“Be careful out there on those trails,” might be the best message you can get these days from Bree Brown, among the top women’s ultra distance runners on the Big Island.
Brown, formerly Bree Wee, married Mikey Brown on Aug. 17 and changed her last name, but not her desire to hit the trails and go long.
That’s exactly what she was doing Dec. 2 in the Xterra World Championships half marathon on Oahu, training for the Hurt 100 on Jan. 19, one of the ultimate challenges in Hawaii. Unfortunately, she won’t be competing in the “Big Hurt” after breaking an ankle and tearing two ligaments in the treacherous mile 10 of the race, a muddy, downhill portion over rocks and exposed roots and such.
People tend to slide intentionally on their rear ends or walk gingerly to get through it, which she had always done in the past with no issues.
“I was absolutely loving the run,” Brown said. “Everything was beautiful, I was in really good group of athletes and I just felt that pure joy of running that is so important in a big race.”
This year, after spending much effort learning better downhill skills — she said it’s a work in progress — she was running, jumping over those potholes, having fun, and then it happened. She felt something snap and she went down in a heap. She got back up, thinking she had just turned her ankle when she looked down and saw a bone trying to peek out of her skin.
A man standing by in hopes of seeing his wife come through rushed to her rescue, protecting her from others running and sliding by. He called for help and in about 10 minutes two men carried her to safety on a path that included all three of them being knocked over by a runner who couldn’t get out of the way soon enough.
The surgeons repaired a broken bone and torn ligaments, so this week she is still on crutches, teaching fourth grade in Kona, and missing the Hilo-to-Volcano run Saturday.
“(Doctors) told me it would be 3-to-11 months before I could start in again,” she said, “but I’m thinking two months.”
That would take her to Feb. 2, an ambitious schedule, but with her? Doubting her interest and enterprise would be a mistake. She will run again, and if she does start in early February, she might have a goal to get back in the game.
“I would love to do the Hilo marathon (March 17),” she said. “I mean, I would love that, it’s a good run, it would let me know I’m back in the game.”
She has run everything from the 5 and 10Ks, to the half-marathon and the marathon in Hilo over the years, but this one in 2019 would be a milestone, announcing her return.
If she does, she’ll have the Hurt 100 in her sights again before we know it.
All New Again: Kupuna softball players no doubt have experienced all manner of change in their lives, it’s how they got to be older in the first place.
Change is back for 2019 island-wide for Kupuna softball, which returns the same 24 Big Island teams in the New Year, including Hilo Pomokai, which defeated Kona Gold 16-14 to win the county championship last year before advancing to the final 8 of the state finals where they lost to eventual state champions Aikane, 14-8.
Pomokai is back with an old/new twist in the schedules, returning to the design of three years ago in which all 12 teams on the east and west sides play each other until May. That’s when crossover games against roughly evenly matched squads — something like teams ranked 4, 5, 6 and 7 matching up, etc. — begin, leading up to the first half championships.
If you become 60 years of age at any point during the year, you are eligible to compete, but if it’s something you’ve been thinking about, or something that just occurred to you that sounds interesting, contact Bill Graham at 808.896.2309.
And don’t procrastinate. Early registration closes on Jan. 11. First games — Kupuna teams all play Saturday mornings — are set for Jan. 26.
Off The Ground is literally the focal point of Hilo Hi-Diving, the 1- and 3-meter dive club recently started by DJ Freedman, a veteran USA Dive coach who felt there should be interest in the sport on the Big Island, and it appears his hunch was right.
It’s been barely two months but, even with repairs needed to replace ladder steps on the 3-meter board, with a strong need for gas patio heaters to keep divers warm after they get out of the very cold water pool at Kawamoto Swim Stadium, the new group is progressing.
“We have eight active participants right now,” Freedman said, “which is about seven more than I would have imagined at this point. We can only do so much, but the step should be fixed in the next few weeks — everything’s been ordered — and we have submitted our proposal for new 1- and 3-meter boards from the USA Diving Foundation, so things are looking up, we’re getting started and making progress.”
The parks and recreation department have been “Wonderfully supportive,” he said and he is actively courting donations and sponsors for the longer range plan of heating the pool.
“It’s needed,” he said, “we can really make headway if we make that happen. Just this week I thought of the future when one of our young ones looked up at the 3-meter and said, ‘When can we go up there?’”
To contribute, or for further information, contact the club at dj@hilohidiving.org.
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