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As the years go by, people will be looking at some of our old race
results and course records with awe, wondering "how'd he do it?" The times and records they'll be looking at will belong to Holualoa's world famous King of Coffee, Jon Kunitake.

With the month of January already behind us, Kunitake was unanimously chosen as the Frozen Pea Productions Sports Person of the Month. Kunitake was a very easy choice for the honor, not only for his very impressive month of running but also for his decades of incredible performances.

Kunitake is a very simple man who was born and raised in the beautiful coffee country of Holualoa. Coffee farming always was and still is in his blood but after graduating from Konawaena High School Kunitake set out to do something totally different.

With the perfect small and compact build for a jockey and determination as strong as any race horse, Kunitake spent twenty years racing all over the country on some of the world's fastest horses. During his years as a professional jockey, Kunitake was treated like a king. Back when horse racing was in it's hay day, many of the races were worshipped much like the Super Bowl or Indy 500 is today.

Being a professional jockey definitely had it's fame and high points but it was also very hard, physical work. Always the innovator, Kunitake took up running to stay light, strong and fit during the strenuous season of racing.

Following his twenty very successful years of riding and traveling, Kunitake eventually returned home to the hills of Holualoa. Although many people know Kunitake for his amazing skills as a coffee processor there are also many more who know him as a runner. Over the past twenty years Kunitake has been turning heads and dumbfounding runners young and old.

I personally have seen few runners put out the gut wrenching efforts that Kunitake displays week after week and year after year. He has the unusual ability to run fast in a half mile track race or shift gears to endure a 62.2 mile Ultra Marathon.

I have seen him surprise people on the track with gold medal performances at the Aloha State Games and I've seen him blow people away by winning the grueling Saddle Road Ultra Marathon several times. Every time he moves up to a new age group he wipes out most of the standing records and leaves behind his own that continue to amaze everyone.

Kunitake is best described as a true Holualoa Renaissance Man. He is a genius in the coffee world, recently learned to play the violin, is generous to a fault, passes on his running wisdom through his marathon coaching program at The Club, and continues to race with the spirit and energy of a feisty menehune.

In January he began his month by placing third overall at the New Year's Resolution Run 3.1 miler with a time of 19:36 or 6:19 per mile. The next weekend he clocked the day's fourth fastest relay run at the Peaman Sprint Biathlon which brought his team across the line in fourth place.

This past weekend while most people took the weekend off he took a road trip to Oahu for a Saturday-Sunday doubleheader. At Saturday's Newman Center Fun Run he ran in the 21 or 22 minute range for 3.1 miles. The following morning it was off to the Central Oahu 3 Miler where he covered the tough cross country course in 21:48. As usual, his great time earned him first in the 50-59 age group.

Already off to a good start, 2002 looks to be a very promising year for Kunitake. I'm sure he'll take down a few more records before it's over but watch out 60-year-olds because on December 8th, the day of the Honolulu Marathon, Kunitake turns 60 and at this point he definitely isn't slowing down and, who knows, he may still be getting faster!

Since the Big Island race schedule was empty last weekend Mouse Kelley and I joined Kunitake for the first event of his double, the Newman Center Fun Run/Walk at the University of Hawaii, Manoa. I've been to this event three times over the past four years and always enjoy the nice atmosphere, good course, fun prizes and the worthy cause of raising money for the center
which is the campus church. This year's race had a bit of confusion at the turn around point so the results were a bit difficult but everyone still ran hard or simply had fun.

Our Big Island crew of six was headed by three U.H. seniors, Tai Blechta (Waiakea High), Casey McGuire-Turcotte (Kau and H.P.A.) and Diane Kohara (Waiakea High). All three were up front battling with the leaders with McGuire-Turcotte taking home top honors as the first female student runner at 20:17.

Kunitake was next near the 22 minute mark followed a few minutes later by Mouse Kelley. The Pea clocked in with an enjoyable brisk walk time of 49:10. The overall men's and women's winners were Bill Raiter at 19:07 and Alethe West in 19:51 .

The fun returns to Kona this weekend with the Team Mango Springtime Triathlon on Super Bowl Sunday at 8:00 a.m. The perfect way to prepare for a full day of hype, hoopla and football begins with a 1/2 mile swim, 15 mile hilly bike ride and 5.7 mile run. No entry fee, no entry form, just show up. Call 324-7252 for more info.

Enjoy the Super Bowl and keep in mind that Sunday's Big Game will mark the final broadcast by the legendary team of John Madden and Pat Summerall. Thanks for the memories!

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