Ironman: Christmas comes early

Here's an article about the 5K and 10K my family and I ran a week before Kona that was published in the Hawaii newspaper . Enjoy!

By Sean Pagett
Friday, October 12, 2007 8:18 AM HST

It's Ironman Eve, and I feel like a kid waiting for Santa Claus or the Easter Bunny to arrive. Fortunately, Saturday morning will get here soon enough, and I'll be able to watch and cheer for the nearly 1,800 athletes who will take on the challenge of the Ford Ironman World Championship.No matter how you slice it, a 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bike ride and a 26.2-mile run is a huge task. I can't wait for the 7 a.m. start, when all of the built-up energy, excitement and enthusiasm is released at the blast of a cannon that sends these exceptional athletes on their way.Personally, I'm looking forward to a very long but fun day and hope that all of this year's Ironman hopefuls achieve their goals and enjoy this very special experience. I'll do my best to cheer everyone on, especially our 39 Island of Hawaii athletes who have worked hard and are ready to line up with the rest of the world's best Ironman triathletes.

Last weekend, we were blessed with a couple of really nice events that helped our Big Island crew and all of the visiting athletes put the final touches on their Ironman preparation. On Saturday morning about 175 swimmers got together at Kua Bay for the fourth annual Kukio Blue Water Swim.Teenagers dominated the 1.2-mile open ocean swim from Kua Bay to Uluweuweu Bay at Kukio. In a great race for the top three spots, Kaikea Nakachi outsprinted fellow teenagers Ryan Ross and Torrey Meister. Nakachi took the title with a great time of 24 minutes, 26 seconds. Ross followed a few ticks later at 24:31. Meister took third at 24:35.Super masters swimmer Karlyn Pipes-Neilsen broke up the teen party with a strong fourth-overall finish of 25:05. Right behind her were a couple more speedy teens. Logan Borowski took fifth at 25:22, and Nathaniel Goodale followed in sixth at 25:50.Larry Black topped the men's masters with a seventh-place time of 25:59. Eighth went to a fifth 13-14-year-old, Sonny Hapgood, at 26:02. Mark Noetzel finished in ninth with a second-place 40-49 time of 26:10. Dylan Niau closed out the very talented top 10 with a second-place 15-19 time of 26:12.Following Pipes-Neilsen in the wahine division were Jade Morton in 15th overall at 26:35; Rachel Shimizu in 17th at 26:40; Heather Gollnick in 18th at 26:44 and Lauri Berkenkamp in 22nd at 27:58.Sunday morning, the performances of top finishers at the 22nd annual Path Run were also very impressive. The 3.1- and 6.2-mile event brought out close to 200 runners and walkers. I didn't see many familiar local faces, but I did see quite a few very fast visitors.The 6.2-mile champ, Jonathan Balabuck, came all the way from Thunder Bay, Ontario, and still ran a very impressive time of 34:45. Jamie Cleveland followed in 35:46. Goetz Lipinsky closed out the top three in 36:27.The ladies champ, Yvonne Van Vlerken of the Netherlands, wasn't too far behind the top guys with her eighth-overall time of 38:30. Penny Edwards at 43:36 and Camille Beers in 44:08 rounded out the rest of the top three.In the 3.1-miler, Chad Holderbaum of Irwin, Penn., just held off our favorite "Road Runner" from Kealakekua, Rani Tanimoto. Holderbaum crossed the line in 18:35, with Tanimoto a few strikes back at 18:37. Claudia Hille, who was passed by the Roadrunner down the home stretch, took third overall and second for the ladies in 18:43. Alex Woodbury led the chase pack in with a time of 21:01. Tom McHale followed closely to wrap up the front five with his time of 21:04.I hope you all enjoy Saturday's Ford Ironman World Championship. I know I will. One of the things that keeps me motivated during the long day is that for many of this year's participants, the Ironman will be a life-changing experience. Being a small part of their day makes me feel good, and even if they don't seem to respond to your cheers on the outside, believe me it does make a difference internally. It's amazing what can be accomplished when we all get together and share our aloha.

posted by Chad Holderbaum @ 7:04 PM Comments: 0