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A 1/2 mile swim in Kailua Bay, followed by a 2 mile run on Ali'i Drive. I know I'm a bit biased but I can't imagine a better way to start off a perfect Fathers Day. On Sunday morning over 100 other dads and their families agreed as we celebrated Dad's special day at the always annual Peaman Dads Day Stroke and Stride Biathlon.

In the past the course had been longer with a 3/4 mile swim and a 4 mile run. This year the course was shortened to add a little variety to the seven race Peaman Series which began well over a decade ago. Ocean conditions for Sunday's swim actually ended up being a bit bumpy as a nice cool breeze created a little swell and surface chop.

The minor bumps didn't seem to slow down the leaders as our locals Jim wee, James Cotter and Amanda Hamilton led the way with a couple of Duke University swimmers, John Humphrey and Chris Sundberg, hanging right in there with them. Hamilton was the leading relay wahine while Debra Bumatay from the Hilo side was pulling away from all of her individual competitors just behind the lead group.

Wee ended up having the fastest final kick as he ran up the beach in 12:50. Humphrey was close behind at 12:52 with Cotter on his heels at 12:58. Hamilton topped the relays with a 4th overall time of 13:02. Sundberg of the Blue Devils completed the very fast top five.

Bumatay held on to her wahine lead with a 13th overall time of 14:49. Her closest rivals were Jane Dierenfield at 16:14 and Carrie Geddes in 16:35.

Out on the 2 mile run course Cotter quickly bolted into the lead with Wee and Humphrey chasing. The short distance doesn't allow any time for the elite to catch their breath and as Cotter began to pull away nobody could keep up. Cotter hit the halfway point with a solid lead but behind him the fast runners like Chad McBride, Sundberg, and Jason Nixon were working their way up through the field.

Cotter easily blazed to the day's fastest individual run time of 11:44 and established a new course record of 24:42. McBride nearly matched his run with an 11:47 but his 14th place swim of 14:51 wasn't fast enough to match Cotter's 12:58. McBride's times added up to a 2nd place finish at 26:38.

Sundberg gave McBride a run for his money and finished 3rd at 26:42. Nixon's consistency placed him 4th at 27:58 and Humphrey hung on for 5th at 28:12.

On the wahine side Bumatay held her lead throughout the run and took 1st with a record time of 31:47. Geddes moved past Dierenfield and took 2nd at 32:31. Her run of 15:56 was the day's fastest for the individual wahine. Ginger Thomas followed with a solid 3rd place time of 33:54. Mouse Kelley, who was close to Thomas throughout the course, took 4th at 34:21. Madeleine Budde rounded out the top group with a 5th place time of 34:42.

Janet Scott topped the finned wahine list at 31:09. Carole Jean Bradburn followed in 35:38. Joel Hirsch wrapped up 3rd and took the mens title with his time of 37:21.

The Split Pea Relay race was never in doubt as 2-time Olympian and world class runner Eddy Hellebuyck tagged off of Amanda Hamilton. Hellebuyck, who holds the 4-mile Father's Day run record of 20:45, sprinted Sunday's 2 miler in 10:04. Combined with Hamilton's swim of 13:02 their overall record time of 23:06 may be one that lasts for a looong time.

"The King of Coffee" Jon Kunitake teamed up with Cotter for a 2nd place time of 25:53. Skip Mulaney and his "Phantom" swimmer followed close behind in 3rd at 25:59. The Finned Split Pea crown went to Bill Yano and Switzerland's Daniel Dubouloz with their time of 30:35.

In a category all their own, Amber Aguirre and her super K-9 Pua remained undefeated as they won the Finned K9 Relay division with a record time of 38:05.

Susan Nixon and her daughter Audrey also continued to dominate their division with another Sweet Pea Baby Stroller victory in 41:01.

The Pea Wee course winner was Justin Carney who powered the 250 yard swim in 5:11 and then blitzed the one mile run course in 7:07 for a winning time of 12:18. Blair Foster and Natasha Leonard were close together for the Pea Wee Wahine title with times of 17:06 and 17:11.

The day's grand finale is always the passing of the prestigious Perpetual Pea. On Dad's Day the Scott Family passed on the award of aloha to Cullen, Michele, Morgan, Noah, Jake and Isla Burgess. They will get to enjoy the Power of the Pea until the Peaman Biathlon Series resumes with the Peaman International Biathlon on Sunday September 15th.

Next up on the Frozen Pea Production schedule of endorphin boosting events will be our island's oldest and largest ocean swim event, the 24th Annual Hapuna Roughwater Swim.

The 1 mile event began way back in 1976 and after a 3 year break has been held annually since 1979. The swim is now co-sponsored by the County of Hawaii which allows the event to be free of charge and open to swimmers of all ages.

Although competition for the overall title can be fierce, the number one goal of the swim continues to be "Do your best, have fun and, of course, see how you match up with other swimmers in your age group." This year's swim will take off at 8:00 a.m on Sunday July 7th. Finned swimmers are also welcome to join the fun.

Following the swim all finishers will receive a certificate and are
invited to share in the pot luck snacks. Awards for the top 3 overall and age group finishers will be handed out somewhere around 10:300 a.m. This year's finned champs will be honored with a memorial award called The John Center Finned Award.

For more info or to volunteer call 324-PEAS. All volunteers will receive a free t-shirt. All tees, tanks, long sleeves, hats and tote bags for the negative profit event are available at B&L Bike and Sports until Friday July 5th.

This weekend's main event will be the Kunitake Farms Kona Marathon, 1/2 Marathon, and Family Fun Runs. The two day running fest will feature 3.1 and 6.2 mile races on Saturday at 7:00 a.m. Then on Sunday the 26.2 and 13.1 milers will take to the roads at 5:30 a.m. for the full marathon and 6:00 a.m. for the 1/2.

Both 1972 Olympic gold medalist Franks Shorter and the #1 Masters runner in the U.S. and 2-time Olympian Eddy Hellebuyck will be on hand to enjoy the festivities. Don't miss this wonderful opportunity to run with these legendary runners. Race info can be found at www.konamarathon.com.

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