Honu Half a Hit in Hawaii

Honu Half a Hit in Hawaii

Chris Hauth and Michellie Jones won this weekend's inaugural Honu Half Ironman Triathlon, overcoming both a strong field, tough conditions and a challenging course for the win.

With winds gusting to 40 mph at midnight before this year’s inaugural Honu Half Ironman, some anxiety struck most of the 716 athletes preparing to start the newest Ironman qualifier only seven hours later. The Big Island of Hawaii is known for its mystic and magical qualities, though, and as the sun rose above majestic Mauna Kea on race morning, only a slight breeze greeted each athlete as they touched the white sand beach at Hapuna.

 

The field of athletes participating was as varied as the Hawaiian landscape itself. Triathletes, ages 17 to 74, registered from 15 countries and 38 states, all of them with aspirations to finish, most with hopes of gaining one of the 85 Ironman Triathlon World Champion slots up for grabs. Thirty-five of those slots were going to Big Island of Hawaii residents, twenty to athletes from the state of Hawaii, and thirty slots would be allocated to international athletes (those not meeting the strict longtime resident of Hawaii/Big Island requirements).

 

Amongst those tossing and turning was last year’s Olympic distance Honu champion, Tim Marr. Recently receiving his pro card, this Hawaii talent had been training hard with dreams of another victory. However the field of men also wanting that title had some pretty serious resumes to back up their aspirations. Two-time Ironman champion and Hawaii Ironman course record-holder, Luc Van Lierde of Belgium spent the week on the Big Island and was looking for a win, as was Honolulu pro, Chad Seymour. Age-group hopefuls such as Chris Hauth of San Francisco, Patrick Baldwin of San Diego, and long-time Hawaii favorite, Peter Hursty, were also posed to take the top spot on race day.

 

On the women’s side, three professionals and pre-race favorites were: Michellie Jones, Olympic silver medallist and distance champion; Heather Fuhr, 1997 Hawaii Ironman champion; and Tina Walter of Germany, who placed ninth overall in Kona last October. Just as the men had age-group contenders, so did the women. Sian Welch, a former professional and now 38-year-old mother of two, was out to prove she still had what it takes. Monique Petrov and Cathleen Calkins, both of California, and Kailua-Kona’s own Bree Myers were also ready to take top honors.

 

On race morning the feared mumuku winds seemed to disappear and the deep sighs and audible celebration amongst athletes created a calm almost equal to the ocean’s surface as the clock ticked away towards the starting canon.

 

Within minutes, a lead pack of eight turned around the first buoy and by the halfway mark, five had broken away from the pack. Tim Marr led the swim, followed closely by Van Lierde, Seymour, Hauth and Hursty.  In the second pack, it was Michellie Jones and Lauren Welting in amongst the men. 

 

Swells greeted the front-runners as they rounded the final buoy and the beach saw Marr out first in 24.06, with only seconds between the next four of Seymour, Van Lierde, Hauth and Hursty. 

 

Just over a minute later the first women arrived. Welting edged Jones over the swim finish line by a second at 25:49 and 25:50, respectively. Third was Caulkins at 27:45 with Fuhr and Petrov a minute behind her.

 

Out on the lava fields, Mother Nature seemed to be holding her breath. She was, however, heating up the bike course and the hills leading towards Hawi were becoming hotter than ever.

 

By the bike turn around at Upolu Airport (a few miles shy of Hawi), the winds greeted the first group with a relatively light 8-12 knots. Marr had created a minute lead over Van Lierde, with Seymour, Hauth and Hursty now spread out three minutes apart. Amazingly, women’s leader Jones was in seventh overall, with a lead of four minutes over her closest female competitors, Myers, Fuhr, Walter and Petrov.

 

At T1, Marr arrived with a four-minute lead and looked fresh as he blazed onto the run course. Hauth came in second after overtaking Seymour and Van Lierde on the return bike leg. Seymour and Van Lierde arrived only seconds apart but nearly seven and a half minutes behind the leader. Hursty rounded out the top five into T1.

 

Jones continued to move closer to the front as she arrived at T1 and only 11 minutes off Marr’s pace.  Walter was in four minutes later with Fuhr, Petrov and Caulkins coming within seconds of each other but eight minutes off Jones’ lead.

 

All reports from the run course had competitors dousing themselves with water and ice at every aid station, with the ambient temperature nearing 90 degrees and the lava reflecting heat and making things even hotter. The winds had now picked up on the course, but they were tailwinds that offered no relief to the searing sun’s rays. 

 

Halfway on the run Marr’s lead was dimishing, not because he was slowing, but because Hauth was running faster. This challenging run course, with all its twists and turns, very rarely allowed racers to see who was ahead or behind them.

 

Jones continued to move towards the front and was in a solid fourth position overall at the halfway point on the run. In second, and in hot pursuit, Fuhr was now in her trademark run pace and searching the course for Jones. Walter, Petrov and Caulkins continued to push as well but salt-stained skin and shorts told the tale of suffering in the Hawaiian heat.

 

With only four miles left on the run, Hauth saw Marr at last and passed him to take the lead. Marr attempted to match his pace but Hauth pulled away convincingly, and with a time of four hours, fifteen minutes and fifty-four seconds, Hauth became the first Honu Half Ironman champion and secured his place in the record books. Marr followed in second at 4:19:40 and in third it was…Michellie Jones, first for the women at 4:28:16! 

 

The remaining top five men had Patrick Baldwin, third at 4:30:42; Luc Van Lierde, fourth at 4:31:51; and Peter Hursty, fifth at 4:35:42. 

 

Coming in sixth overall and taking back three minutes on the run, Heather Fuhr placed second for the women at 4:34:10. Tina Walter placed third at 4:38:28 with Monique Petrov at 4:49:40 and Kathleen Caulkins at 4:56:16, fourth and fifth respectively. Amazingly, Sian Welch was a close sixth at 4:57:59.

 

“What a grueling course!” exclaimed race winner Hauth. “The key was being out here on the bike course and not in Kona. The run was incredible with the grass, dirt and pavement all mixed in. It was just incredible.

 

“It was intimidating for me today because I’m not used to being out towards the front,” smiled a satisfied Hauth. “I was content being in second at T2 and I didn’t know how close I was to Tim until I came up on him with about four miles to go. Still, I didn’t know how close Luc was, or anyone else, so I just kept pushing. I’m just thrilled to finish first here because I think the hardest part of finishing Ironman is from here to Kona. This was just a fantastic race.”

 

Despite her amazing finish, Jones was humbled by the race.

 

“Hawaii is always beautiful but it was damn hot out there today!” beamed Jones. “There are never any guarantees in triathlon and this run course, while beautiful, was very challenging. The golf course sections were really slow and the changing terrain really messed with your rhythm and your head.”

 

The sun continued to beat down as hundreds of finishers crossed the line, sweat stained but smiles beaming.  A crowd favorite, Sarah Reinertsen, the 30-year-old single leg amputee from California who was featured in the 2004 NBC Ironman show, seemed to shine extra bright today. On target with her swim and bike, her run was slower than she hoped and reports came that she would be very close to the eight-hour cut-off. Not so. Despite her prosthetic leg breaking a stabilizing part at 10k into the run, Sarah ran solidly across the finish line at 7:49:46, quite easily securing her spot on the Ironman starting line in October.

 

In the end the official finish time was extended to eight and one-half hours due to the difficulty of the course, allowing more competitors to cross the finish line and know they are champions.

 

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Men

1. Chris Hauth              4:15:54

2. Tim Marr                  4:19:40

3. Patrick Baldwin         4:30:42

4. Luc Van Lierde          4:31:51

5. Peter Hursty             4:35:42

 

Women

1. Michellie Jones         4:28:16

2. Heather Fuhr             4:34:10

3. Tina Walter               4:38:28

4. Monique Petrov         4:49:40

5. Kathleen Calkins       4:56:16

You may contact Karen Doane at kdoane@ironmanlive.com