two reasons: the day before, Melissa called me at the store and asked me to put the gift bags together, and I won one too. Had I known, I would have thrown a few more really expensive things in there.

Honorable mention to young Cody Ranfranz. While Jason, Brian, James and I skipped Big Island Running Company's scheduled 6:30AM group run to save our legs for the race, Cody showed up and logged 6 or 7 miles, THEN ran down to the start line and raced the 5K. And still finished right behind me, 6th overall.

Cody Ranfranz

In all, 46 runners crossed the line, if you count William Mullahey, age one-and-a-half, who left the tough work to mom, Mary, before disembarking the stroller to cross the finish line in raised-arm glory. Results from the 5k are available here.

Youngest finisher William Mullahey

Then, the real winners were crowned. Following a delicious post-race buffet of breakfast burritos and malasadas, the local directors of Honu had the privilege of announcing the names of 24 Big Islanders who were chosen to participate in the 2014 Ironman World Championships.

2014 Lottery Winner Daniel Piccutta

2014 Lottery Winner Anita Leao

Happy Winner!

Congratulations to all the Kona athletes heading to the big stage in October, and to all the participants of the 5K race. It was racing with Aloha at its finest. Thanks to Ironman, iWorkouts, and Big Island Running Company for hosting a wonderful inaugural race. When word gets out about what you might win if you beat the caped Ironman, next year's Chasing the Lotttery 5K is sure to be the biggest race in town.

Guest Post - Hilo to Volcano Relay 50K Recap

This post was written by our employee John Ferdico about his race last weekend at the Hilo to Volcano Relay. Full results from the race are available on the Big Island Road Runners' website.

Preoccupied by his Honu training, this year Jason chose not to assemble a relay team for the Hilo To Volcano 50K relay, put on by the Big Island Road Runners last Saturday.  In his place, I decided to jump in and throw together a Big Island Running Company team.

Compared to Jason's past squads we looked...well...older.  Joining me was Orestes "Chico" Barrios, and Ellis Andrews, for a combined team age of 175 or thereabouts.  No matter, we joined the fray in the Men's Masters Division, and piled in the truck at 4:00AM Saturday morning for a ride over the Saddle.

With the constitution of a warrior, Ellis volunteered for the second leg, which Jason warned us had the worst hill climbs. Chico-- legendary for his blazing starts-- was the obvious choice to kick off the race, which left me the anchor slot.  I was a little worried about stiffening up for the crucial finishing leg, but I figured everyone in the Masters Division would be subject to the same treachery of old, old hamstrings.

We arrived to send off the solo 50K runners with a cheer of enthusiasm, respect, and a little incredulity, at least on my part. Volcano seemed like a long way away.

Soon after, Chico and the rest of the relay starters were off.  Due to a week of the flu, Chico lacked a little of his reckless enthusiasm, but as we passed him in the truck on the way to the first relay point, he was running right along with a speedy youngster named Carmen Garson-Shumway. 

Carmen Garson-Shumway

At the handoff  was a bit of a traffic jam, as the relay runners had not yet separated much.  Among us were several Big Island race regulars, including Chris Gregory and Heather and Tai Scarbrough.  We knew we wouldn't be seeing  much of them after long, and focused more on the teams that ran less like cheetahs with their fur on fire.

Ellis was off next, just behind Carmen's teammate Noe Waller.  Ellis lived up to his world-class reputation, coming into the second relay point right next to Noe.

And so I was off, step for step with Noe's teammate Mehana Sabado-Halpern.  We were still in the flats outside of Hilo when I glanced at my watch; Mehana was dragging me along at a 6:50 pace.  I was sure this would kill me, but my teammates ran in right next to hers. No way I wasn't doing the same.  So, an alarmingly short time later, I finished my first 2-mile stint and tagged off to Chico.

Chico ran another solid leg, giving up just a few seconds to Carmen. Ellis rushed out with a mind to show Noe who was  boss.  And he did show her, in that second leg, when the long, unrelenting climb to Volcano began.

Noe was boss.  She was the CEO of that hill.  She cruised in a minute ahead of Ellis, barely breathing hard.  As Eliis tagged off to me, I turned to find Mehana with an intent to reclaim the dignity of my vanquished teammate. She was way, way  up the hill. At least I think that was her. Whoever it was, she was pretty far away.

And so I settled into the first climb of this long race, crestfallen that our unspoken dream of three old men running 31.1 miles, step for step with three accomplished runners in their primes, was not to be. In the end, team Off On A Run would finish just north of 20 minutes ahead of the Big Island Running Company.

It was for the best. Without another team to chase, Chico, Ellis, and I settled into a comfortable uphill pace for the next few legs. The weather was nearly perfect: blue skies and ideal temperatures. Somewhere in our middle legs we had the pleasant surprise of catching up to fellow Kona runner, Brooke Myers. Brooke was running the 50K solo, and midway through she looked strong. I was secretly hoping she would catch Off On A Run.

As Ellis was finishing up his fourth leg, Chico and I checked the race clock and saw that maybe-- just maybe-- if everything went perfectly-- we had an outside chance of wrapping up in under four hours.  I tagged off determined to log a few 7-minute miles.

14 minutes later I crested a massive hill, certain the relay point was just ahead.  There was only another massive hill. And after that one was a long flat span ending with a group of cars parked in the distance. Okay, at least I would save a little face and come charging in.

I turned on the jets and soon checked my pace. The GPS told me I was screaming along at a 9:20 mile. Something was definitely not going my way. When I finally tagged and sent Chico off,  Ellis proudly exclaimed," Man, you were really tearing up that hill!"

What hill?  I turned around and looked back . Sure enough, that "flat" looked pretty hilly. That's the funny thing about the Hilo to Volcano course;  After so much uphill running,  some of it starts to look pretty flat. By comparison.

Ellis and I jumped into the truck and headed to the next relay point. By now we were climbing so much that the clutch greeted us with a nasty burning smell each time we started her up.  We waited for Chico, Ellis anxious to check off his final leg.

And we waited. Chico shuffled  in at last, shoulders slumping. The flu he'd  been suffering had finally caught up to him. In all, he  put together a gutsy run, and Ellis and I were really proud of him.

Ellis made the turn into Volcano and soon tagged off to me for the anchor leg.  At 2.4 miles, this leg was longer than my previous ones,  but was a truly flat stretch.  After my last effort, I was eager to make up a little time, and I had something  left in the tank, thanks to all the M&Ms I had been eating in the truck.

 

Ellis and Chico met me at the finish line, where we crossed in 4:19 flat, good enough for the win in the Men's Masters Division.  Carmen, Noe, and Mehana won the Women's Open Division. Nice job!  By the end of the race, we had become big fans of Off On A Run. Heather and Tai Scarbrough's team managed to beat Chris Gregory's by just a few minutes.  And Brooke Myers joined us  in bringing a little Big Island racing pride home to Kona. She finished in 5:44:42, good enough to be first in the Women's Open Division, and the second overall woman to finish the race.

The Big Island Road Runners put on quite an enjoyable race, with a highlight being the delicious, homemade soups served to the finishers.  Thanks to BIRR and congratulations to everyone who ran the race.

Running Big in the Big Easy

[Editor's Note: This post was authored by Whitney, a friend of Big Island Running Company who ran New Orleans' Rock 'n Roll Half Marathon on February 13, 2011.]

When you plan on a road trip to New Orleans, LA, Bourbon Street, hurricane drinks, and beads typically come to mind. While all of these are some of my favorite past times in the Crescent City, I traveled to NOLA for a different activity, the Rock ‘n Roll Half Marathon. This was my second Rock ‘n Roll series race and I had chosen this one for several reasons, the main being the flat and fast course I knew the city streets would provide.

Since this was only my second big race and I was looking to improve my previous time, I had Erica make out a schedule that would better prepare me for Big Easy running. I more or less stuck to the weekly routines and the oh-so-fun early weekend long runs, thanks to Erica’s “coaching”. With only a couple minor speed bump injuries, race weekend came and I felt prepared. I road tripped down with a group of girls that so graciously agreed to be my cheering section. I’ve realized that having someone there to cheer you on and pump you up is vital for me in a race so thanks to them, they made the weekend loads more fun!

Since the race wasn’t until Sunday, we had all day Saturday to roam the French Quarter and take in the city’s sights. I took a run around Audubon Park in the Garden District with my friend Nicki, and fellow Rock ‘n Roll runner. Since NOLA is famous for its amazing food, we gorged ourselves on a good ol’ fashioned po’ boy. This picture may not seem appetizing for some, but it definitely hit the spot! Fried green tomatoes—yum yum!

The temperature the morning of the race started off in the low 40’s so getting to the start wasn’t so fun. After wishing Nicki good luck on her first half and departing to find my corral, I made some friends in the oh-so-dreaded restroom line. This couple was running the full so we briefly chatted about the race and they advised me to watch out for any potholes in streets--I’ll pass on a sprained ankle thanks! The husband was so kind to give me one of his pace time cards he had laminated for his group that was set for an 8:35/mile which is what I was striving for. I was super pumped about the time card since I didn’t have Erica with me and her trusty GPS watch (I really need to invest in one!).

7:00 AM came and we were off! I was lucky enough to be in the front of my corral, which helped me to come fast off the start feeling like I was already a winner. J The course started in the lower Warehouse/Garden District and took us on a beautiful tour of Victorian Mansions, overgrown live oak trees, and street-car lined roads. We wound our way through the area until about mile 8. The full marathon runners split off from the half around mile 5 and continued Uptown toward the Audubon Park. As for my cheering section, we had originally planned for the girls to be at mile 3 then hop up two blocks for mile 7. Well, as New Orleans streets are impossible to navigate quickly and thanks to several road closures, the girls finally managed to squeeze into a spot after mile 4. These girls rock because they woke up extra early to have a poster party to show their support! I knew I needed to be looking for neon signs and finally saw them as they stared into the sun searching for me. Only until I was about 10 feet away did they see me but they definitely showed some love.

I was feeling pretty good about my pace and was actually ahead of my time card through the first half. I saw the girls again after mile marker 7—

-then the course began to wind back to the French Quarter. Thankfully it does not take you straight down Bourbon Street, because I’m not sure if I could stomach the previous night’s lingering aromas. Once we passed the French Market it was time to turn up Esplanade and finish the last 3 miles into the City Park. This was the only part of the course I did not love because of the gravel they had put on the road to fill in some of the holes and cracks which made footing tricky at the end. Since around mile 2.5 I had been keeping pace with another girl and at the end it paid off to have someone push you a little extra towards the end. I crossed the finish line at 1:50:56, ten minutes faster than my first half marathon! I was pretty proud to increase my time by several minutes and felt that for the next race I would know where to push a little harder along the course.

My cheering section appeared at the finish and captured some photos of me shuffling through the food and drink lines. Group photos ensued and I must say we may make “Run Big” look pretty good.

NOLA was a great race and I think if I ever get the courage to do a full, this will be the place. You couldn’t beat the weather and the course was awesome. My only complaint to the Rock ‘n Roll series coordinators: PLEASE schedule the next race for Saturday morning instead of Sunday, as my sobriety on Bourbon Street does not appreciate such taunting.