Hurt Hawaii
David Carlsson Repeat Winner at Hilo to Volcano Ultra
Last year David Carlsson completed the 100K at H.U.R.T. and a week later went over to the Big Isle and won the Hilo to Volcano Ultra. Pretty gutsy performance but for those you who know David, he does things like that--fairly often.
This year he went back as defending champ and with a bit fresher legs (he didn't run H.U.R.T. this year), took 26 minutes after his time. Congratulations David!!! David mentioned that Nick Kaiser and Tom Craven also ran this year.
Here's a quote from David he sent me via e-mail:
"As far as my run went, compared to the HURT runs, like the 100, Hogsback 12 Hour, or the Triple Trek, it was a piece of cake. By the way, it's been 27 years since my name made the sports headlines. The last time was in 11th grade. My high school won a tough 16 team wrestling tournament during the holidays. The headline read "Carlson icing on the cake". I was the only individual champion for my winning team."
Ask David about his next big race. Hint: It takes place in Boston and is 26.2 miles.
Here's the text of the article from the Hawaii Tribune-Herald:
Monday, January 28, 2008 8:53 AM HST
Running with the Big Dog
By Wayne Joseph
Despite a constant downpour and bone chilling winds, Honolulu's David Carlsson emerged victorious for the second consecutive year in the running of the 17th Annual Hilo to Volcano Ultra Marathon.
The event, held Saturday, is sponsored by the Big Island Road Runners Club. The race begins at sea level in the parking area of Moku Ola in Hilo and finishes 31 miles later at Cooper Center in Volcano Village.
This year's race attracted 34 ultra runners, an all-time high, with 32 crossing the finish which was also a record. Only 19 managed to finish last year.
Carlsson, 43, was able to take 26 minutes off last year's time and saw the cool temperatures as a possible reason. "I felt really good today and even thought that I might have a chance to break four hours," he said of his 4:01.11 performance.
Hilo's Akira Tanaka and Paul Kriegler managed to stay close as both challenged the punishing hills in climbing to the 4,000-foot elevation.
"This was my first ultra marathon," Tanaka said. "I was a bit confused as to where the turn off to Volcano Village was and it probably cost me a minute or two, but all in all I had a lot of fun doing the race."
Tanaka took second in 4:15.21 with Kriegler close behind at 4:15.50.
For the women, it was first time distance runner Jessica Kirkwood of Victoria, British Columbia winning in 4:36.37.
DOB: October 29, 1964
Conference Championship