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It's amazing that a word as simple as "Aloha" can have so much meaning. Aloha can be used to say hello and good-bye or to express deeper emotions such as caring, friendship and love. For many of us the Aloha Spirit is what keeps us living here in the wonderful State of Hawaii.

During my recent two week trip to the Mayo Clinic and Mayo Hospital in Scottsdale, Arizona, I received so much Aloha from everyone here in the Islands that I'm completely overwhelmed. The doctors visits, lab tests, radiology and medical procedures were very exhausting at times but the Aloha that was passed on in person, by phone, e-mail or through the good ol' U.S. Postal Service was enough to keep me going even on the toughest days. A
huge thank you to all of you who passed on your prayers, good thoughts and very kind words. Your Aloha will be in my heart always.

As for the medical part of the trip, the entire staff at Mayo was
amazing. They all had their own "Arizona-Aloha" and did a great job in helping me devise a new plan of treatments and medicines that hopefully will get me on the road to recovery. Even with a medical schedule that involved way too much fasting, I did enjoy most of my adventures in Arizona and just like the staff at Mayo, Arizona-Aloha was showing up all over the place.

Our family friends, Dan and Joy Wilhelm, went above the beyond Sainthood by giving us a place to stay, the use of a vehicle, and unlimited Arizona-Aloha during our entire stay. I was also very impressed by the YMCA in Scottsdale that allowed us to use their pool and exercise equipment free of charge. All it took was one call from Glennon Gingo of the Kona Family YMCA and we were all set. A quick splash in the pool was a great diversion
in between Mayo appointments and lab tests.

Being the "Pupule" that I am, I actually found two events for Mouse and I to participate in. Both the Inaugural Hawk Trot at Grayhawk and the 6th Annual Run for Literacy at Glendale were terrific. They were both well organized with a lot of fun prizes, food, festivities and nice people. Mouse came home with two age group gold medals and even I, in a very depleted state, was able to win my age group in the walking division at the Run/Walk For Literacy.

Once again, a gigantic mahalo to everyone from Kona to Arizona who passed on their Aloha. It truly has been a huge help but next time you might want to send along some tissues so I can wipe away the tears of joy that so much Aloha Spirit can produce.

While we were gone, the athletic month of April continued with double header weekends on the 20th and 21st as well as the 27th and 28th. I know the fantastic sports gurus at West Hawaii Today kept you supplied with prompt results but just in case you missed some, here's a quick review.

On Saturday the 20th, The Great Mana Run returned to Waimea after several years of absence. In it's heyday Mana was one of our state's premier running races and now thanks to the good folks at the Waimea YMCA it's back. Winning the 3.1 miler was Ikaika Ho at 18:22 and Aja Reyes topped the wahine at 22:43. In the traditional 6.2 miler Alastair In ran a great time of 37:34 to take the title while Melanie Aiona continued her strong running
and took the wahine crown in 44:42. A total of 113 runners and walkers crossed the finish line.

The next morning the Captain Cook Challenge Triathlon took place down in South Kona where just a handful of endorphin addicts showed up to swim 1 mile, run 2.5 miles uphill, bike 58 miles and then run another 7.5 miles in the blistering heat. Eric Glaus took a wire-to-wire victory with his time of 4:12:55. Dan Goltz followed with a strong second place time of 4:28:06. Jah Peaple wrapped up a solid top three by finishing his adventure in
5:10:55. Harry "The Hammer" Yoshida (swim, run, run) and Cris Corny (bike) took the relay victory in 4:39:52.

The next Saturday, serious endorphin seekers got together for the grueling 24th Annual Saddle Road Ultramarathon and Relay. The very tough 62.2 mile course took runners from Waimea to Hilo via the very hilly Saddle Road. Stan Fortuna of Hilo made the trek the fastest in 12:13:04. Mike Muench followed in 2nd at 13:42:35. Ladies champ Julie Anderson, a former Kona resident who now resides in Austin, Texas, placed an impressive 3rd
overall in 13:47:09.

The 5-man relay team known as Konohiki Express topped all teams with their time of 9:24:08. Jeff Powell, Bryon Stevens, Bill Stormont, John Makaike and Scott Sigler made up the winning crew. The wahine title went to Kona Chicks That Kick. The team of Mary Prevetz, Patricia Eames, Jessica Eames, Lehua Lafayette and Katherine Kent clocked in a 9:28:07.

Next up was the Inaugural Kona Classic Fun Run on Sunday the 28th. Kona's newest 3.1 and 6.2 miler took runners along Ali'i Drive with a scenic start and finish at Huggo's/Java On The Rocks. Gordon and Juliette Christie dominated the shorter run with times of 17:49 and 21:48. Juliette's time was fast enough to place her 4th overall. The longer run was won by the ever improving Adrian Aponte who clocked a terrific time of 36:38. Lisa Nelson was best on the ladies side with her 8th overall time of 43:10. Randy "The Animal" Caddell easily took the racing wheelchair division in a blazing time of 25:54.

It was hard for me to miss these events but fortunately I was back in time for last weekend's 6th Annual North Hawaii Community Hospital Birthday Celebration & Family Fun Run/Walk and the 5th Annual Hilton Waikoloa Cinco de Mayo Splash. This year's NHCH 6th Birthday Celebration took place at the Kahilu Town Hall in Kamuela. Despite the cold and sometimes rainy conditions, 48 keiki showed up for the 1 mile run and another 36 runners and walkers lined up for the 3.1 miler.

The mile was great with wee ones from 1-13 toughing out a muddy out and back mile course in the beautiful pastures of Parker Ranch. Sisters Noelani and Kela Vargas were the stars of the show by taking 1st and 2nd overall with times of 7:40 for Noe and 7:53 for Kela. Rachel Miller was close behind making it an all girls top 3 with her time of 8:01.

Fourth overall went to Hunter Ainslie who topped the boys field in 8:36. J.J. Higginson closed out the top five by taking second for the little guys at 8:41. Melanie Frankel and Mindy Campbell completed the girls top five with their times of 8:44 and 9:41. On the boys side Tyler Nakamura took third at 9:56. Carson Magoon at 10:54 and Christian Baken in 11:03 wrapped up the boys group that was made up of three runners in the 6-8 division and two in the 9-10's.

After the kids had their fun in the mud, it was time for a beautiful 3.1 mile romp through the pastures of Parker Ranch. With views of Mauna Kea in the background and horses running free, Kamuela's own Alastair In defended his NHCH title by blitzing the all dirt, mud and grass course in 18:32. John Redmond of Newport Beach, California, kept it close with a second place time of 19:44. Another Californian, Brian Muir of Mill Valley, took 3rd at 21:19. Fourth overall and 1st in the 55 & over division was Jim Budde at 22:52. Randy Campbell was next in 5th a 23:00.

The wahine champ, Tanya Lewis of Kamuela, followed Campbell in 6th overall with her time of 24:53. The rest of the wahine top five was grouped together from 12th to 15th overall. Kathlyn Vargas at 26:45, Amy Patterson in 27:22, Wendy Clark at 27:54, and Mouse Kelley in 29:08 made up that pack of super fit females.

In an impressive display of athleticism, Noelani Vargas doubled up gold medals by adding a 1-12 age group victory to her overall one mile title. Vargas covered the challenging 3.1 mile course in 30:12.

Every year I say it, but once again, don't miss this fun and beautiful event next year. It's definitely one of the Big Island's best!

On Sunday morning it was down to the beach at Anaehoomalu where swimmers from all over the island gathered to celebrate Cinco de Mayo with a 1 mile splash and a few keiki races. Once again the weather decided to stay gray and drizzly but the cloud cover also helped keep the 2 lap course smooth as glass.

The Cinco Swim has been around for almost two decades now and until last year had been held in Kailua Bay. The Hilton Waikoloa picked up sponsorship sponsorship of the event in 1998 and has done a great job of putting on a quality event, except for the music which is waaayyy too loud.

As for the swimming, a strong group of 135 turned out for the 1 miler. The race for 1st included Jim Mellon of Hilo, Holualoa's Aaron Boranian, Bob Momsen of Kamuela, and Keith Johnson and Mandy Hamilton both from Kailua-Kona. Mellon, who placed third last year, was able to pull away from the pack to take this year's title of champion. Mellon covered the distance in 21:19 with teenager Aaron Boranian in 2nd at 21:45.

Veteran swimmer Bob Momsen, who competes in the 50-59 age group, was a close 3rd at 21:55. A few strokes behind was 40-49 champ Keith Johnson in 21:58.

Teenager Mandy Hamilton followed just 2 seconds later as she took this year's ladies title with a strong time of 22:00. In last year's swim Hamilton clocked in at 22:19 which placed her 18th overall and 8th for the ladies. James Wee closed out the men's top five with a 6th place time of 22:17.

Following Hamilton in the ladies top group were three more teenage swimmers: Joyce Clarke in 16th overall at 23:51, Paloma Vidgen, 22nd at 24:18, and Kimmy Kopra, 23rd in 24:20. The 30-39 champ Christine Winn rounded out the very talented top five with her time of 24:26.

After the mile was over it was time for the kids to play with a 75 yard swim for 5-6 year olds, a 150 yard sprint for the 7-8 group and a 400 yard challenge for both 7-8 and 9-12 year old water bugs. As usual, these events were the highlight of the day as these young champs showed their skill and determination.

In the 75 yard blast, 2001 runner-up Bram Paikuli moved up to the #1 spot this year with a time of 48 seconds. Brisa Speier-Brito was next taking the girls title in 1:04.

The 150 year champ was Logan Borowski who, like Paikuli, was 2nd last year. Logan blazed the course in 1:10. Jasmine Ward followed in 2nd overall to take the girls title at 1:20.

The 400 yarder saw 9-12 year old girls take the top three sots with Sarah Lee 1st at 5:46, followed by Rebekah Lee at 5:53 and last weekend's super athlete Noelani Vargas in 3rd at 6:01. No genders were marked on my results but I believe 1st for the boys went to 6th overall finisher Kaikea Nakachi at 6:38 or Tyler Packett in 8th place at 7:04.

Next up on the Hilton Waikoloa event list will be the Annual Dolphin Dash on Sunday September 1st.

Finally Angie Miyashiro celebrated her Sunday at the Cinco de Mayo 3.1 Mile Run at Kapiolani Park on Oahu. Miyashiro continued her 45-49 age group dominance by walloping Connie Comiso by over a minute. She clocked in at 19:42 with Comiso a ways back at 21:01.

Coming up this weekend our state's best time trial cyclists will get together on Saturday for the state championship 24.8 mile time trial. The race starts near Hina Lani Street (Costco Hill) at 7:00 a.m. For info call 329-8033 or 334-1134.

On Sunday it's Mom's special day at Kaiakeakua Beach (next to The Pier) where the Peaman Mothers Day Classic Biathlon will be held. Start time for the 3/4 mile swim and 3 mile run will be 8:00 a.m. No apps, no entry fees, just a morning of good clean fun. Info can be found at 324-PEAS. Happea Mothers Day!

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