BII Marathon women’s winner, Traci Falbo, loved course & organization

Beautiful Course! Great Organization! (about: 2011)                          Traci Falbo loved BII Marathon course Course: 5 Organization: 5 Fans: 4 Traci F albo from Indiana (3/29/11) 11-50 previous marathons | 1 Big Island International Marathon The marathon started in the dark. Shortly after, the sun came up showing beautiful scenery. The first 8 miles were gorgeous with view of the the coast/tropical rainforest. It was hilly, more down than up, but not bad. The rest of the race was fairly flat. Some of it ran around the airport/national guard, but later there was more along the ocean and Banyan Drive, which was pretty. I got an awesome post-race massage… the best I have ever gotten (out of 38 marathons). The finisher’s shirt was cool. I tried taro sweet bread… super yummy! Post-race food and drinks were great. Awards were awesome! The race director was super nice and personable. He runs a well-organized race. The above was posted on www.marathonguide.com on the 2011 Big Island International Marathon.

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Group running photos of BII marathon and half marathon

More than a thousand photos were taken by our photographer during the 14th annual running of the Big Island International Marathon on March 20, 2011.  It has taken me more than a dozen hours to sort through the photos and I will be happy to send one to you if Iknow your runner number and, in some cases, your finishing time.  Email me at waiakeabigdog@aol.com.

      Just click on to photos to enlarge.

Start photos from 2011 Big Island International Marathon

 Click to enlarge all photos.  More than 1,000 photos were taken during the race – email me your running number and when I find a photo of you I will email it to you.

waiakeabigdog@aol.com    Compliments of Big Island International Marathon

Big Island FCU, Nicki Aguinaldo, Raising the bar on Goal Setting

Nicki Aguinaldo

For most of my life I have been setting goals and raising the bar each time I’ve achieved that goal.  It is a good way to challenge my boundaries and to get out of my comfort zone.

“Our subconscious mind can be compared to a garden,” Dr. Joseph Murphy said.  “If we leave it unattended, the weeds will grow wild.  Goal setting is a great destroyer of those weeds.”

For Hilo’s Nicki Aguinaldo raising the bar and reaching higher has become part of her everyday routine.

“I like to see what I am capable of doing,” Aguinaldo said.  “Sometimes I don’t reach my goals, but I’ll just try harder the next time around.”

Aguinaldo, the Vice President of the Loan and Collection Department at the Big Island Federal Credit Union in Hilo recently set another goal as she ran the Big Island International Half Marathon a little more than a week ago.

“The night before the half marathon I was talking with my father-in-law, Nick Balingit, and I told him I wanted to run the 13.1 mile race in 2 hours and 30 minutes,” she said.

“My father-in-law is an active runner and he encourages us to live a healthy life and to do the best we can in everything we do,” Aguinaldo said.

Balingit and his wife Josie can often be seen walking laps around Liliuokalani Gardens and Nick is a regular at various swimming events, including the Richardson Rough Water Swim.

“My in-laws are often there for us as they help watch our kids when we train,” Aguinaldo said.  “Nick came to the finish line to watch us finish and even though I didn’t reach my goal, I finished in 2:48, he was still impressed.”

Aguinaldo graduated from Hilo High School in 1992 and did very little running prior to starting a family.

“I ran track during intermediate school and ran during my first year of high school,” she said.  “I have a good family support system which encourages me to try my best.”

Every other day Aguinaldo will meet up with friends, Crystal Nicolas and Stacie Mandaloniz, for a run of three to five miles.

“My in-laws will watch the kids, Logan 9 and Lainie 5, so that I can get in a run right after work with my friends,” she said.

Aguinaldo will try to watch what her and her family eats, but is often side tracked with other temptations.

“At home we’ll eat a lot of salads, chicken and fish,” she said.  “I try to stay away from sweets as much as possible but it’s hard when you work in an office with ladies because we are always snacking.”

What’s even more interesting about Aguinaldo is that when she first started trying to get into shape she could barely run a mile and now she is doing half marathons.

“When I first started running I could barely run a mile without stopping,” she said.  “But I welcomed the challenge of pushing myself harder each time.”

Aguinaldo wanted to test her limits as she has close family members, including life partner Lyle Balingit, that have run several half and full marathons and she wanted to experience the ups and downs of training.

“The best way for me to feel what others are going through when they train for a long distance run is for me to try it myself,” she said.  “What’s great about my family is that everyone is so encouraging and provides me with a great support base.”

For Aguinaldo she has learned the benefits of doing a long run and has found it to be a good way to reduce stress.

“While running I get to clear my mind, it’s just me and the song playing on my iPod,” she said.

In writing this story I was reminded of what the great Los Angeles Dodger first baseman, Steve Garvey said, concerning setting goals.

“You have to set goals that are almost out of reach.  If you set a goal that is attainable without much work or thought, you are stuck with something below your true talent and potential,” Garvey said.

Thirty seven year old Nicki Aguinaldo continues to set the bar higher for herself and doesn’t allow not reaching it the first time to interfere with trying it again.

“I plan on doing one more half marathon by the end of this year and the goal is to run it with a better time,” she said.

“I’d also like to do at least one 5K (3.1 miles) with my two kids,” she said.

Asked if she would ever try to tackle the full, 26.2 mile, marathon, she replied, “No, but never say never.”

Nicki Aguinaldo is but one of the many hard working, family oriented members of our community that continue to set goals in order to live a more healthy and productive lifestyle.

I’d be willing to beat that at her next half marathon she will reach her goal of 2 hours and 30 minutes and if she doesn’t she will be trying it again for a third time with a never ever giving up attitude.

There is much to learn from this young woman.

And someday should you happen to see a happy, goal setting, retired teacher doing laps up and down Shower Drive remember to smile, say “woof” and never shy away from “Running with the Big Dog.”

Email the Big Dog at waiakeabigdog@aol.com.

Wildcat Girls Impressive at BIIF track & field season opener

Lia Galdeira & Ua Ruedy

KEAAU – Konawaena’s Emalia Galdeira and Ua Ruedy wrecked havoc on the track to lead the lady Wildcats in team scoring this past Saturday during a Big Island Interscholastic Federation track & field meet held at the Cougar track.

In a heavy, sporadic downpour, the drought in Kona may be over, as the Westside track stars won their first scoring meet in recent memory edging Hilo by .25 points.

Ruedy won the 100 and 300 hurdles, 200 dash, placed second in the 100 and third in the long jump amassing 44 points for the lady Wildcats.

Not to be outdone Galdeira, the Hawaii High School Athletic Association basketball player of the year, won the 100 meter dash, long jump, finished second in the 100 hurdles, and tied for third in the high jump scoring 31.3 individual points.

What’s even more notable is that Galdeira, better know for her on the court basketball skills, needed to be talked into coming out for track this season by the Wildcat coaching staff.

“I still have a lot to learn about technique in doing the hurdles,” Galdeira said.  “The rest of the events are easy as all I need to know is to pump my arms and go.  I don’t think about anything.”

Galdeira demonstrated her great leaping ability as she hit a 16’ 8.5” mark with her lead foot clearly 10 inches behind the marking board.

Galdeira’s long jump established herself as the number two in the state and the junior clearly has not seen a full potential.

“I’m having fun doing track and the 100 dash is my favorite,” she said. “All I have to do is go.”

Sophomore teammate Ruedy placed fourth in the state last year in the 300 hurdles, but prefers the 100 hurdles as her premier event.

“My favorite is the 100 hurdles as it is quicker and much more interesting,” Ruedy said.  “It’s all about technique and good form and the 100 is much shorter than the 300,” she said with a wide grin.

Last season Ruedy didn’t try the 100 hurdles and her focus was on just running the 300.

“I’m hoping to win the state in the 300 hurdles and improve my times in the other sprint races,” she said.  “I also think we have a good chance of winning the BIIF team title this year.”

One of the Konawaena coaches, Kuulei Karratti Saole is a former HHSAA sprint champion winning the gold medal in the 100 dash for Kau in 2003 while medaling in the long and triple jumps.

“It’s all about giving back to the community in a sport that I love,” Coach Saole said.

Shina Chung

On the far end on the track infield it was Hilo’s Shina Chung showcasing her ability to leap over tall buildings.

The two time BIIF pole vault champion Chung cleared the bar at 10’ 3” to put her as the number one vaulter in the state at this point in the season.

“I’m trying to just hit a PR (personal record) by clearing 10’ 8” this season,” she said.  “I’m using a 12’ 1” pole which is made for someone that weighs 125 pounds.”

During the offseason Chung kept busy running stairs and doing drills and bio mechanics in order to maintain her high ranking in the event.

“I feel a lot of pressure as I want to repeat as BIIF champ and also improve on my fifth place state finish last year,” Chung said.

Zoe Sims

In the distance events it was Hawaii Repertory’s Zoe Sims coming out fast in both the 1500 and 3000 meter events to establish herself as the person to beat in those events.

“I wanted to hit my split times in both events, but I was a little off in the middle laps,” Sims said.

Sims ran an impressive 5 minutes 16.5 seconds in the 1500 and came back with an 11:47.02 in the 3K to win both easily.

“My goal was to run a 5:08 in the 1500,” she said.  “I hit my splits during the first and fourth laps, but fell off goal pace during the middle laps which is something I’ll need to push harder in the future.”

For the boys it was an Kamehameha 4×100 relay team that ran picture perfect clocking 45.97 seconds.

Kealii Naauao, Kaenen “Aukai” Akau, Zarion “Kama” Vincent and Tavon Pegues didn’t come into the meet confident that they could pull out the relay victory.

“We were having trouble dropping the baton all week in practice,” Vincent said.  “Our number 3 and 4 kept having trouble holding onto the stick.”

The Warriors pulled off a good team effort without anyone dropping the baton and their quick sprint speed was enough to hold off a talented Kealakehe squad.

The Waveriders held a narrow lead going into the final turn when Pegues took the exchange and ran down his opponent to take the narrow win.

The Warriors have six sprinters battling for the four top spots on their relay team, according to Coach Kimo Weaver, which will make for an exciting competition to see who will end up representing the school at the end of the season.

Raskassa Johnson

Newbie freshman, Raskassa Johnson from Hilo made his debut performance on the track and managed to turn a few heads in the 200 dash.

Johnson, a transfer from the Hawaiian Academy of Arts and Sciences in Pahoa, had never run track prior to making his debut on Saturday took second in the 200 dash, clocking 24.31 seconds to Kealakehe winner Dylan Navarro’s 23.05.

“I came out for track because I want to get faster for football,” Johnson said.  “I played running back on the junior varsity team and I was told this would help me improve my speed.”

Johnson, who is still in the learning curve, has been given a crash course on getting out quickly.

“I’ve never stepped into the block until three weeks ago,” he said.  “I feel the same passion for track as I do for football and I know I’m getting faster.”

The BIIF season will continue Saturday with a split meets as Kamehameha host the East schools and HPA will host the West.  Field events begin at 9 am with the running venue starting at 10am. 

Related Links:  https://waynejoseph.wordpress.com/2011/03/27/hilos-shina-chung-leaps-tall-buildings-and-remains-1/

https://waynejoseph.wordpress.com/2011/03/27/keaau-kamehameha-sprinters-look-strong/

https://waynejoseph.wordpress.com/2011/03/27/konas-emalia-galderia-and-ua-ruedy-tear-up-track-in-keaau/