Few Participants Causes BIRR to Postpone Annual Election

Big Island Road Runners

Due to a low turnout at the Annual BIRR Election run/walk voting for the Board of Directors has been scheduled for another time, according to BIRR spokesman Alan Ryan.  The new date and time has not yet been released.

Big Island Road Runners Annual Election Run Results December 26, 2010 Richardson Beach Park, 7:30am
4 Mile Run
Place	Name	Time
1	Paul Furumo		:	26	:	06
2	Alex Vu		:	26	:	26
3	Linden Villena		:	27	:	40
4	Lory Hunter		:	31	:	11
5	Lindsey Englund		:	32	:	49
6	Andrew M Langtry		:	32	:	52
7	Donna Wong Yuen		:	34	:	01
8	Charlie Bostwick		:	39	:	43
9	David Hammes		:	39	:	44
10	Lee Collins		:	41	:	23
11	Rick Otani		:	41	:	25
2 Mile Run
Place	Name	Time
1	Maka’ala Cruz		:	13	:	58
1	Jordan Hirae		:	13	:	58
1	Rihei Grothmann		:	13	:	58
4	Dena Rae		:	14	:	47
5	Robert Belcher		:	16	:	27
6	Richard Grothmann		:	17	:	46
7	Harvey Nakasone		:	19	:	04
8	Herb Wagner		:	25	:	33
9	Wendy Ahu		:	28	:	37
10	Kaala Ahu		:	28	:	45
11	Jack Roney		:	36	:	19
12	Dixie Newman		:	48	:	31

Advertisement

Avoid Gaining weight during the Holidays

Avoid those extra pounds

Five pounds, 10 pounds, 15 pounds or even more: How much weight do you gain in an average holiday season? This year, buck the trend with some simple planning. Take these suggestions to heart and enjoy the holiday season the healthy way.

1.	Family Fitness: What better way to counterbalance the extra calories you’re sure to consume this holiday season than with some calorie-burning, cardio-benefiting exercise that involves the entire family? Reminiscing with relatives is great, but why not bond with them and stay in shape at the same time with a game of touch football, a snowball fight or even a long walk around the neighborhood?
2.	Portion Control: We’re not saying you can’t sample the vast array of cakes, pies and other holiday treats heaped on the table; we’re just saying don’t overdo it. Portion control is important all year, but it’s vital when faced with a daunting supply of high-carb and even higher-sugar foods. So indulge a little and feel good that you’ve indulged; but don’t overeat and end up spending the holidays immobile.
3.	Holiday Helper: Whether you’re at home or away for the holidays, taking an active role in holiday preparation can be better than a trip to the gym; getting the house in order, preparing the food and cleaning up (hopefully with some help) afterward will burn plenty of calories. And remember, you can prepare your own entree or side dish and ensure you have at least one healthy item to eat.
4.	Safety in Numbers: Keep in mind that when faced with the holiday season, you don’t have to face it alone. Whether it’s splitting up the holiday shopping with your spouse, recruiting a few family members to help cook a (semi) healthy holiday meal, or making a pact with your best friend to stick with your exercise program during the hustle and bustle, do it together and you’ll be more likely to get it done.

BIIF Wrestlers do well on Maui

Kam’s Megan Aina, left, drops close match to Kailua’s Allene Somera

Hawaii High School Athletic Association state wrestling champion Kamehameha’s Megan Aina claimed second place medal in the 98 pound weight class at the Maui Wrestling Tournament held at War Memorial Gym in Wailuku on Dec. 21 and 22.

Aina, the defending Big Island Interscholastic Federation Queen lost during the finals on points to Kailua’s Allene Somera, 4 to 1.

“I’m not happy with the results,” Aina said.  “I know I need to work on my take downs and practice more with the boys in order to improve.”

Aina had a first round bye then easily won her next two matches before facing Somera in finals.

“I took a shot and she got around me to score two points,” Aina said of her final match.  “I have to practice harder and work harder this year in order to repeat for the state title.  Everybody knows I’m the state champion and they’re gunning for me.”

Aina often works out with the Warrior boys and one of her partners is Nalu Kekona-Souza.

“Nalu helps me get better as he is bigger and stronger than I am,” Aina said.  “I need to train more with him if I hope to get better.”

“If she was going to lose I’m glad she lost now,” Warrior girls coach Marlon Miller said.  “Every state champion faces the same feeling that everyone is after them.”

 Miller believes that the Maui experience was beneficial to Aina’s development as a wrestler.

“She (Aina) came to practice this week more focused, Miller said.  “There isn’t that much competition for her in the BIIF, so getting the exposure on Oahu and Maui will only help her chances for repeating as a state champion.”

For her win over Aina in the finals Somera was voted the most outstanding girls wrestler in the Maui tournament.

Nalu Kekona-Souza

Kekona-Souza, the defending BIIF champion, took second place in the 120 weight division dropping a nail bitter to Kaiser’s Ryan Nakagawa by a score of 4-3 in the championship final.

“I had two matches prior to the finals and I won both by pin,” Kekona-Souza said.  

“I probably got to see the best wrestler in the state in my weight division,” he said of his finals match against Nakagawa.

Kekona-Souza believes that he made a critical mistake during the finals by not sprawling out during the closing minutes of the match.

“I should off flattened out and not used my hips,” he said.  “Everyone one loses once in awhile and this loss was a very humbling experience.”

Warrior teammate Justin Hirae claimed fourth place in the 125 division while Konawaena’s Sage Aoki took third in the 120 division.

Waiakea’s Tyler Yonemori gains the advantage

Waiakea’s Tyler Yonemori was the lone wrestler that the public school Warriors brought over to Maui.  Yonemori is the defending BIIF champion at 140 was bumped up to the 145 division in Wailuku, won four of his five matches to claim third place.

“I lost to Chanse Uyeda in the third round on points, 3-1,” Yonemori said.

Uyeda from Lahainaluna is the same wrestler to beat Yonemori the week before at the Officials Tournament on Oahu.

“He’s a really good wrestler,” Yonemori said.  “We were tied 1 to 1 with less than a minute to go in the match when he took me down for two points.”

Yonemori was appreciative of the opportunity to wrestle on Maui stating that it provided him with more experience against talented wrestlers.

“I’m learning better how to defend certain moves and I’ve been facing some strong opponents,” he said.

Keaau’s Cheyden Quiocho was the lone Cougar to participate on Maui as the junior wanted to gain more mat experience.

“I wanted to get in more matches against good competition,” Quiocho said.  “It was pretty tough on Maui and I learned that I need to work a lot more on my technique.”

Quiocho, the BIIF runner up at 125 pounds, won his first two matches during

day one of competition before dropping his next two matches on the following day.

“I ended up wrestling for fifth place and won my final match,” he said.  “I think I do well under pressure and I’m glad I was able to gain more experience.”

Lahainaluna won the boys team title with Kahuku winning the girls.  Kamehameha-Hawaii was the top BIIF scoring team placing 13^th overall for the boys and the girls.

The BIIF wrestling season officially gets underway with an all-schools meet at Kealakehe on January 8.

BIIF wrestling results from the Maui Tournament were provided by Kamehameha boys coach Brendan Courtot.

“This was a good experience for all our BIIF kids as they were all able to win at least one match,” Courtot said.  “We were able to compete with everyone there which will benefit the quality of wrestling in our league.”

Boys   120lb    Sage Aoki 3rd, Kona   Nalu Souza, 2nd, Kamehameha

125lb  Justin Hirae, 4th, Kamehameha  Charlie Aina, DNP, Kamehameha

130lb  Shannon Samura, DNP,  HPA

135lb  Cheyden Quiocho, 5th, Kea’au

145lb  Tyler Yonemori, 3rd, Waiakea

189lb  Kema Chin, DNP, Kamehameha

Girls  98lb  Megan Aina, 2nd, Kamehameha

125lb  Melissa Dumaguin, 3rd, Kona

DNP – Did Not Place

Big Island International Marathon Closes Half Marathon Registration

March 20, 2011 half marathon SOLD OUT

BIG ISLAND INTERNATIONAL HALF-MARATHON – SOLD OUT

The Big Island International Marathon is no longer accepting applications for its 13.1 mile half marathon as all the slots have been sold.  Anyone mailing in applications for the half marathon will have their entry returned.

The full marathon still has a hand full of available slots and the 5K run or walk has many available openings.  The BIIM will continue to accept full marathon applications until those slots are filled and 5K registration will be taken on line and by mail in entries as well as  during packet pick up at the Hilo Hawaiian Hotel from noon to 6 pm on March 19, 2011.

For additional information call (808) 969-7400 or email waiakeabigdog@aol.com.

The 2012 race will be held on March 18 and limits have been set on the marathon and half marathon events so please register early.

Making Healthy New Year Resolutions

We’re almost done with 2010 and I can honestly say I am looking forward to 2011.  Health wise 2010 was one of the most difficult for me as I was hampered by a variety of age related problems.

I probably spent more time in the hospital this past year than I have in my entire 63 years.

I’ve been told that my electrical wiring has malfunctioned which created a few unexpected problems, the biggest coming with atrial fibrillation/flutter where my heart would get stuck at 140 beats per minute and not return to a normal rhythm.

Hilo Hospital performed a couple of electrical cardio versions to get the heart rate pumping normally, but it would return to abnormal levels following long runs or stressful situations.

This led to several months of sleepless nights and not being able to run, but I continued to walk to maintain my healthy weight.  And walk I did, seven miles a day at a brisk 15 minute per mile pace.

On Nov. 2nd I returned to Straub Hospital on Oahu for my second ablation with Dr. Hingson Chun and have now slowly begun the process of rebuilding my endurance so that I can once again run.

I know 2011 will be the best year ever for me because with all those elevens, I was born on 11/11, and married on 1/11 so 2011 will have significance and “will be my best year ever” according to my wife, Randee.

I have a simple resolution going into the New Year and that is to be able to run my first 5K (3.1 miles) race without walking.  I don’t care what time I do it in as long as I am able to jog the entire distance without pausing due to loss of breath.

Jan. 1, 2011 I will be at Coconut Island to host and run in the New Year’s Day Resolution Run/Walk which begins at 9 am.  The public is invited and all you need to do is sign in and be willing to have some fun.

Following the event Big Dog Productions will provide snacks and Keith Aoki from Anheuser-Busch will provide Vidration Sports Drinks, while supplies last.

The great thing about announcing Resolutions is that the chances of achieving a positive outcome is much higher than if you kept your resolution to yourself because you have others watching to see if you can conquer your dream. 

Doc Morita

Hilo Internist, Dr. Aaron Morita, had the following health and fitness resolutions for the upcoming New Year.

“My health related resolutions for 2011:  Eat less and more wisely.  Lose another 5 to 7 pounds so I can run better with less load on my legs and manage my metabolic risk factors with minimal or no medications for many more years, Doc Morita said.

“I’d like to work at managing stress better as our government, Medicare and health insurances in general are making it more and more difficult to practice medicine by having to follow oodles more regulations that make it harder (more red tape) to provide timely evaluation and management services to patients while at the same time avoiding financial hardships or trouble to the very complex business of medicine,” Morita said. 

Pete Hoffman

Hawaii County Council, Vice Chair, Pete Hoffmann just completed his 29^th Honolulu Marathon a few weeks ago also has a resolution for 2011.

“For me, I intend to make certain that I complete at least one 13 mile run each month during the New Year,” Hoffmann said.  “I’ve never been able to do that, but I feel I must get out of the comfortable rut in which I usually find myself and at my age I must do better.”

Hoffmann has promised himself to do at least one more marathon to reach number 30.

“My wife is threatening divorce if I go beyond doing my 30^th Honolulu Marathon,” Hoffmann said with a grin.  “Someone needs to remind me why I like this insanity.”

Jerry Chang

For State House Representative Jerry Chang his healthy resolution is a simple one.

“I’d like to run 3 miles at least four times per week,” Chang said.  “I would also like to cut down on oily foods while increasing the amount of fruits and vegetables that I eat.”

Making resolutions that are realistic are important and provide us with a reachable goal as well as a measuring stick into our progress.

Howard Ainsely

Howard Ainsley, Hilo Medical Center CEO, had the following resolution:

“My resolution for 2011 is to be more consistent in my wellness plan of improved health and life balance,” Ainsley said.  “I want to be more disciplined in workouts (tennis, body boarding, cycling), explore more of beautiful Hawaii with my wife, reduce my body fat while increasing stamina and endurance, make application for doctoral program, and to assist people in need without asking anything in return.”

Ainsley is also hoping to bring a greater value to the Hilo Medical Center team of employees and physicians as they try to improve and grow health care resources and outreach for our community.

Howard Ainsley, Pete Hoffmann, Aaron Morita, Jerry Chang and I are all looking to make positive contributions in a New Year that brings with it the opportunity of hope and the promise of knowing that all things are possible.

There is always room for improvement from being more patient with your children or more loving towards your spouse, positive change at a higher level is within our reach.

“Be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let each New Year find you a better man (person),” Benjamin Franklin wrote.

If you’re looking at starting the New Year out in a healthy way then join us at 9 am in the parking area of Coconut Island on Jan 1^st and let’s do as much as we are capable of doing with like minded people.

And someday should you happen to see a jogger trying to make the most of life’s blessings remember to smile, say “woof” and never shy away from “Running with the Big Dog.”

Email the Big Dog at waiakeabigdog@aol.com.