Peaman events return Sunday

After 847 days, the Peaman races are finally back.

Sunday morning at Kaiakeakua Beach will mark the first Peaman Biathlon since the beginning of the pandemic, reviving the monthly tradition.

“I think March 2020 was our 410th event since ’87,” said Sean “Peaman” Pagett, the event’s organizer. “As you know, the world went a little wacky, so we had to take a break.”

The monthly free events consisting of a swim and run came to a halt after the Zoomin’ Zak Plunge and Plod Biathlon in 2020. Peaman is hoping to bring the races back exactly as participants remember them.

“Everything’s the same,” said Peaman. “No entry fee, no pre-race application.

“We sign everybody out when they’re finished, which makes it super easy and relaxing on race morning. We’ll still have a table full of toys for the kids to choose from when they finish; we always do that in a random drawing. It’s kind of our way of enticing/bribing the kids to exercise instead of staying indoors.”

Sunday’s race will begin at 8:08 a.m. as swimmers dive into the waters of Kailua Bay. The long course will consist of a 1/3-mile swim followed by a 2-mile run, while the Peawee course will be a 200-yard swim followed by a 1-mile run.

More than just a race, Sunday marks a reunion of sorts. The monthly events created a community Peaman is looking forward to bring the community back together once again.

“I’m super excited; it seems like it’s been really well received in the advertising we’ve done on social media,” said Peaman. “Seems like a lot of people are really happy to have it back, looking forward to not only the normalcy of the monthly routines I think we all grew accustomed to over the 30 plus years of events, but just having events in general back. Having goals to shoot for. Just super excited and looking forward to seeing everybody. It’s kind of like a big family reunion, really.”