Saturday, June 7, 2008

Runners' HI Ohana...Reunited...and it felt so good!!!


Okay a bit late (like a whole week!) but finally getting this entry in! Sorta like getting over the short vacation! On the weekend of May 30-June 1st, several of the Ohana ventured to California to take part in the Rock n' Roll San Diego Marathon. Yup, nothing like getting back together with our mainland Ohana to do what we love most...running the ol' 26.2!


It was great seeing Stroller Mom & Dad w/ Grace & Ocean, Gerald, and John. On a partial sad note, this was also one of the last runs with Laura S. who with her husband Jason, will be moving to Mississippi then Georgia...all great places to add more runs!
All enjoyed the spectacularly, awesome running weather with providing ideal conditions for some PRs and a BQ or two.
Congrats to all who took part:
Johnny 'Brother Shaka' - 3:12:07 PR/BQ
Mark E. 'da Rock' - 3:20:23 PR/BQ
Laura S. - 4:30:25
Elisa 'the Animal' - 4:03:50 PR
Jeff - 3:39:48 - Ran with aching IT bands but had the best time running the last 5k with the R.R.!
Coswin - 3:28:30
Amanda 'Stroller Mom' - 5:07:58
Dan 'Stroller Dad' - 5:07:59
Gary 'THE Red Rabbit' - 3:41:01 (1 week after a marathon in Alaska w/ Olympia Marathon next weekend!)
Gerald - 4:51:18
John M. - 4:43:29
Heather - 4:34:15
Buffy - 3:37:51 BQ for Momma Libby!
Ray - 5:58:11
Brenda - 5:58:08
Charmaine - 5:44:11

More pics to come later! Here's some comments from the gang:

Stroller Mom: We had a blast. Loved the bands, especially the post-race band. TNT runners were slightly better than what we've seen in the past, but their coaches just weren't thinking on the course. After being nearly toppled by three or four, we were pretty frustrated.Hot day for us, we just haven't had the warm weather to train in. But that's no excuse. Interesting to note, my Garmin autopauses when I stop... it had us finishing in 4:50. So we lost 17 minutes waiting for porta-potties at various points. And we didn't make THAT many stops. Hmmm.It was fantastic to meet up with everyone! Les, you were definitely missed! Had a great time. Chase was enchanted by everyone, Elisa in particular :)Enough so that we're contemplating a location for the next Ohana Reunion Marathon.

Brother Shaka: I just wanted to send a quick note to thank everyone one for a very nice time in San Diego!!! (And YES I ACTUALLY DID HAVE A NICE TIME!!!)
I wanted to congratulate all of us on finishing the marathon!!! We all survived!!!
It was SO NICE seeing our Ohana who have moved away. I am glad we were able to hang out and see the San Diego Zoo and Sea World and just hang out and enjoy each others company.

Gerald: Wow that was great to see everyone, and what a beautiful Southern Cali day. I do miss Hawaii very much and the great weather, but more so is you all. The weather is so consistent year-round and nice for running. I miss sharing the blacktop and getting that great physical abuse (lol) of running together.
This was my third timed event since breaking my foot in Honolulu. My longest run prior was a 9 mile practice run with a group here in San Jose. The first half of the RnR Marathon was great, but the second half got tough, but as they say finishing is the goal. I had a great time, finished my third marathon (a baby compared to many of my Ohana brothers and sisters), and got sun burned. Now I will concentrate on shorter runners and give my foot that full year required to heal completely. I enjoying the time, but had to drive back up to San Jose. Funny thing on the way home, got pulled over by the California Highway Patrol four exists before our turn off at 2 am. No ticket and all is well that ends well or is it, all is fair is love and war? The Officer said the car was driving a little erratically.
Congratulations to all of my fellow runners and it was so great to see familiar faces, I miss you, and feel blessed to be able to live in Hawaii, meet all of you and be able to share time. I am hoping to do Honolulu again and see all of you in our home field, lol.
I just wanted to add you all kick A_ _. Let me tell you, you talk about extreme sports and things to do, you all do it all the time. A Marathon has to be at the top of list's of extreme sports/events, and all of you do it like it's just another day at the office.


Laura S: I had a GREAT time with you all. Thanks for the going away party a few weeks ago and for making my last Runners Hi Hurrah so great. I will miss you all tremendously!Keep in Touch for sure!

Jon M: I truly enjoyed seeing everyone and regret I was unable to spend more time with you. As others have said this is a terrific ohana that just gets better and better. You have no idea how much I miss all of you and how much I enjoyed seeing the folks that came to San Diego.

Also congratulations to Mike G. aka 'Smooth' as he completed his first Honu/(Half) Ironman 70.3 Hawai`i on May 31st with a total time of 6:22:08! Of course we can't forget Dave (0f Triathlete Magazine centerfold fame): 5:23:49...Smokin'!!!

Congrats to all who competed this past weekend. Next week is a back to back week with the H.U.R.T. Mango Madness 10-mile trail run on Saturday, 5/14, and the Hibiscus Half-Marathon on Sunday, 5/15! See most of you on the roads and trails!!!

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