Unless there is an unknown out there with great running chops, Curtis Huffman’s best competition will be against himself at the 15th edition of the Big Island International Marathon.
Unless there is an unknown out there with great running chops, Curtis Huffman’s best competition will be against himself at the 15th edition of the Big Island International Marathon.
The 27-year-old teacher from South Dakota has a short but impressive resume. He finished the Boston Marathon in 2 hours, 31 minutes last year. At Jamestown (S.D.) College, he placed fourth in the marathon at the NAIA national championships and earned All-American honors.
Huffman posted his best mark in college, also 2:31, but a few seconds faster than his Boston time. He has also completed marathons in Nebraska, North and South Dakota, Minnesota, Kentucky, California and Illinois in his quest to become a 50-state marathon finisher.
Unfortunately for him, defending champion Justin Gillette, who set the record last year in 2:34:39, didn’t enter, thinning the competition among top competitors. He told race coordinator Wayne “Big Dog” Joseph he may race next year.
Gillette, 29, has a long list of accomplishments. He has completed more than 70 marathons and won more than 20 times. His personal best is 2:29:17 set in Florida in 2010.
Another top challenger, local Billy Barnett, also didn’t enter. He captured the 2010 BIIM and finished second to Gillette last year in 2:39:57.
Still, the BIIM is filled to the brim, with over 900 entrants in all three races, the same number as last year. There’s also a half-marathon, which has more than 400 runners, and a 3.1-mile run/walk.
“I was hoping 2:34 and 2:39 would both be in the field,” said Huffman, a first-time BIIM runner. “The marathon in Omaha is similar to Hilo (rolling hills in the first eight miles). The first six miles are up and down.”
Huffman’s first and only marathon victory was that Nebraska race. It was also a touching moment. His wife, Casey, was a volunteer and waiting with a finish-line prize: a memorable hug.
“She was helping out with the half-marathon and was the first one at the finish line. I saw her and got a hug,” Huffman said. “That was kind of neat.”
They were married two years ago, and the Hilo stop is a combination vacation, late honeymoon and marathon entry — to cross off another of the 50 states.
“We didn’t really get to go on a honeymoon after we were married,” Huffman said. “She basically wanted a vacation, and my goal is to get all 50 states. She wanted to go to Hawaii and said, ‘We should go to Hilo and you can run a marathon.’ It’s sort of an oxymoron with marathon and vacation in the same sentence.
“You get to go places and see different things. I saw a guy in Omaha, Neb., last fall in the marathon, and he ran all 50 states and the provinces in Canada six or seven times. I was like, ‘Holy Cow.’ There was also a lady who had the 50-state marathon T-shirt.”
His toughest marathon was in South Dakota, running, stopping and walking in 32-degree weather with rain making the experience miserable. He didn’t eat enough the night before and finished in 2:50.
Still, Huffman is determined to get his T-shirt.
“I qualified for the marathon all four years in college,” he said. “After that, I had to keep on going.”