Carlsson winner of tough race
Monday, January 28, 2008 8:53 AM HST

Hawaii Tribune-Hearld
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.

"I've never run a race over 25 kilometers (15.5 miles)," Kirkwood said. "I wasn't even sure I was going to enter this race until the day before, but I'm glad I did."

Kirkwood, who has elite running experience as a member of the Canadian National Team, has now established herself as a strong and ultra harrier.

Experienced runners Susan Cordell and Amy Ray-McWhinney followed in second and third place, respectively. Both crossed the finish line together for the third consecutive year.

"We enjoy running together," Cordell said. "We are good friends." The duo will run the entire distance, talking, laughing and enjoying each other's company throughout the race.

The fourth woman to cross the line was newcomer Amber Hanza of Keaau. "I've always wanted to do a marathon (26.2 miles), but I couldn't find any that were done on Saturday's," she said.

When Hanza discovered that the 31-mile Hilo to Volcano race could satisfy her ambition goal, she began to train and gradually built up a good distance base.

"I'd ask the experienced runners for advice and they all said to go out slow and try to maintain a conservative pace," she said. As a result, Hanza was able to finish in 17th out of 32 finishers.

Also of note is the effort of first time ultra runner Justin Pang. He is a junior at Christian Liberty Academy and originally wanted to do the relay with two of his classmates.

"We were planning to make a high school relay team, but my friends dropped out a week before the race and I couldn't find anyone to run with," Pang said.

Pang then asked his parents if he could try the ultra, saying that he would quit after 15 to 18 miles.

"I had no plans on finishing this thing and just wanted to use it as a training run," he said.

Instead this highly motivated 17-year-old continued past the 18-mile marker and all the way up into Volcano Village to become the first high school solo finisher in the race's 17-year history.

Starting 30 minutes after the ultra runners were 24 relay teams that were made up of two, three, four and even five runners. Each member of the team was to run two miles before handing off to the next member of the team in an effort to see who could climb up the mountain first.

Two-time defending champion "The Three Vatos" from Los Angeles, were the favorites until their lead runner twisted his knee and the team was forced to withdraw in the early going of the race.

That opened the door for "Los Hombres - G" to win the event in 3:11.54. The Hombres, who are current and former University of Hawaii at Hilo cross country runners who live in Hilo, were challenged by "Mexicas," another team from Los Angeles.

Two course records were set during the relay portion of the race when a mixed team, calling itseld "Start Slow and Fade" managed to reach Cooper Center in 4:17.00.

Todd Marohnic, Bill McMahon and Lory Hunter recorded the record by using a tandem bike instead of a car, to transport their non-runners up the mountain.

"We were using different muscles to bike up the hill and at times it was pretty painful for me," Hunter said.

Despite the pain, the tandem trio managed to break the record, previously held by Team Higante, by more than 90 minutes.

McMahon and Marohnic now have their names appear in five different record categories for the Hilo to Volcano race.

"This is my favorite race and we're always looking for different challenges and different ways we can have fun doing it," McMahon said.

The other course record was set by "The Best of the '60's" a trio, made up of 65-year-old Jon Kunitake, 61-year-old John Allen and 60-year-old Big Dog that clocked in 4:30.16 to set the new 60 and over team record.

For more information on this event or any other Road Runner club activity, go to their web site at http://www.bigislandroadrunners.org or call 969-7400.

Paw Prints:

The next running and walking event in Hilo will be on Saturday, Feb. 16 when the BIRR host the post Valentine Day 5K (3.1-mile).

The race is open to anyone, but couples will be encouraged to participate with various divisions open to recognize the Valentine Day weekend.

Besides having a boyfriend/girlfriend, husband/wife division, there will also be father/daughter, mother/son and grandparent/grandchild categories.

The fun begins in the parking area of Moku Ola in Hilo at 7:30 a.m. with BIRR members free and non-members being charged $2 per person.

For more information, go to the BIRR web site or call their office at 969-7400. ...

Running and walking events cannot be produced if not for the many people that contribute their time and effort as a volunteer. If you cannot participate as runner or walker, then you should at least consider helping out at these many health and fitness activities.

And the next time you see a happy runner come passing through Hilo Bayfront, remember to smile, say "woof" and never shy away from "Running with the Big Dog."

The Big Dog can be reached through email at waiakeabigdog@aol.com.

Hilo to Volcano

Thirty-four runners and 22 relay teams competed in the 31-mile ultra marathon from Hilo to Cooper Center in Volcano Village.

Hilo to Volcano Ultra Marathon results

Monday, January 28, 2008 8:53 AM HST

Results from the 17th

Hilo to Volcano Ultra Marathon

Saturday, Jan. 26, 2008

Timing/scoring by ABC Timing

Overall finish

Individuals

1. David Carlsson Male 43 Honolulu 4:01:11
2. Akira Tanaka M 39 Hilo 4:15:21
3. Paul Kriegler M 24 Hilo 4:15:50
4. Nick Kaiser M 52 Honolulu 4:36:24
5. Jessica Kirkwood Female Keaau 4:36:37
6. Carlos Fuentes M 54 Waikoloa 4:40:43
7. Jim Woodhull M 51 Honolulu 4:41:17 8. Johnny Landeza M 45 Aiea 4:52:13
9. Jason Lester M 34 Kona 4:54:28
10. Hidehiko Harada M 37 Sapporo, Japan 5:05:33
11. Jeff Fong M 35 Honolulu 5:10:45
12. Wyatt Waro M 33 Honolulu 5:16:19
13. Susan Cordell F 45 Keaau 5:32:11
14. Amy Ray-McWhinney F 33 Keaau 5:32:12
15. Scott Kruis M 46 Corvallis, Ore. 5:40:25 16. Victor Eisen M 44 Pahoa 5:45:13
17. Amber Hanza F 25 Keaau 5:45:59
18. Stan Fortuna M 60 Hilo 5:47:31
19. Bo Goran Lundvist M 63 Pahoa 5:49:07
20. Cody Tehero M 20 Pepeekeo 5:54:52
21. Mark Essenberg M 42 5:57:48
22. David Matters M 26 Kapolei 6:01:03 23. Rob Patterson M 47 Hilo 6:02:13
24. James Tuscany M 54 Hilo 6:03:16
25. Tom Craven M 60 Honolulu 6:03:28 26. Caleb Westfall M 28 Hilo 6:05:45
27. Justin Pang M 17 Keaau 6:17:04
28. Laurence Macon M 63 San Antonio, Texas 6:17:20
29. Raymond Woo M 50 Hilo 6:19:35
30. Wily Woo M 28 Pearl City 6:26:39 31. Les Omura M 50 Honolulu 6:50:30
32. Eugene Bruckert M 72 Arlington Hts., Ill. 9:58:14

Relay teams

1. 3:11:54 Los Hombres "G" Open Men
(G. Ortiz, Gustavo, G. McCallister)
2. 3:15:02 Mexicas Open Men
(D. Morales, R. Morales, F. Corona)
3. 3:52:08 One Lucky Guy Open Mixed
(K. Busse, K. Warke, T. Warke)
4. 3:53:48 Hawaii Fire DOS Open Men
(C. Stelfot, J. Nixon, J. Freitas)
5. 3:56:21 Lele Panina-Point 4 Open Men
(A. Ryan, J. Lyle)
6. 4:00:51 Los Tres Vendettas Open Women
(A Sanchez, V. Mendoza, K. Andrew)
7. 4:14:22 The Three Stinkas Open Mixed
(D. Scott, K. Scott, Z. Lichty)
8. 4:16:22 Three New Friends Master Mixed
(M. Anderson, S. Pavao, G. Lum Ho)
9. 4:17:00 Start Slow & Fade Master Mixed (B. McMahon, T. Marohnic, L. Hunter)
10. 4:30:16 The Best of the 60's Master Men
(J. Allen, J. Kunitake, Big Dog)
11. 4:32:57 Ho, Brah! Open Mixed
(D. Dominick, B. McCullough, D. Thompson)
12. 4:43:34 Konohiki Wahine Open Women
(K. Kozar, L. Hadway, H. Hansen)
13. 4:44:53 Three Awesome Dudes Master Men (C. Bostwick, J. Gamble, D.J. Blinn)
14. 4:47:39 Two Firemen & A Hot Shot Open Men (J. Wedemann, D. Andon, M. Brigoli)
17. 4:52:46 Wonder Women Open Women
(R. Jenkinson, Sarah Day, S. Rutgers)
18. 5:11:51 Team Honu Master Mixed
(D. Wong Yuen, M. Hasselbring)
21. 5:24:34 Chicks with Running Fever Master Women (D. Cunningham, M. Cooke, L. Collins)
22. 6:16:09 Team Aurello Open Men
(M. Aurello, R. Aurello, T. Aurello)

Others:

-- 4:51:51 Qualified Insanity Super Team
(J. Garcia, J. Johnston, R. Shutt, J. Lozano)
-- 4:52:37 Gopher's Broke Super Team
(M. Kuramoto, D. Weir, Betty Ben, C. Shigeoka)
-- 5:16:35 Super Team Super Team
(M. Nora, Y. Nora, K. Stiendamm, D. Stickman)
-- 5:22:13 Mixed Plate Super Team
(J. Natividad, L. Natividad, C. Malendiz, D. Huston)
-- 6:30:55 Kamehonu Super Team
(D. Wela, B. Enos, M. Kahananui, M. Wela)

Race notes:

Maximum 3 members per relay team. Teams with more than three members are "unofficial" participants. ...

ABC Timing includes lead scorer Curtis Beck, lead timer Mino Coria and lead statistician Bev Abril. ...

Race results were submitted by Wayne "Big Dog' Joseph.