Hawaii - Hilo to Volcano 50k

Running a marathon in a state that you've never been to can be taxing logistically. I tend to over analyze and prepare. In this case, I met my match but came up short. On thursday morning I sat up and looked at the time. Today was the vacation of my life, because I would be flying to Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. For most people this would be a relaxing vacation, without life's stresses and worries. For those who know me, it is not about relaxing that brings me to these locations. I travel because it is the journey and the sights. Each state holds a memory, and a position in my heart. However sappy that may seem, it is true.

I arrived in LAX in plenty of time to catch my flight. I just bided my time and eventually the moment to take off arrived. It was just after noon that I arrived in Kailua-Kona. I was excited and nervous. This was paradise and I wasn't sure how I would handle it. I picked up the rental vehicle and headed to get food. Now the correct action when getting food in a strange place shouldn't be to sink your teeth into fast food. That just what I did though, as I headed towards the K-Mart for a little bit of Detroit (Little Caesars.) I went for a short drive up the coast, but after this I headed to the Hostel where I would be spending the night. I spent the night at the Pineapple Park Hostel which was located near Captain Cook. There I watched the sun go down over the pacific.

The next morning, I awoke early to get a head start on the tourist aspect of the "Big Island." As I waited for the showers to open, I searched the must see locations on the island. I marked off 7 or 8 locations and determined to see them all. While many of the locations were north, my favorite locations seemed to be south near the Puna area. The first area I decided to see was the Pu'uhonua O Honaunau national historical park.

I drove south towards Pu'uhonua O Honaunau and was witness to a Hawaiian style sunrise. With the sun peaking over the Pacific, I entered the state area. I was stumped when I reached the entrance gate with no guard. I paused a while to see if anyone would approach my vehicle. After a while I gave up and accepted the free entrance to the park. I wasn't quite sure what to expect, since I didn't exactly understand reason for the park's existence (Later I learned that it was a former religious site.) I exited my vehicle and entered the information area. Entering this facility, there were Hawaiian hand made sculptures, and native creation folklore explained through speakers in the ceiling. I descended a ramp that lead down to a closed off beach. There were signs warning of sacred grounds and to stay on the path. The state had done an amazing job replicating and/or restoring the buildings on the facility. The highlight of the area, was a roped off area where rare sea turtles are known to nest.

After nearly an hour and a half at the Historic site, I left for the next destination. Next I chose to tour the green beaches of south point. The road to south point was a long drive through the rural coastal areas on Mamalahoa Highway. Dotting the road south were local fruit stands and tiny friendly diners. Finally making the turn on South Point road I proceeded toward the beach. I was not aware at any point, that the road would become as rough and bumpy as it became. The condition of the road degraded to gravel as I approached the parking lot that I would be leaving for my trek from. I finally parked in the lot and headed on foot towards the green sand beach.

I left the safety of my rental vehicle and headed towards what I believed to be the direction of the green sand. My short progress was halted by a few locals who asked if I was in need of a ride to the beach. The individuals seemed sketchy, so I opted against the ride. I descended a long hill leading to a beach which would connect up to the path to the green sand. Nearly ten minutes into the walk, I was stopped again. This time I was stopped by a good Samaritan asking if I needed water. I kindly refused and continued walking. After a long grueling, rock hopping adventurous walk, I made it to the green sand beach described on the internet.

I approached the beach from an elevated cliff like point above. I slowly inched my way down the steep grade that lead to the beach. I could see the sheen of the beach from above, but I had to take a closer look. I neared the bottom and witnessed for myself the beauty of the sand. This beach was a once in a lifetime experience.

After nearly an hour walk each direction and another hour at the beach, I departed and headed back to the highway. I stopped briefly at the true south point, which marks the most southern point in the United States. There wasn't much to see there, so I headed back and decided to head north again past Kona on Hi-19 to Hilo.

On the long drive around the north side of the Big Island, I underestimated the drive and lost too much daylight to do too much sight seeing. With the tiny bit of daylight remaining, I decided to head to a beach mostly popular with locals called Kua Bay beach. The beach was busy, but not crowded and I had a great time moving with the tall waves that rolled towards the shore. Another hour or so was spent at this beautiful beach, and I decided to travel on.

The rest of the drive to Hilo was spent without so much as a rest stop and a couple of hours later I finally reached the eastern side of the island. Hilo is a modern tourist city, with tiny tourist souvenir shops lining the corners. I drove over a few streets and located the local Walmart. I walked through the aisles, and procured the makings for a dinner. My reservations for the night were supposed to be at the McKenzie state park on the southern side of the east shore. With the time spent sight seeing all day, I wasn't prepared for yet another drive. Therefore with much consideration, I made the decision to sleep in my rental vehicle, in the store parking lot.

With less than comfortable arrangements I made my best effort to sleep. I awoke to the sound of my phone's alarm and made my way to Coconut Island Park. Coconut Island Park was located east of the city along the coast and happened to be the starting location for the 2012 Hilo to Volcano 50k. I arrived in the darkness of 5 a.m and waited for the runners to show up. I witnessed early starting runners both showing up and leaving. I dressed out, and mentally prepared for the race. I chose to wait to register for the ultra and instead show up day of the race to register. This decision turned out to be a terrible one. I had to wait nearly two hours for the race director and staff to arrive.

At 6:45 a.m the race director and staff arrived and set up their table. I paid the entrance fee, grabbed a bib number, and gained approval to begin. The race consisted of a point to point course from Coconut Island Park, Hilo to Cooper Center, Volcano. The race was an open course with runners forced to run on the sidewalks and shoulder of the roads encountered. The run consisted of constant mild ascent seemingly from beginning to end. Each runner was required to have a crew team to assist with the unavailability of aid stations. Even at the beginning I was unprepared for what lied ahead.

I began the race and immediately met two local women who were starting early as well. They had babysitters and were starting early in order to finish early. I chatted with them for the first few miles as I was without a headlamp and it was dark. Eventually the sun began to rise over the horizon and I began to slow down. Initially, I knew that the race was not going to be easy, but I doubted it was difficult.

The race transitioned from the city of Hilo to the suburb city of Volcano. Early on in the race, the sky was clear, but as the race progressed there were intermittent showers. Progressing slowly from mile to mile, the most difficult part of the race was the combination of sun, elevation, and lack of support. Without adequate sleep, the race proved to magnify the increasingly ascending road. I plodded along and the miles slowly passed. Every few miles there came a relay exchange point, which improved morale, and kept spirits high with the cheering and bustling nature. Through neighboring towns the course wound, and up and up the road continued.

At mile 20 I found myself with dehydration looming and nearly nothing left in my "tank." I had failed to adequately prepare for a scenario like this. I began to contemplate asking runners at the next exchange point for any support they could provide. I approached the next exchange point looking completely defeated and I was asked if I needed anything by a relay runner. I replied that I needed water, and/or food. With open arms I was given Cytomax drink mix, a whole water bottle and energy chews.

With much gratefulness I thanked them and continued. They next few miles became somewhat easier and I slowly continued. Reaching the last few miles before the turn towards the community center and finish I was greeted by a phone call by my Girlfriend. She was concerned and wanted to hear about everything. I was hesitant to tell her everything, but I did clue her into my physical situation, and I could tell she might have been worried.

Because of the sluggish nature of my run, I was easily passed by a majority of the runners in the race. I was almost certain that I was in last place, when behind me I heard a voice that drew my attention. Behind me there was a woman who seemed to be in a similar physical condition that I was and we ran together for a mile or so until the turn.

As I approached the turn, I could hear the roar of the finish line but I knew that would be short lived since I would be running right past the finish and down to the turn around. Off to the right I began to see the center with the finishers and the feeling of seeing the finish line invigorated my mental state. I continued down through rolling hills in a secluded neighborhood to eventually the turn around.

After making the turn around I used all of the physical capacity I could muster and headed straight back to the finish line. Twice as quickly as I made it to the turn around I made it to the finish line. There were only a few runners left and the finish line was all but torn down and stowed. The timing team was still there and it was sweet to finish this grueling race. As I looked for a place to sit down, I was forced to realize that my flight to Maui would be difficult to make, since I would be looking for a ride back to the starting line from either a local or another runner. Luckily there was a runner that I had met earlier in the race that recognized me and offered to take me back to my car. I thanked him and his family for their kindness and they brought me the half an hour drive back to my car. On the way, the gentleman and I discussed all of my questions about the Hawaiian islands. I finally arrived back to the parking lot at the Coconut Island park and thanked the gentleman again for his hospitality.

As I departed the park, I couldn't help but marvel at the massive banyan trees that lined the drive out. I had mapped out the drive from Hilo to Kona's airport with the quickest route possible. I decided to use route 200, and rush as fast as possible. Taking nearly the entire trip at 60+ miles per hour I arrived at the rental car facility, dropped off the rental car and proceeded to wait for the shuttle. I had nearly 25 minutes to check my bags, and get to the airplane. I hadn't anticipated that the rental shuttle would take 10 minutes to arrive. Entering the shuttle and only 15 minutes until take off, I quickly disembarked the shuttle in hopes of a miracle. No such miracle was on tap for the day.

I walked up to the airline kiosk, I was the ninth person in line... By the time I approached the desk to gather my tickets it was already after takeoff. I looked for an alternative, was was blessed with another flight that took off promptly an hour later. An hour later, still dirty and dingy, I embark on my flight from Kona to Honolulu, and then to Maui.

After a quick layover I land in Maui, and prepared to make reservations for the night. I was appalled to learn that the cheapest hotel/motel in Maui was 390$. After gasping for breath, I forewent booking a hotel/motel and moved on to booking a rental car. I secured a decent rental car deal, and caught a shuttle to pick up the rental car.

After arriving at the rental car facility and procuring a set of keys, I set out to explore my new surroundings. The highest priority for my newly acquainted settings was to find a hot shower. Unfortunately this was not to be, since the time was late. I thought that I stumbled into a possibility of a shower when I located a 24 hour fitness, but It wasn't open! I settled for a nights rest in the car, and I would start fresh the next morning. Still gross from the previous race day, I decided to wait for the 24 hour fitness to open. Finally around 5 a.m. I went into the location and obtained a guest pass which allowed access for my much needed shower.

I had originally signed up for the Maui Oceanfront Marathon, but after repeated attempts to contact the Marathon organizers I had failed to do so, and was out of a hundred dollars as a result on race day. As the sun rose on Maui I decided to explore the island. I was intrigued by the high class lifestyle on Maui in comparison to the much more native population of the big island. One goal of my trip to Hawaii was to immerse myself in what I believe to be the cultural aspect of the islands. Around noon I booked a luau at the Royal Lahaina Resort a resort on the northwestern part of the island. The luau did not begin until later, so much of the time was spent sightseeing in the area. The time for the show arrived and I enjoyed an amazing sunset luau filled with native Polynesian dancers and full buffet. The highlight of the show as the fire dancing. The show ended and I drove back to Pukalani. I spent the night in my vehicle and drew out the plans for my last day on the islands.

I awoke on the last day of my nearly week long trip to the Hawaiian islands. As the sun rose over the island, I decided to start early and take in the last hours I had. Many of the resources I used had point my course to what is considered by many to be the most beautiful drives in the world. This voyage is commonly referred to as the road to Hana. The trip takes all day and is filled with beautiful cliff views, bountiful wet rainforests and raging waterfalls. During the trip I made my way through the stunning red sand beaches of Koki, and the St. Gabriel's church of the 1800's.

As night fell, I made my way back to Kahului and made preparations for leaving. Before I knew it I was on the plane preparing to head back to the contiguous 48.

Another race done, another state done.

Check back soon for another race report.