David Wild arrived on the Big Island a year ago, the day before the inaugural Hilo Triathlon, and watched as a spectator.
David Wild arrived on the Big Island a year ago, the day before the inaugural Hilo Triathlon, and watched as a spectator.
He jumped into the second edition, and nearly took the men’s title — an Olympic-sized 1.5 kilometer swim, 40k bike and 10k run — on Sunday at James Kealoha Beach Park.
Luis De La Torre, also a spectator last year, won in 2 hours, 6 minutes and 39 seconds, ahead of Wild’s 2:08:00.
Through the stoke of serendipity, both met as fans and found themselves as friendly opponents a year later. (They had a nice bro-hug after the race.)
For those who surf on the literary landscape, David Wild is an Emmy-nominated television writer, a best-selling author and a contributor to Rolling Stone (the magazine, not geriatric rock band).
The Hilo Triathlon runner-up is not that guy.
Wild, 28, is a Konawaena math teacher, and joked that there’s no letter “e” in his last name, dropped because of his Irish side.
He was raised in San Diego, and lived in Berkeley and Oakland the last eight years. (Oakland is in the top 10 of most dangerous U.S. cities.)
Wild arrived through the Teach for America organization, which places young teachers in low-income communities.
He’s been super busy, literally hitting the ground and running all the time.
Wild has raced in the Lavaman, Honu, and Boise 70.3, which qualified him for the Ironman 70.3 World Championship on Aug. 30 in Austria — the homeland of Terminator Arnold Schwarzenegger.
He’s finished 15 triathlons, winning the Kona Mango event last year and the Escape from Alcatraz in San Francisco in 2013.
Wild started competing in triathlons in 2012, and has brought that passion to his school. Last year, he started the Konawaena Tri Club, and had 10 members, including Wildcats who were paddlers, lacrosse players and ROTC members.
“We try to give back to the community and volunteer at races like this,” Wild said.
In fact, Lawrence “Rama” Barrett was his racing partner and finished 10th in 2:33:31. Ragan Leslie was 26th in 2:55.38.
Sisters Natasha and Olga Brocks were volunteers, helping at the finish line as Wild proudly pointed out.
More than anything that aloha spirit — all the volunteers devoting their free time — tugged at Wild, who noted if he ever finds an extra hour in his day he would like to get back into being a DJ.
“I’m really proud and really grateful for all the volunteers and their overwhelming love,” he said. “I feel that love every time I come to Hilo. Kona is great and Hilo is cool.
“The race was well put together. We were blessed with the weather conditions. All of the crowd was cheering the whole way.”
What’s up, Doc?
Jim Budde is no ordinary 70-year-old.
The recently retired ER doctor in Waimea showed all the youngsters how to swim like a champ.
Budde was the first out of the water in the 200-triathlete field, blistering competitors young and old.
He was 24th in 2:53:26, including 25:03 in the swim, 1:26:23 on the bike, and 1:02:00 on the run.