Sunday marked the sixth year that Kym Kiser summoned Keauhou’s fiery beast from a yearlong hibernation, to unleash complete destruction on any cyclist-tempting fate by riding on its path.
Riders know all too well that every year on this day in March, all roads turn distinctly upwards, gradients reach quad punishing levels, and what typically begins with smiling race faces immediately takes a turn to agony.
It can only mean one thing — the Dragon Hill Climb Race.
One would think the fastest man or woman up the climb takes victory, but not always so with the Dragon. Based upon a points system, and with nine hills to conquer, it often takes more than a speedy time on any particular hill to crown the winning title of Dragon Slayer.
It is a race that requires digging deep and enduring lactate-burning pain – basically turning your insides-out while destroying your legs just to “make it” to the top of the climb. There’s simply no escaping it, suffering is inevitable.
Yet, it is also very much a race of strategy and knowing one’s strength and skills on each particular climb. And every year, cyclists are always looking forward to the challenge of this event long before the start of the race.
“The excitement this year was more so than any other year,” said event organizer, Kym Kiser, who began the event in 2015. “We filled (50 slots) within a week and all were from the Hawaii Cycling Club. And, it has also brought excitement to others elsewhere. One of the athletes who did it before actually brought it to his board at his cycling club and they did this in Wisconsin. So yes, I’m happy that it’s catching on.”
Kiser, who is a two-time Ironman World Championship finisher and mom to three girls, said she felt thankful for her team of volunteers who return year after year.
“It’s the volunteers that come out every single time that help to make putting on this event easier,” she said. “And having been doing this event for so many years now, they just know what do to. And this year we had Nick (Yamasaki) help out with timing using Webscorer which made the results go a lot faster. So yes, it’s definitely getting easier!”
A stacked field of Big Island’s top cyclists and cooler temperatures set the stage for some fierce competition that began at the bottom of Kamehameha III Road, the north side of Keauhou Bay. Other hill climbs included in the event were Kaleiopapa Street, the infamous “Pit,” the first Alii Bypass road hill, the “false flat” on the Alii Bypass, the second Alii Bypass road hill, Kaluna Street Climb, lower Laaloa Street, and finally finishing off with Laaloa’s Hoomohala Street.
After the quad-busting hill climbs were done and over with, it was Keauhou’s Penn Henderson who claimed his second Dragon Slayer title – winning all nine climbs for a perfect score of 90 points.
“It feels good,” Henderson said of his win. “It was definitely tough competition today and a bit nerve-wracking as everyone began full-gas at the start of every climb. It just goes to show how hard everyone was pushing – no one left anything in the tank.”
The men’s race for second was a back-and-forth battle between Kailua-Kona’s Sean Maynard and David Wild. Maynard gritted out enough points (74) to claim second, with Wild in third with 71 points.
“I love it – I wish we had one every two weeks,” Maynard said after completing his first Dragon hill climb race. “I like the competition, it doesn’t really matter what type of race it is, I just love to compete.”
After taking five years off from cycling, Maynard returned looking fitter than ever and began the year with a second place finish at February’s Prologue 10-Mile individual time trial. His strong performance on Sunday only echoed his return to the race scene.
“I expected it to be hard,” the 49-year old said of the climbs. “And no, I didn’t have a game plan. I was just racing for second as we knew who would win first. So I was just going hard for second place.”
Wild, a 32-year old math teacher at Konawaena, said Sunday’s hill climbs were the perfect race prep for the upcoming Lavaman Waikoloa Olympic Distance Triathlon, a race he won last year.
“This is number four for me but I have never won,” Wild said of competing in the Dragon. “I’ve always taken second and every year it’s been a different person who has won first.
“This event is always punishing and an amazing jump start to the year that remind me what pain feels like. I was sick for a bit and that slowed me down for a bit but I think it might have been a blessing in disguise. I was able to rest, and re-center and refocus, so now, I’m feeling really good about Lavaman.”
In the men’s age 60 and over division, Volcano’s Todd Marohnic rode away with the victory (87 points), with Kailua-Kona’s Jeff Lassle (82) and Don Baldassari (71) taking second and third place respectively.
For the women, it turned out to be a close battle among Winona Chen, Melissa Schad and Laura Yamasaki. All three were tied for first place after the sixth hill climb. Yet after the final hill, it was Chen who finished with the most points (83), followed by Schad and Yamasaki, who each had 80 points.
“It was so hard,” Chen said of winning the title of Dragon Slayer at her first Dragon race. “Every time they announced where we were points wise, I was like oh no, no more pressure. It was really hard because I’ve never done a stop and go format. It was definitely a lot harder than a straight hill climb race.”
The 29-year old Kailua-Kona resident competed in her second Ironman World Championship race last October and is no stranger to long hill climb events. Chen won the popular Sea To Stars race in 2018.
“I think I’m more used to longer events,” she said. “The really short hills were tough for me. I actually felt better on the longer hills as I felt like I could get into a rhythm. But the shorter hills – to just have that power right off the bat was really difficult for me.”
Schad, who is preparing for Lavaman Waikoloa, improved upon her placing as she was third overall last year.
“This is my second Dragon race and it was hard, but I knew that going in,” said the 44-year old. “Laura and I have been neck-and-neck at the time trials and Winona is a super strong cyclist, so I knew that it was going to be tough. I said last year that I will not be riding this race on my tri-bike but I showed up on my tri-bike. I don’t have a road bike so I just told myself I couldn’t sit down.”
While Yamasaki, who typically competes in triathlons, decided to ditch her tri-bike and rented a more hill friendly road bike to compete.
“I love it, it was painful but it was fun,” said the 35-year old massage therapist. “Yesterday I looked at the course and so I hadn’t done any hill training until yesterday.
“I think I’m very thankful I had a road bike because it was very comfortable. I just went hard or whatever my body would allow me to do. Every hill was different and I didn’t know what to expect. But yes, I’ll definitely be back.”
In the women’s age 60 and over division, Susan Nisbet ended up with the most points at 85, followed by Heather Guignion (81) and Joni Heath (76).
Greta DuFour won the Lantern Rouge award, which is typically given out to the rider in last place, and Johnnie Kaihewalu won the single-speed cycling division.
For Kiser, her passion for organizing the Dragon is all about bringing together people from all fitness levels that share the same love for cycling.
“It’s the camaraderie of bringing all levels together, cheering everyone on, we are with the same group, riding on the same roads or on our trainers, all enjoying the love and awareness of cycling, and also bringing together spectators and families who may want to get involved in cycling.”