Gearing up for Ironman 70.3 Hawaii

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The Queen Kaahumanu Triathlon Club offered a half marathon and a 10-kilometer run on Sunday, with both run courses beginning and ending at Old Kona Airport Park in Kailua-Kona.

The Queen Kaahumanu Triathlon Club offered a half marathon and a 10-kilometer run on Sunday, with both run courses beginning and ending at Old Kona Airport Park in Kailua-Kona.

The morning was bright and hot, with blue skies giving runners a fantastic view.

For the 10K, runners began at Old Kona Airport Park, ran south along Alii Drive to the Kona Riviera Villas and turned around to head back to the finish line.

Tommy Vonach sprinted into first place, finishing the 6.2-mile run with an incredible time of 35 minutes, 33 seconds.

Jamil Coury took second at 37:36, Sal Salmi placed third (40:09), and Nathan Coury came in fourth (43:12).

Jennifer Stabrylla finished first for the women with a speedy time of 50:34. Cecilia Woodbury earned second (54:53), Kym Kiser placed third (55:40), and Jenny Payne (55:58) rounded out the top four women.

Those who participated in the half marathon started from Old Kona Airport Park, ran south along Alii Drive to the Kona Riviera Villas and went back to Old Kona Airport Park. Then they did a short loop on the runway before heading out for another loop on Alii Drive (same as the 10K course) and finishing at Old Kona Airport Park’s main pavilion.

Julia Grant won the half marathon, running the 13.1 miles in an outstanding time of 1:27:20. Alan Ryan crossed the finish line second (1:28:56), and Keish Doi was 1 second behind to take third (1:28:57).

Jeremy Withros rounded out the top four, claiming fourth overall and third for the men (1:39:00), and Mike DeCarli took fifth overall and fourth for the men (1:40:52).

Margaret Haderle finished eighth overall and second for the women with a time of 1:50:27, and Linda Hallinger was third for the women at 2:10:52.

Although the half marathon and 10K had set courses, a few athletes decided to fit this run into their training schedule and went their own distances.

Dan Gampon and Cedes DeCarli both went 10 miles. Gampon finished in a time of 1:16:42, and DeCarli crossed the line at 1:34:14.

Lava People ran 14 miles and finished in 2:19:56.

Congratulations to all who competed in the Queen Kaahumanu Triathlon Club training race, and a big mahalo to all the volunteers who helped conduct the race.

There are no races this weekend, but please be extra careful as there are more bikers and runners on the road training for Ironman 70.3 Hawaii, which will take place June 1.

Locally known as Honu, Ironman 70.3 Hawaii includes a 1.2-mile swim, a 56-mile bike ride and a 13.1-mile run. The race will begin at 7 a.m. at Hapuna Beach State Park, and runners will finish on the grounds of the Fairmont Orchid Hawaii. This race is full, but please feel free to come out and support all of the local athletes as they try to qualify for the Ironman 70.3 World Championships set to take place in September.

The Kukio Challenge will take place at 9 a.m. June 2 at Kukio Bay. This race features a half-mile swim, a three-mile run and a two-mile paddleboard or stand-up paddleboard course. Lunch and awards for the competitors will follow. Athletes who wish to register online must do so by 3 p.m. May 31 on kukio.net. Organizers will offer race day registration, but the race is limited to 150 athletes.

Hope to see you all out there. Until next time, happy training.