Volcano Art Center Rain Forest Runs - 5K, 10K and Keiki Dashes

Whew, what a weekend! Between all the driving, the running and sightseeing, I'm exhausted. But it was a great weekend, capped off with two great races - the Volcano Art Center Rain Forest Runs on Saturday morning and Big Dog's Sports Hall of Fame 5K on Sunday morning. As I work my way through all the pictures, the weekend recap will have to be split into a couple of different posts. For this one, we'll focus on just the Rain Forest Runs' 5K, 10K and Keiki Dashes. We'll have a separate post on just the half marathon. Before getting too far into the post, Jason took tons of pictures of the runs that are posted here and here. Also, full race results are available at JTL Timing's website.

Apparently, one of the highlights of the Big Island racing calendar was the old Volcano runs, which used to be run around Kilauea Crater in the Volcanoes National Park. A couple of years ago those were suspended because of eruptions and general environmental issues. After not having a race last year, Kona Marathon race director Sharron Faff decided to bring back the Volcano runs in a new way. Instead of going through Volcanoes National Park, these runs were through Volcano Village, the majority on scenic Wright Road. The race distances consisted of a half marathon, 10K, 5K and the always popular Keiki Dashes.

Start of the 5K

The 5K and 10K distances started at Cooper Center in Volcano Village, headed out on Wright Road and did a couple of loops through Cymbidian Acres before heading back to the starting line. The course was rolling, with lots of ups and downs. But the major benefit was the shade and the perfect racing weather - cool with no rain! So although the course was tough and at elevation, times were actually pretty fast.

5K

Overall, Scott Hunter won with a time of 18:15, followed by Randall Jones (19:13) and Jackson Halford (19:15). For the ladies, Annie Murphy came in first at 21:12; Chanda Zavodny was second in 24:37; and Hart Miller was third in 25:06. Several of our running group members and friends participated in this race, with great results and several awards!

A keiki heads to the finish on the 5K.

Chenoa Jesser took second place in her age group with a time of 27:57.
Maria Jesser also finished second in her age group, with a time of 29:15.

Rose Lorica-Ombac heads to the finish.

Cherry Ward is all smiles as usual.

I don't know these ladies, but they look like they are having a great time!

Jill Weber shows off her turtle shirt.

Elin Walburn finishes strong.

Somehow we missed getting a picture of Marissa Bryant-Manago, but she finished in first place in her 9-13 age group! Congrats to all the 5K finishers.

10K

The 10K course was similar to the 5K course, with a little bit further to go on Wright Road and through the subdivision. At one point, the first four runners got off course and ended up coming in at around the 3.5-4 mile point, instead of completing the full course. Their times were adjusted for the error, and they still ended up as the winners. Rich McKenzie, Jeremy Moore and Jon Kunitake were the top three male finishers, while Heather Scarbrough, Jessica Kirkwood, and Stefy Matsumura were the top three female finishers.

Jeremy Moore is chasing down the lead male, with the first female right behind him. Jeremy ended up finishing second.

Jon Kunitake finished in fourth place.

Jenni Rhodes also completed the 10K - even faster than at the Kona Marathon 10K!

Although we missed getting a picture of him racing, Sean Jesser finished second in his age group.

As would be expected from a race put on by an art center, these races had amazing prizes, including art work, jewelry and dinner gift certificates. Unfortunately, we didn't win any awards, but Jon Kunitake graciously gave us the artwork that he won for our new house. Mahalo, Jon!

Keiki Dashes

After the big kids were finished with their races, the keiki got their chance to compete in a 100-yard or 200-yard dash, always a popular event for the kids. It's great to see all of them out there having a good time.

Congratulations to all of the 5K, 10K and Keiki Dash finishers! And thanks to all of the volunteers and sponsors for a great race morning!

Brown Bear Bash and Sunny Sprint

Another sunny Sunday for a Peaman race, which was appropriate, since the race honored Brown Bear and his late wife Sunny. The course for this race was a 1/3 mile swim, with a 3.1 mile run.

Before the race, I was excited to have such a short swim this time. After the swim, I was thrilled, because the chop in the water was awful! I was never really able to get in a good rhythm, so I was definitely happy to be done. The leaders looked like they had no problem, though. Below it looks like Luis is battling Hannah out of the water.

The usual suspects were all out at the race, including lots of keiki. It's great to see all of them out running hard. I'm sure the group below was pushing each other to the finish (and having fun while doing it)!

In the men's race, Luis De La Torre came in first at 25:06, followed closely behind by Sam Corace (below) in 26:11. You can tell Sam is getting into top racing form and is going to give Luis some real competition in the coming months.

For the ladies, it was Rani Tanimoto finishing first (and fifth overall) in 28:19, with Dana Drexler coming in second in 31:52.

It was also a big day for the Big Island Honda Crew, who apparently all set PRs in yesterday's race. Korey Pulluiam finished the swim/run in 32:56; Keola Wimbish finished in 52:44; and Korey's relay with Ray Whitford finished in 29:12. Those guys have all been training hard and it's definitely paying off.

Ray Whitford

Korey Pulluiam

Keola Wimbish

Once I coughed up all the salt water I swallowed on the swim, I was able to pull together a pretty good run. Of course, a lot of that was due to Sam Brown, who ran with me the last half of the run and kept encouraging me to keep up the pace and pass people. You can see him right behind me in the picture below. Thanks to him I finished in 20th place in 35:15. Mahalo, Sam!

A lot of our running group members and friends also had nice races. Some of their finishing photos are below. Full results from the race are here and more pictures are here.

Peter Ballerini, Toni Reynolds and Jay Plasman

Birthday girl Kerry Hull (on right), with her kids Lauren and Evan and friend Michelle

Kerry's husband Norm finishing his race.

Jessica Abner

Sarah Higgins racing some Honoka'a cross country runners.

Lisa Bryant completed the run as part of a relay with her daughter Marissa doing the swim.

After the run, the keiki got some beach time in with Bree Wee (who only completed the swim portion of the event as she gets ready for Ironman Louisville).

The post-race fun also included the usual prize giveaways for kids and adults alike by Peaman himself. The perpetual pea was also award to Luis De La Torre for all his great accomplishments and assistance over the years. Thanks again to Peaman and all of the volunteers who made this another great event!

Up next weekend are the Volcano Art Center Rainforest Runs in Volcano. Jason and I will be heading over there and running the half marathon on Saturday. We'll also be following it up with Big Dog's Sports Hall of Fame 5k on Sunday. Should be a fun, exhausting weekend. (Note that the Big Island Running Company will be closing early on Friday (3 p.m.) and will be closed Saturday and Sunday.)

Mana Road 10s

Yesterday we took a road trip to Waimea for the Big Island Road Runners' Mana Road 10s, a 10k and a 10-miler. Mana Road is a old ranch trail road that goes from Waimea through Parker Ranch on the way to Mauna Kea. The total length is something like 50 miles. The road is mostly an unpaved red dirt road, with lots of rolling hills. Unfortunately I forgot the camera yesterday, but all the pictures would have ended up looking like this:

Although Bree Wee did get a pretty accurate shot of the start line that she posted on her blog. We definitely ended up with the windy, rainy weather that you often encounter in Waimea. Although as we discussed later, it might not have actually been raining, but more the effect of running through clouds - a general mist. So we were completely soaked by the end of the run, but for once in a race in Hawaii, we weren't burning up!

Both Jason and I ran the 10-mile race in preparation for the Volcano half marathon coming up in two weeks. The elevation in Volcano will be a little bit higher than Mana Road, but Mana Road is definitely a change in elevation from Kona (about 2500 feet). I'm also hoping Volcano is not quite so steep as Mana Road got in portions. Between miles 4 and 5 of the 10-mile course, we were climbing pretty good (and slow). But then you got to turn around and FLY down the hill. That mile was definitely the most fun part of the race. I'm just glad I didn't sprain an ankle.

Jason had a little battle with Billy Barnett for the top spot in the race, with Billy coming in with the victory. Jason managed to take second, with Tim Marr coming in third. Bree Wee won the women's race coming in 4th overall. Both Tim and Bree had completed the Sea to Stars Mauna Kea climb on Saturday morning, biking from Waikoloa to the top of Mauna Kea. Also, Rob Van Geen was at the race on Sunday after running the Sea to Stars on Saturday! I can't even imagine how he felt.

Thanks to the Big Island Road Runners for putting on a great event and getting us off the roads for a race! Despite the weather, it was nice to be able to see some of the Hilo folks (and taste some of their delicious post-race refreshments)!

Next Sunday will be another fun Peaman event at 8 a.m. at the pier. Then the Volcano Art Center runs are up the next weekend!

Trash Can Triathlon

Just when we were starting to think we might have one weekend off from racing, that didn't turn out to be the case...for me, at least. (And don't get me wrong, we enjoy all of the races we enter, but having a race every single weekend gets to be tiring!) Last week Lava 105.3's Eddie O started recruiting a relay team for Team Mango's Trash Can Triathlon. He would do the 10-mile bike, but needed a swimmer and a runner. Despite my lack of swimming speed, I was recruited to do the 1/2 mile swim. Ray from Big Island Honda was our runner for the 3.1 mile run.

One of the reasons I agreed to do the race, though, was the great twist on the timing - for each piece of trash you picked up on the course, you got minutes deducted from your overall time. For the swim, each piece of trash was worth 5 minutes; on the bike, it was 3 minutes; and on the run, it was 1 minute. All I had to do was find one piece of trash to make my swim respectable!

That turned out to be a lot harder than it sounds. First off, the ocean is generally pretty clean. Then the waves were a little rough, so I really had to concentrate on not taking in salt water every time I breathed and that took away from my trash search. Finally, the water was really cloudy in spots, so I couldn't even see the bottom. I made it through the swim without finding one piece of trash - until I grabbed a cigarette butt on the beach on the way out!

Then Eddie was off. Apparently his plan was to pick up trash on the first 5 miles of the out-and-back course and then hammer on the way back in. Ray, Rose and I were at the pier waiting... and waiting...and waiting. Finally, we saw him - with a huge smile and loads of trash!


Not only did he fill up the bag provided by the race, but he also filled up the basket on the back of his bike. At the end of the count, he had 74 pieces of trash! And some interesting items, too. In one of the pictures below, he's holding an electric water pump that he found.

(Try to ignore the bad exposures above - I don't know what happened there!)

Finally it was Ray's turn to take to the run. His stated plan was to run conservatively so he had time to look for trash. He even picked up some bonus cigarette butts right at the end.

At the end of the day, his trash total was 47 - making 122 pieces of trash total for our team! That translated into a time of -2:52:55 (yes, that's a negative time!), good for second place in the relay division and only 5 minutes behind the winners. I guess I should have picked up another cigarette butt on the beach!

No races this coming weekend, but we'll be out at the Mana Road Runs (10 miles or 10K) on Sunday, August 8, so come join us!

Running on Faith 5K/10K - Tuesday, August 24, 2010

On Tuesday, August 24, Big Island residents and visitors will have the rare opportunity to participate in a night run. The Running on Faith 5K/10K is being hosted in connection with the release of Jason Lester's new book, "Running on Faith: The Principles, Passion and Pursuit of a Winning Life," on the same day. Jason won the 2009 ESPY Award for Best Male Athlete with a Disability. In addition to competing in numerous Ironman and Ultraman events, he also organized and completed the EPIC 5 in 2010, an Ironman distance event on each of the five main Hawaiian islands over the course of a week.

The run will finish at the Coconut Grove Marketplace where Jason will be also be holding a book signing. The event will also feature prizes, giveaways, post-race refreshments and a live DJ. All participants will be entered into a drawing for a free Zoot Fuzion Wetsuit, running shoes and a copy of "Running on Faith."

The cost for the event is $30 for the 5K and $35 for the 10K before August 1 and $35 for the 5K and $40 for the 10K after August 1 and on race day, so register early! Also, if three or more members of your family want to register for the race, the third person will get a free race entry! You can register online at runonfaith.com or in person at the Big Island Running Company.

Peaman's Pedal Til Ya Puke and Run Til Ya Ralph

Yesterday was a chance to participate in a Peaman race that wasn't held at the pier. Instead, hearty runners and bikers headed up to Kaloko Road for some fun hill climbing. As Peaman said at the start of the race, there really only was one hill. But it was a killer - climbing more than 3000 feet in 6.5 miles. In typical Peaman fashion, there were other options for those who weren't ready to tackle the 6.5 mile distance (including me!), with a 3.5 mile climb and a 1-mile loop run.

The 6.5 mile distance started at the bottom of Kaloko Drive for the climb to the top. The pictures below are the view from the starting area, before things really started getting steep. Pictures don't really do it justice, though.


As usual, Peaman gave instructions to the race participants, before everyone started off.

Thirty minutes after the 6.5 mile start, the 3.5 mile race started 3 miles up the hill. It was an interesting ride up there as the road became congested with the 6.5 mile participants and the cars going to the 3.5 mile start or to the top. Since I was doing the 3.5 mile run, I left the car at the 3.5 mile start, but unfortunately had to ditch the camera there, too. A few of the 6.5 mile bikes and runners passed us by, but then we were off. I think I lasted about half a mile before we hit a portion that went straight uphill. That's where I started my first of many walk portions (I like to think it was just as effective as running). The remainder of the race was spent trying to run the relatively flat portions while walking the really steep grades. It seemed to be a common strategy, although I was completely impressed by the couple of people who passed me and managed to keep running the entire time!

Right before I got to the finish line, I saw the 1-mile group flying down the hill at me at the beginning of their loop course. That group definitely looked the happiest.

At the finish, the spread was incredible - all kinds of homemade cookies, fresh fruit, and bread, which was a welcome sight for all the athletes. Also, at this race there wasn't the typical Peaman drawing for prizes, instead he let all participants pick out a prize in reverse order of finish. Boy, were the kids excited! The perpetual pea was also presented to Bobbi Reif-Acheson and her husband Cliff "Armstong" who won the mountain bike division of the 6.5 mile race.

The times for this race were not what you would typically expect for a 6.5 mile course. The winning bike, Sam Corace, made the trek in 46:33. For the runners, Josiah Jennings came in first for the 6.5 mile run in 56:40. The winning time for the 3.5 mile run was Wilfredo Duran in 36:50. Full results are here. Jason and I both finished second in our races and are glad that we have another year before we have to do that again!

Thanks Peaman for a fun, challenging race!

Bike Works Beach 'N Sports 5K/10K

This past weekend there were a couple of fun events going on on the Big Island. First on Saturday was the King's Swim, a 1.2 mile swim from the Kailua Pier to the beach in front of the King Kam hotel. Unfortunately, I chickened out on swimming it this year and think I really missed out. I will definitely be out there next year. From what I hear, some of the usual suspects had really good swims, including Nick Garrett, Noe Vargas, Madison Hauanio, and Bree Wee.

Then on Sunday morning, there was a 5K/10K in Waikoloa to celebrate the opening of Bike Works' new store Bike Works Beach 'N Sports in the Queens' Marketplace. Jason and I both opted to run the 10K, so we didn't get any pictures of the actual race. In the men's 10K race, two pro triathletes took home top honors as Mark Twelsiek won in 35:52 followed by Ian Mikelson in 37:49. Jason came in third with a time of 38:25. In the women's 10K race, Bree Wee won easily with a time of 39:54, followed by Melanie Aiona in 45:22 and Andrea Bess in 47:06. I finished in 7th place for the women, but realized how tough the 30-39 age group is - I finished 6th in my age group! Full results for the 10K are here.

In the 5K, Garrett Pringlaw came in first with a time of 17:58, followed by Alan Ryan at 18:50 and Lyman Perry at 18:54. For the women's 5K, it was Nicole Lane coming in first at 20:16, with Rani Tanimoto (20:36) and Melanie Yu (22:36) taking second and third. Full results for the 5K are here.

While there was some speculation that the 10K course was a little bit long, Bike Works put on a great race. In addition to the prizes for the top two winners, there were also several door prizes and a drawing for some great stuff - like a new bike, a night at the Hilton and gift certificates. Unfortunately we didn't win anything, but had a great time anyway.

The only photos of the event I was able to get were of some of the age group winners, which are below. Several of them are members of our running group!

Two of our favorite keiki runners. Duke Becker finished second in his age group for the 5K and Makena Becker won her 5K age group!

Women's Overall 10k winner Bree Wee

Age Group Winner Michael Woodbury

Age Group Winner and Running Group Member Brad Argue

Age Group Winner and new Running Group Member - Shirley Pratt

Another age group award for Lesley Cens-McDowell!

Lisa Bryant also claimed another age group award.

Congratulations to all!