Papa Pea's Birthday Biathlon and Salute to the 70s!

Yesterday morning saw several great events taking place in Kona - the State Cycling Championship, Bubba Gumps's Run Forrest Run Keiki Fun Runs, and Papa Pea's Birthday Biathlon and Salute to the 70s. Unfortunately the events overlapped, though. Since we aren't cycling on the Big Island yet and we're just slightly too old for the keiki runs, we headed out to the Peaman event. Jason was official photographer for the day, having already completed his 10 miler that morning.
Although we thought the turnout at the race would be small because of the other events going on, the turnout was great, with a lot of people that we didn't recognize. This month's event was a 3/4 mile swim and a 3.1 mile run. Typical Peaman swims are 1/2 miles, so this was a little bit longer. I've been swimming 3/4 miles fairly regularly, but "racing" it was an entirely different thing. I use the term "racing" loosely, since I am still SLOW and towards the back of the swim pack. But this time I was swimming with packs of people the whole way out to the turnaround, getting elbowed, getting run over, and running over people. Although it didn't cause me to panic this time around, it was still a little unsettling. It makes me rethink this "get faster at swimming" goal!

Speaking of people who are really fast at swimming, Karlyn Pipes-Neilsen (below) was the first swimmer out of the water (a little predictable, since she holds many masters swimming records).


Luis De La Torre was next, with the rest of the swimmers streaming in behind. I think I was only about 12 minutes behind Karlyn (which means she was finishing right about when I was turning around)! I told Jason to expect me out of the water sometime between 30-35 minutes, so I was pleasantly surprised when I came in under 28 minutes.

Then it was on to the run. Today definitely felt like a hot Kona summer day, even at 8:30 a.m. But one nice thing was the run course went right past the Bubba Gump's run. So I got to see a little bit of the keiki race and on the way back got a nice boost of encouragement from the Beckers and Currys! And since it was a Salute to the 70's, Doug Henbest and Jay Plasman got to show a little skin and roller skate the course. Below is a picture of them cheering on Rani Tanimoto to the finish.

Looks like some good competition!

Michael Woodbury

Gerd Weber

My run time came in just under 24 minutes, for a total time of 52:49. Definitely not setting any speed records, but I'm still seeing improvement. Full results for the races are here.

After the race was over, we celebrated Papa Pea's birthday and congratulated all the fathers on Father's Day. We also had a special guest appearance by Frank Shorter! He's in town already in preparation for the Kona Marathon races and came out to the race with Jon Kunitake.

Frank gave a nice speech about the importance of local community events like Peaman races. Afterwards, Jason and I were talking about how lucky we are to have come to a community with so many local, free events, something that's really hard to come by in Chicago! Those events really do help create a community - one that we are happy to be a part of. Thanks as always to those who make it possible!

Don't forget - Frank Shorter will also be at Big Island Running Company on Thursday, June 24 at 3 p.m. on to sign autographs, answer questions and talk running. We'll have some giveaways, free smoothie samples from Tropical Frozen Yogurt, a pretzel and Italian Ice special from Kiliki'i Italian Ice and more!

Then we hope to see everyone out participating, volunteering or cheering on participants in the Kona Marathon races on Sunday! Good luck to all the runners!

2010 Ironman Hawaii 70.3 (Honu)

Yesterday was a huge event for the triathletes of the Big Island - the Rohto Ironman Hawaii 70.3 (Honu). The island has been abuzz with talk and training about this event for weeks. For those who don't know, a good performance in Honu can qualify you to compete in the Ironman World Championship in October. In addition to the spots given out to age group winners, there are also additional spots set aside for the fastest Hawaii finishers and the fastest Big Island finishers. So plenty of people who live and train on the Big Island were going for their shot at Ironman.

People who know a lot more about triathlons than I do can do a recap more justice, so be sure to check out Dawn Henry's summary at Ironman.com, as well as the articles in today's West Hawaii Today. My plan for the day was to head to Hapuna Beach and watch the swim and the bike transition and then head to an aid station on the run course that I'd be helping out at for the day. I was able to get several good pictures of the swim, but the camera unfortunately stayed in the bag the rest of the day.

Jason's second favorite weatherman, Guy Hagi, was one of the swim announcers!
Guy hasn't surpassed Tom Skilling yet, the great weather he always gets to forecast doesn't hurt.

The swim start

John Flanagan killing everyone on the swim. That's him on the right behind the paddleboard and everyone else on the left by the orange buoy. Completely amazing to watch.

A pack of swimmers exit the water.

Bike transition area.

Korey Pulluaim

Rani Tanimoto

Carrie Harris

The aid station that I was working came at about mile 8 of the run. The runners then looped back around to catch the other side with 1.9 miles to go. I was hoping to be able to see several of our friends and customers on the course and I was definitely able to do that. Congratulations to Luis De La Torre (6th overall and first age-grouper to finish!), Bree Wee (2nd female overall!), Penn Henderson, Eric Neilsen, Sam Corace, Rani Tanimoto, Kevin Murar, Korey Pulluaim, John Simmerman, Gerd Weber, Jim Moore, Doug Henbest, Carrie Harris, Bobbi Reif-Acheson, Lesley Cens-McDowell, Sarah Higgins, Jessica Abner, Kris Kiser, Kym Kiser, and Ellie Sumic. I'm sorry if I missed anyone either here or on the course! I also haven't heard who received all the qualifying spots for Ironman, but congratulations to all those who qualified!

2010 EMS Run

Happy Memorial Day and special thanks to all those who have served our country! Yesterday was a special celebration and showcase for the men and women who provide Emergency Medical Services back here on the Big Island with the annual EMS Run/Walk in Hilo. The run distance was a 5K and the walk was 2 miles. The EMS Run has become the biggest 5K on the Big Island, so we closed down the store and headed over to Hilo to check it out.

We started over to Hilo bright and early (actually it wasn't quite "bright" yet) with Ray and Michelle Whitford of the Big Island Honda Crew. We arrived in Hilo with plenty of time to warm-up. The run started and finished in Lilioukalani Gardens, where several activities and vendors were set up for the day. There were helicopter tours:

bouncy houses:

and a rock climbing wall:


Since all of us were running, we unfortunately don't have any pictures of the actual race. The course was great, though. It started with a loop around the gardens before heading out along the Bayfront towards downtown. After the turn-around, it was straight back into the gardens. A flat, fast course. Many people sensed that, as the field was out pretty fast. Billy Barnett led the race out at a fast clip and never let up. He ended up winning the race with a time of 16:35. Jason followed in second with a time of 17:27, with Tyde Kaneshiro coming in third at 17:46.

In the women's race, Farrah Madanay cruised to a fast winning time of 19:55, with the next group of women coming in right around 22 minutes. Lory Hunter was second with a time of 21:42 and Shalila De Bourmont was third at 22:00. Full results from the race are on Wayne "Big Dog" Joseph's blog here.

For the rest of the Kona group, Ray finished in a time of 21:33, I came in at 22:41 and Michelle was at 25:38 (after being sidelined for the past several weeks with some injuries). Another Kona resident, Lisa Bryant, finished 1st in her age group in a time of 24:51. Jon Kunitake came in second in his age group with a time of 22:33. Some of the award pictures are below.

Lisa Bryant - 1st place in her age group

Jon Kunitake - 2nd place in his age group

I finished second in my age group.

Jason accepts his 2nd place overall trophy.

The family fun atmosphere after the event was fantastic. There was a special keiki race around the helicopters, which I'm sure many kids followed up with a bounce in the bouncy houses or a climb up the rock-climbing wall. For the adults, there were great post-race refreshments from the Boys and Girls Club and booths from HMSA and the Kona Marathon Family Runs. Reminder - register now for any of the Kona Marathon distances (marathon, half marathon, 10K and 5K) on June 27!!!

One of the other great features of the race was the amazing number of door prizes that they gave out! At the finish, they had two sides of a huge bulletin board filled with prizes and the names of the winners. There had to be at least 150 prizes given away. I walked away with a $20 gift card to Kozmic Cones, which we promptly used that afternoon. It was delicious and completely hit the spot. Although we waited to the bitter end, no other prizes were won by our group. But it was a great way to spend a day off and get a chance to see some of the Hilo folks!

Ray and Michelle post-race

Jason and Harvey in "Run Big" post-race.

Queen Ka'ahumanu Triathlon Club Half Marathon

Thirty-nine runners spent last Sunday morning participating in the inaugural Queen Ka'ahumanu Triathlon Club's Half Marathon. The race was planned to offer a fun, free event for people who may be training for the Kona Marathon and wanted a long run supported by several aid stations. The event also attracted runners who will be competing in the Kona Half Marathon, but wanted to test their fitness with an earlier run. Full results are at the bottom of this post.

Big Island Running Company supplied one aid station and Cory Foulk supplied another. The race started and finished in Old Airport Park and ran along Alii Drive, so runners were able to pass by each aid station twice. The weather was perfect for a race. We had one downpour when we were waiting for the event to start, but it passed through in about 5 minutes. After that it was cloudy and nice and cool (for Kona, that is).

Hilo Marathon winner Billy Barnett won the race in a time of 1:23:23. Penn Henderson (below) came in second, followed by Michael Hrynevych and Kevin Murar.

In the women's race, Rani Tanimoto (below, third from left) finished first in a time of 1:33:53. Laurie Beers was second and Cecelia Woodbury was third.

One of the funniest moments of the day came when trying to capture a picture of Jon Kunitake running the race. But he had his drafting skills turned on full gear. He really is in the picture below of Cecilia Woodbury, but if you didn't know he was there, you might miss him. I actually have two or three more pictures just like this. I guess he knew what he was doing, since he pulled ahead of Cecilia at some point to finish a minute or so ahead of her.

Here are additional pictures of some of the runners. More photos are here. One of the things you really notice when looking through the pictures is how many people were out running/walking on Alii Drive, but weren't connected with the race! We love all the activity in Kona!


Congratulations to all finishers! This Saturday is the Cinco de Mayo 5K starting from the Hale Halewai on Alii Drive at 8 a.m. And Sunday is the Scholarship Run 5K in Hilo at 7:30 a.m. Come out and run!

Queenktriclub.net Half Marathon results
May 16, 2010
Old Airport Park

1. Billy Barnett 1:23:23
2. Penn Henderson 1:29:10
3. Michael Hrynevych 1:31:41
4. Kevin Murar 1:32:22
5. Jeremy Moore 1:33:46
6. Rani Tanimoto (F) 1:33:53
7. Todd James 1:36:54
8. Kris Kiser 1:38:15
9. Choy Bacor 1:41:51
10. Wilfredo Duran 1:43:24
11. Jason Nixon 1:44:10
12. Rick Rubio 1:45:17
13. Tennessee Ray 1:46:22
14. Dane Decker 1:46:39
15. Randy Wrighthouse 1:47:37
16. Patrick McLain 1:49:45
17. Doug Henbest 1:50:49
18. Laurie Beers (F) 1:51:29
19. Rob Van Geen 1:54:24
20. Jon Kunitake 1:58:44
21. Jeffrey McDaniel 1:59:05
22. Cecilia Woodbury (F) 2:00:03
23. Jennifer McDaniel (F) 2:00:25
24. Susan Nixon (F) 2:01:43
25. Lisa Bryant (F) 2:02:30
26. Anadi Nedomansky (F) 2:03:07
27. Bill Barto 2:04:06
28. Tasha Starr (F) 2:05:04
29. Carl Rossetti 2:06:31
30. Ron Lake 2:06:32
31. Teri Fong (F) 2:08:27
32. Twila Ashley (F) 2:09:56
33. Lava People 2:11:03
34. Robert Puaokalani 2:11:08
35. Ellie Sumic (F) 2:12:40
36. Vanessa Swanson (F) 2:15:23
37. Toni Reynolds (F) 2:20:20
38. Lana Williams (F) 2:30:13
39. Eve Kuhlmann (F) 2:41:30

Bree Wee's Chickpea Biathlon and Mother's Day Celebration

Sunday was a special day for the women in Kona - Mother's Day and a women-only Peaman event! Last weekend, the men got to have their turn at a men-only Peaman event. So this weekend was for the ladies.

The event was the same as last weekend - a 1/2 mile swim and 3.1 mile run (with the usual pea-wee course). There was a big focus on the moms and families this weekend, with many people doing relays or running along with their kids. Here are some pictures of the family participants:

Beckers and Harrises out of the water!

Dad helps with the transition.

Getting close to the finish line!

I've often said how amazed I am with women who push baby joggers and she's got a double!

LaVerne and Brandon near the finish!

A little encouragement from Mom!

One of the best things about the Peaman events is that they are fun for all ages. And parents can keep their kids active while participating with them. We love seeing them start young! More pictures are available here.

In the Chickpea category, race honoree Bree Wee finished first in a time of 33:30; Rani Tanimoto was second in a time of 36:27; and Dana Drexler was third in 40:42. Full results are here. I managed to move up to 11th on the run for a time of 45:36. My swim, which is getting better, is still on the slower end. Of course, if I could figure out how to swim in a straight line instead of zigzagging all over the place, I'd probably be able to shave at least a minute off my time!

After the race, there was the usual prize give-away, with tons of great stuff. I managed to snag a Big Island Honda race shirt. Thanks Big Island Honda! Congratulations to all the Moms who competed for themselves or with their kids! And thanks, as always, to Peaman and the volunteers who make all these races possible.

Next Sunday is the Queen Ka'ahumanu Triathlon Club's half marathon starting and finishing at the Old Airport. The race is free so come work it into your training schedule. Big Island Running Company will be out there manning an aid station and we hope to see everyone out running!

Polar Bear's Pinto Bean and Pinata Biathlon AND Sinko De Mayo Swim

Jon Kunitake salutes all the Peas!

Today there were a couple different Peaman events for people in Kona to choose from. The first was Polar Bear's Pinto Bean and Pinata Biathlon, a 1/2 mile swim and 3.1 mile run. This event was open to men 20+ and keiki 19 and under. The next event was open to all participants and was either a 1/2 mile or 1 mile swim. Numbers were a little bit down from other Peaman events (probably because over the half the field is usually women), but the two different races made for an interesting finish line!

Everyone started out in the water after getting instructions from Peaman. The swim course was out to the 1/2 mile buoy and back, although those completing the one-mile swim had to do the course twice. From post-race reports, the ocean was a little rough today, creating some nice chop for the swimmers to deal with.

While waiting for the swimmers to come out of the water, members of Team Big Island Honda prepped for their big grudge match. Always looking to add some additional excitement to race day, there was a friendly bet between Korey Pulluiam and Tennessee Ray and Keola Wimbish and Luis De La Torre. As anyone who reads these posts or comes to these events knows, Luis is an amazing athlete and is always one of the first people out of the water (and usually the eventual winner, too). So the plan was to give Keola a head start by tagging off of Luis's swim. Ray would tag off of Korey's swim and the race would be on to see whether Ray could catch Keola.

As expected, Luis was one of the first ones done with the swim. Korey was a few minutes behind, so Keola got his head start. But it wasn't enough, as Ray turned in a fast run time of just over 22 minutes. It wasn't a loss for Keola/Luis, though, as Keola beat his previous 5K time by over 6 minutes, with a 29:40. Congrats to both teams for great races!

Back on the swim, the 1-mile course was dominated, as always, by those blazing fast high school girls. I was signing people out today and had to ask them if they used fins. Someone nearby commented that they were born with fins and didn't need artificial ones. I believe him - those girls are amazing! The top three swimmers in the 1-mile event were Madison Hauanio in 25:58, Alyssa Foo in 26:00, and Sonny Hapgood in 26:15.

While I was signing people out of the race, Jason was taking pictures of the end of the run course. Here are some of them, including a couple of members of our half marathon training group. More pictures can be found here.

Peaman

Michael Traub

Peter Ballerini

Papa Pea

Randy Wrighthouse

Full results of the events are listed here. Luis DeLaTorre finished in first place in the full event at 31:39, Geoff Whitener came in second at 35:32, and Todd Wanke was third in 36:01. In the Peawee event, Weylin Foo was first at 13:20, Kanaipono Eckart was second in 14:29, and Lawrence Eckart was third in 14:30.

Although I didn't see any Pinto Beans at this event, there was actually a pinata for the keiki. The line for kids to take their turn was huge! Everyone got in some good swings.

I didn't catch the final blow that broke the pinata, but I think the picture below is right before that last swing. You can see the kids inching into the foreground to be the first to grab some candy.

The pinata finally split open and the kids attacked.

We all mentioned we actually felt sorry for the kid that broke it open, because as you can see, he was still removing the blindfold when all the other kids had descended on the loot. I think he made out ok, though.

Congratulations to all participants in today's events! Up next week is Bree Wee's Chickpea Biathlon, another 1/2 mile swim and 3.1 mile run. This one is only for the ladies, though (and the keiki).