This post is long. I’ll do the running part first. Then, there are sections on my travel experience, becoming knowledgeable about volcanos and pictures along the course.
On December 18, 2022, I finished the Hawai’i Bird Conservation Marathon from Volcano to Hilo, Hawai’i. The race advertised a total drop of 3792 feet and a total gain of 54 feet. There was a 6-hour time limit. With my recent finishes and downhill course, I was not worried about finishing.
The marathon was founded in 2017 by Bob Kennedy of Durham, New Hampshire. He was trying to join the 50 sub 4 Marathon Club by finishing a marathon in less than 4 hours in each state. He was in his late 60s and having a difficult time on the existing Hawai’i marathon. So, he developed this downhill course on the big island.
My goal was to finish in 6 hours or 5 hours if I felt good.
There were no mile markers on the course. The certification map showed 5km locations. At packet pickup, the RD told me there were no 5km markers on the course. However, most of the highway mileposts were in place.
I could use the mileposts for pacing, and I was unsure how close they were to the actual mile locations. As other reference points, there were ten aid stations between the start and mile 24. So, they were 2.4 to 2.5 miles apart.
I planned to get through two aid stations per hour. Hopefully, I could do the final 2.2 miles in 60 minutes. Going through the half-marathon in 2:30 would be nice.
I planned to walk for 1 minute every 10 minutes. The plan meant I would walk downhill with the anticipation of no uphill sections.
Saturday’s packet pickup was at the finish line at a Boy Scout Camp. The location was 5 miles south of Hilo and cost $40 via a round-trip taxi. We received our shirt, bag, and timing chip.
The race used the Chronotrack HU Chips on ankle straps that I used to time triathlons and cross country races. Instead of using the race-provided ankle strap, I used my neoprene strap. This race was my first time using a HU chip. Though bulky, I never noticed any issues or discomfort.
On Sunday, I was up at 2:15 am and left my hotel at 3:50 am for a short walk to the event buses. The bus ride to the start line got us there around 5 am. There were four porta pots for 100 runners. The line moved quickly.
The start location was about 2 miles from the Kilauea volcano caldera, active only a few days earlier. I walked up the road away from the start to see the night sky without light pollution. Our start was less than 100 feet below the volcano peak. So, I was not able to see that either.
I hung out in the bus or porta pot line until 5 minutes before the race started.
The forecast was 53 degrees at the start and mid-70s by my expected finish time. The dew points were 52 degrees and 68 degrees, based on our location on the island. Sunrise was around 7 am, and there was a partly cloudy forecast after 9 am. I had to dress to stay warm enough at the start knowing I would remove clothing during the race.
I wore shorts over compression shorts, a singlet over a long-sleeved shirt, gloves, a neck gaiter, a ball cap, and my Saucony Triumph 19 shoes. The race organizers required us to wear a headlamp until civil daylight.
I carried a cell phone during a race for the first time ever. I had some Succeed S!caps and sunblock in my carry pouch. My pouch replaced my usual single-bottle belt. So, I had to depend on the race-provided fluids. I carried my cell phone with the hope of getting some scenic pictures. Unfortunately, there were no vistas, just rainforests, and speeding cars.
After the gun, the field spread out quickly, and I was toward the back. The first half mile was uphill, and I got to milepost 30 in 3 minutes and 15 seconds. With my calculations, the finish would be just before milepost 4. Doing the math, I could calculate the remaining miles at each subsequent milepost. All my remaining time splits were recorded as miles to go.
After the initial start road, we were on Route 11 headed to Hilo. This road is the main southern route on the island. We were required to run on the shoulder to the left of the white line. Some runners complain about the road camber. I never noticed any issues while running. Between miles 3 and 6, we were routed to a parallel road that got us out of traffic.
The weather warmed up quickly. I took off my neck gaiter at 10 minutes, gloves at 20 minutes, and undershirt at 40 minutes. In case I needed it, I tied my shirt around my waist.
I have not done any special training for downhill running. So, I knew I needed to be cautious not to blow out my quads. I went through 5 miles in under 55 minutes, which may have been too fast. During mile 6, one runner passed me, and I passed another. These were the last two fellow runners I would see all day.
As I passed the other runner, we were going uphill, and I joked, “I didn’t know there were hills on this course.”
I had four strange pains in my left hip. These were new. It’s been my right hip for the past ten months. But then, they were gone.
I dropped my required headlamp at Mile 5. By 7:30 am, the sun started peeking through the trees to my right. A half-hour later, I put on more sunblock on my right side.
Over the next miles, there were some ups that I did not expect. They were not killers, and running them did not slow me down. I got through mile 10 in 1:54 and the half-marathon in 2:29:30. I was slowing down, and my quads were hurting. I modified my walk breaks to 2 minutes every 10 minutes, then 200 paces every 10 minutes.
Looking at a map post-race, there were 190 feet of ups on the course.
I went through mile 15 in 2:55 and 20 in 4:04.
With eight miles remaining, I changed to walking 200 paces and running 200 paces. And my running may have been slower than my walking. I was in direct sunlight, mostly on my right side, then my entire back. There was no shade to escape the sun. I put on sunblock three times in the next hour. The partly cloudy forecast never materialized, and the temperature was in the high 70s.
I know I’m not supposed to do math while running. With 18 miles to go, I started calculating the required pace to finish in 6 hours. At that point, I had 267 minutes. So, I needed to keep them under 14:50.
It’s not good that I started calculating so early. With 6 miles to go, I needed to keep them under 19:20.
Somewhere under 4 miles to go, I needed to keep them under 21 minutes, and running was done for the day. My final three miles were more than 18 minutes per mile.
In these miles, the sun was directly on my back. Instead of putting on more sunblock, I put on my long-sleeved shirt over my singlet. The Coolmax fabric did not overheat me and kept wicking my sweat.
I was not doing well in these final three miles. My vision started blurring, and I was seeing bright spots. I was coherent and able to do calculations. With the sun shining down, I did worry about sunstroke. I was sweating but not soaking my clothes. Thinking about possible issues is better than not being able to think.
I had to push myself not to stop and sit. My cardiologist told me, “if your chest hurts and you have to sit, call 911.” Though I didn’t have chest pains, I didn’t stop. Fortunately, I had my cell phone with me. I was prepared for once.
After I passed my one-mile-to-go sign, I saw the landmark near the turn to the finish. It seemed I would never reach that landmark. Finally, after 17 minutes, I got to the turn and ran the final 100 meters to the finish.
I drank two cups or between 12 and 16 ounces of fluid at each aid station. If I had carried liquids, I probably would have consumed less. Though, I would have fluids until the finish.
My second half was 3:28:08 for a finish time of 5:47:35.
I finished 89th overall, 49th male, and 3rd in the Male 65 to 69-year-old age group. There was one finisher behind me and three DNFs, so I did not DFL.
This finish was my 81st marathon in my 46th state.
The finisher’s medal was tiny and attached to a choker. A penny would have been bigger.
I had no digestive issues during this race. So, I’ve figured out how to avoid those problems. I did not have any breathing issues as I slowed. Sore quads and a lack of leg spring slowed me down.
The volunteers at the water stops were enthusiastic and encouraging. There were a few intersections we had to cross with friendly course marshals.
They had pork sandwiches and sodas at the finish.
After finishing, I didn’t have to wait long for the bus back to my hotel. My shower told me my sunblock application worked with no sunburn.
HST is 5 hours behind EST. So, the Commander’s game started at 3 pm. Though I was getting leg cramps, they and the pizza were better than the result.
That’s it for my 2022 races—9 marathons in 9 different states. My times were way too slow, with all over 5 hours. I wasn’t planning to travel during retirement and still took five journeys.
My Travel Experience
At times, I use “the force” when traveling. Though planned, I know it’s somewhere over there. At times on this trip, the force was not with me. But I got there.
I flew out of Dulles. I have not been to that airport in the last ten years. I never had issues parking. Both Garages 1 and 2 had open spots. I’ve always parked in Garage 2. Somehow, I could not follow the signs for the entrance and retraced back to Garage 1.
The sign indicated 60 open spots on Level 2. After 10 minutes, I finally went to an available place on level 4. I’ve been spoiled with BWI and their open spot indicators.
The walk to the terminal was short, and there were no lines to check in with United or through security. The walk to the train terminal, wait there, and the train took 20 minutes to get to the concourse.
Boarding was slow, and there was room for my bag in the overhead. I never check a bag containing my running shoes. What would I run in if the bag did not reach my destination?
We’re loaded and heading down the runway to take off. Looking out the window, the flaps went up, and brakes engaged. The plane made a left turn toward the terminal. I’m thinking, “will I make it to LAX to catch the flight to Hilo?” I did have a cushion.
The pilot took another left turn onto the taxiway and came on the intercom. “We had a warning light come on that a door was not closed and locked. We’ll fix that and wait a little while to let the brakes cool. We’ll be on our way shortly.”
There was only a short delay, and I made it to Los Angeles to catch my next flight.
There is only one daily flight from the mainland to Hilo. United leaves LAX around 7 pm, lands in Hawai’i at 10:30 then returns at midnight. I probably could have checked for mainland flights into Kona, but the rental car fees on the islands are rather steep.
We boarded the flight on schedule and then sat at the gate. The pilot came on the intercom. “We must load a few more bags, and then they’ll give us the paperwork.” Thirty minutes later, “we’re waiting on closing a cargo door and the paperwork. We’ll be on our way shortly.” We got to Hilo at about 11:30 pm.
On the 6-hour flight, I got about 5 hours of sleep.
Now for trusting the force part: I headed to the taxi stand. No taxis were waiting. There is a phone to call for a cab. When trying that phone, it rang, and nobody picked up.
I then went on Uber. The projected price was $18. However, there were no drivers available. I tried about every 5 minutes. By midnight, the projected cost was $55.
Most of the other passengers had rides pick them up at the curb. Just after midnight, about 12 of us are standing around for rides. Since this happened every night, the security people started telling us about the one taxi that drives at night and that he would be back. All the Rental Car companies, Uber drivers, and cab companies close down by 8 pm, except for Pachy Taxi.
Finally, I got a ride with Pachy and arrived at my hotel by 1 am HST (6 am EST). Knowing that I needed to get up at 2:15 am on race morning, I only slept for a few hours and was awake at 4.
I stayed at the Grand Naniloa Doubletree Hotel. I was surprised when I found a microwave and mini fridge in my room. Walmart was 2.5 miles away, and I walked there at 5:30 am to pick up food. Because of the microwave, I was able to eat my regular diet.
Since Pachy was the only industrious cabbie in Hilo, I arranged with him for rides to packet pickup and back to the airport at 10 pm on Sunday.
The hotel was nice and only charged me for two nights when I checked out at 10 pm. Being a Hilton Honors Diamond member may have some perks.
The flight back to LAX was uneventful. I upgraded to Economy Plus to get the extra legroom. I had cramps most of the afternoon, and regular United Economy may have been an issue.
So much for social distancing; there were still the 6-foot markers in most airport lines. Very few cared about my personal space. I wore a mask on the planes and while sitting in the LAX waiting area.
Intentionally, I sat in a far corner seat and put my bag on the chair next to me. Still, a lady with two young girls asked me if the seat was available. Wasn’t California one of the first states to panic in March 2020?
On my flight back to Dulles, the lady in the middle seat was so large she encroached 2 inches over the armrest into my space. With 20 hours of flying time, three out of four middle-seat occupants of reasonable size are acceptable.
In many locations during my adventure, many uncovered coughs and sneezes occurred. Having symptoms, I’ve done a couple of negative COVID tests since getting home.
This trip had a quick turnaround. I left home on Friday at 9:30 am EST and returned by 9 pm on Monday. Because of the early marathon time, I didn’t have to adapt to HST and didn’t have jet lag in Hawai’i or once I returned home.
Volcano Knowledge
On November 28, I heard on the radio that Mauna Loa, the world’s largest active volcano, had erupted for the first time in 38 years. Hilo is in Mauna Loa’s eastern rift zone. As part of the newsflash, residents were to remain indoors to avoid the gas emissions.
I contacted the RD to understand the race status. Having asthma, I could not run a race in those conditions. He told me the winds blow from the NE, away from the course, and the race is on Kilauea rather than Mauna Loa. He didn’t say that Kilauea, 2.5 miles from the start, had been erupting since September 29, 2021.
He gave a URL to the Big Island Now website for volcano update information. Daily, I read posts on the progression of lava and the direction of the emissions.
Both are shield volcanos. Though over 13,000 feet, Mauna Loa looks like a warrior’s shield from a distance.
While on a blog posting, I found two other sites. One site was status for sulfur emissions on the island, and the other was an emission projection site.
Reviewing these three sites and weather.com daily, I could project potential race conditions and, if needed, cancel my trip. I learned the new term “vog” for volcanic gases.
From weather.com, winds would be from the SW starting on December 15, which could blow vog from Kilauea over the race course.
Miraculously on December 13, 2022, both volcanos ceased to erupt. Today, there is a low amount of vog from Kilauea and untraceable amounts from Mauna Loa.
I know that monitoring the weather is an essential factor in race preparation. For once, I had to monitor volcanos. This running stuff is good for your brain.
