David Wild arrived on the Big Island a year ago, the day before the inaugural Hilo Triathlon, and watched as a spectator.
David Wild arrived on the Big Island a year ago, the day before the inaugural Hilo Triathlon, and watched as a spectator.
He jumped into the second edition, and nearly took the men’s title — an Olympic-sized 1.5 kilometer swim, 40k bike and 10k run — on Sunday at James Kealoha Beach Park.
Luis De La Torre, also a spectator last year, won in 2 hours, 6 minutes and 39 seconds, ahead of Wild’s 2:08:00.
Through the stoke of serendipity, both met as fans and found themselves as friendly opponents a year later. (They had a nice bro-hug after the race.)
Wild, 28, is a Konawaena math teacher, and joked that there’s no letter “e” in his last name, dropped because of his Irish side.
He was raised in San Diego, and lived in Berkeley and Oakland the last eight years.
Wild arrived through the Teach for America organization, which places young teachers in low-income communities.
He’s been super busy, literally hitting the ground and running all the time.
Wild has raced in the Lavaman, Honu, and Boise 70.3, which qualified him for the Ironman 70.3 World Championship on Aug. 30 in Austria.
He’s finished 15 triathlons, winning the Kona Mango event last year and the Escape from Alcatraz in San Francisco in 2013.
Wild started competing in triathlons in 2012, and has brought that passion to his school. Last year, he started the Konawaena Tri Club, and had 10 members, including Wildcats who were paddlers, lacrosse players and ROTC members.
“We try to give back to the community and volunteer at races like this,” Wild said.
In fact, Lawrence “Rama” Barrett was his racing partner and finished 10th in 2:33:31. Ragan Leslie was 26th in 2:55.38.
Sisters Natasha and Olga Brocks were volunteers, helping at the finish line as Wild proudly pointed out.
More than anything that aloha spirit — all the volunteers devoting their free time — tugged at Wild.
“I’m really proud and really grateful for all the volunteers and their overwhelming love,” he said. “I feel that love every time I come to Hilo. Kona is great and Hilo is cool.
“The race was well put together. We were blessed with the weather conditions. All of the crowd was cheering the whole way.”
Name game
Whenever Ed Ignacio is closing in on a finishing line, like at the Hilo Triathlon, his wife Maricar doesn’t start cheering until she sees his handsome face.
This is a story about the other Ed Igancio, 38 years old, an X-ray technician at Hilo Hospital, and a 1995 Hilo graduate.
He ran cross country and track for the Vikings, and started competing in triathlons shortly after he got married in 2008.
The other Ed Ignacio is also from the Big Island, originally from Laupahoehoe, and well-known for wearing law enforcement tactical gear in races.
The 46-year-old Oahu FBI agent runs for awareness, mainly to have a memorial for officers killed in the line of duty.
The line of confusion for Maricar Ignacio, who works in healthcare, is that both go by Ed Ignacio, both are from the Big Island, and both are handsome.
What’s a public address announcer to do, but get things wrong?
“They always get Ed mixed up with my Eddie,” Maricar joked.
Her Ed finished in 2:30.55 seconds for seventh.
Oahu Ed was 73rd in 3:37:52, getting out of the water in 38:14 despite the heavy, water-logged gear. He was 1:23:00 on the bike and 1:36:38 on the run with the gear. The other Ed was 31:10, 1:12:33 and 47:12.
Maricar’s Ed and Oahu Ed know each other because people with the same name have a magnetic pull, and in Hilo it’s a Kevin Bacon two degrees of separation thing, where everybody knows everybody.
“We’ve been in about three events together, and we’ve met before,” said Maricar’s Ed, whose sense of humor is only topped by his good looks. “We met through the races because we would always get mixed up. But I’m more handsome.”
Last year, the handsome Eds both competed in the inaugural Hilo Triathlon, which featured nightmarish rough water. (On Sunday, the ocean was gentle and polite.)
Maricar’s Ed was 32nd in 2:42:55 while Oahu Ed was 75th in 3:02:53.
Oahu Ed will be the race director of the inaugural HLEFM Triathlon on Oct. 24 on Oahu.
“What he does is commendable. It’s honorable and he’s running for awareness,” Maricar’s Ed said. “I have no problem being associated with him.
“I run to have a healthy lifestyle and inspire my wife and kids (Ava, 8, and Axel, 5).”
He’s completed seven triathlons: Hilo twice, Lavaman three times, Honu once, and one on Oahu.
“My goal is to stay healthy and try to get better and faster,” said Maricar’s Ed.
What’s up, Doc?
Jim Budde is no ordinary 70-year-old.
The recently retired ER doctor in Waimea showed all the youngsters how to swim like a champ.
Budde was the first out of the water in the 200-triathlete field, blistering competitors young and old.
He was 24th in 2:53:26, including 25:03 in the swim, 1:26:23 on the bike, and 1:02:00 on the run.