WAIKOLOA — On a blustery Sunday morning, Bree Wee and Enrico Kuhn ran like the wind, blowing away the field at the 25th annual Kona Marathon at Waikoloa Beach Resort.
Kuhn clocked a time of 2 hours, 46 minutes and 20 seconds in kite-flying weather, notching the fastest finish of the 26.2-mile route since the event moved to Waikoloa in 2015. He bested the previous record by 47 seconds.
“At the moment I’m speechless. I didn’t expect to win this race and it went well beyond my expectations,” said Kuhn, a resident of Washington D.C. but originally from Germany. “I like to run for fun and travel — that’s the way I explore the world. I’m fortunate to be able to run some good times.”
Before the 25th edition of the event kicked off, many predicted that the men’s marathon would be a two-horse race between top Big Island runners Billy Barnett and Patrick Stover. The decorated duo would do battle, but for podium position and top local finisher honors, with Barnett taking second at 2:53:06 and Stover stopping the clock at 2:55:33 for third.
“You never know who’s going to show up,” Barnett said, which has proved true more than a few times at the Kona Marathon.
Konawaena grad Allen Wagner was the last Big Island male runner to take home the top honors at the event in 2013. Before that you’d have to go back to Big Island Sports Hall of Famer Karl Honma, who won the first Kona Marathon in 1994.
While it was Barnett’s first Kona Marathon appearance since 2009, Stover added a third place finish to his resume, which also includes a runner-up a year ago and the half marathon title in 2015.
“The heat is a factor here almost all the time, but the wind was the difference from last year,” Stover said. “It picked up as the day went on and made it tough.”
Both veteran Big Island runners have learned how to scope out the competition on the course and knew pretty early that Kuhn was the real deal.
“I used to come to races, see guys who were wearing top-of-the-line racing apparel, but then they couldn’t back it up,” Stover said. “You never really know until it starts. There are guys like Billy who don’t even wear a shirt and then take off like a mad man.”
As for their on-going rivalry at local races, the duo kept it low-key.
“You win some, you lose some,” Stover said with a smile.
“Anyone that finishes is really a winner,” Barnett added. “We are just having fun.”
Running on empty
On the women’s side, Wee — a Kailua-Kona teacher and former professional triathlete — defended her title in the marathon with a time of 3:13:14.
It was Wee’s second marathon title and ninth title overall at Kona Marathon, having won the half marathon event seven times.
She was never threatened and quickly separated herself from the pack, finishing more than 18 minutes before the next female marathoner, Mari Kauri (3:31:17). Japan’s Mayumi Fukazawa rounded out the women’s podium with her time of 3:41:08.
“Being able to win a hometown race is always awesome,” Wee said. “Here you never know what the competition will be like until race day. It was awesome.”
While her winning time was slower than a year ago by about five minutes, the degree of difficulty was exponentially greater. The race was part of a depletion run for Wee during her training on the road to complete a second HURT 100 — a storied 100-mile trail race on Oahu.
A depletion run in done in a semi-starved, carb-depleted state so the body can train to become more fuel-efficient. It’s also a key ingredient in an event like HURT 100, which featured almost 31 hours of non-stop moving for Wee earlier this year.
“I tried to pretend it was the last 25 miles there. It wasn’t a fast time, but it was a strong time for me,” Wee said. “With the community and my friends cheering me on, I was going to try to gut through it. I was suffering and started to fall apart at the end. Thankfully I had the lead biker Tiffany (Nakamura), who was also part of my HURT crew, talking me through it. I couldn’t have done it without her.”
Best of the rest
In the half marathon races, Rani Henderson captured her 10th victory in the Kona Marathon’s 13.1-mile distance trek, recording a time of 1:28:04. It was the first win on the Waikoloa course for Henderson, who won the full marathon crown in 2007. Hilo’s Keely McGhee was second, clocking a time of 1:40:24.
Japan’s Kentaro Uno was the quickest among the men in the half, finishing in 1:16:13. Andrew Mchowell was second (1:20:59), while former Waiakea standout Louie Ondo (1:22:34) rounded out the podium.
In the quarter marathon, Maui’s Balala Rocky finished strong with a time of 39:29. He edged out fellow Valley Isle competitor Cody Mccorriston (40:04) and third place finisher John Marrack (41:54), of Hilo.
Rylie Cabalse earned the male 5K crown with a blazing time of 18:20, besting Konawaena alumnus Cody Ranfranz (18:54). Big Island resident Melanie Aiona claimed the 5K women’s title in 22:36. Mikayla Kappes was second, finishing in 24:05.