KAILUA-KONA — Ironman week officially kicked off on the Big Island this past weekend with the annual Hoala Training Swim and PATH 5k/10k Race and Fun Run.
Both events have grown in popularity over the years, and this year was no exception as the two events pulled in nearly 1,000 athletes from all over the globe.
Saturday’s training swim saw 561 people take on the first leg of the Ironman World Championship — a 2.4 mile swim in Kailua Bay. Times were incredibly fast, as Great Britain’s Lucy Charles crossed the finish line first in a time of 48 minutes and 55.60 seconds. She became the first female to win the event, edging out Germany’s Andreas Boecherer by less than 30 seconds.
“It is pretty awesome,” Charles said after the race. “I always want to try and keep up with the men, so to be the first women to win it was a big accomplishment.”
Charles is in her rookie season as a pro but did not qualify for the 2016 world championship race. However, she has competed in the race as an age grouper. She also competed in Ironman Lanzarote earlier this year, placing third in the female division with a time of 10 hours and 10 minutes and 13 seconds.
She hopes to earn enough points to qualify for the world championship next year.
“I just need to do a bit more racing to get more points,” Charles said. “I think it is doable.”
Boecherer edged out a group of racers competing for second place with a time of 49:02.5. The German athlete was able to use the training swim to really get a feel for what he will face when he competes in the big race on Saturday.
“Since I don’t live near the water this was a great opportunity to train in the open ocean,” Boecherer said. “It helped me really get an idea of what the race course is like and allowed me to get a better understanding of the distance.“
Great Britain’s Reece Barclay followed Boecherer to the finish line in a time of 49:22.1. Brazil’s Igor Amorelli (49:23.8), Great Britain’s Tim Don (49:33.8), Great Britain’s David McNamee (49:50.90), Brazil’s Luiz Renato Topan (50:03.30), Germany’s Christian Kramer (50:03.30) and Brazil’s Fabio Carvalho (50:08.20) all finished ahead of last year’s winning time of 50:15.20 set by Brazil’s Rafael Goncalves, a two-time winner of the event.
The 30th annual PATH event on Sunday featured far more recognizable names to the Big Island. Konawaena cross country and track standout Cody Ranfranz took first place in the 5k with a time of 17:17. He was followed by David Wild (17:25) and Hamish Hart (17:38).
For Ranfranz, the event’s connection to Ironman offers a unique experience.
“It was a good race with a lot of competition,” Ranfranz said. “I was just waiting to see who the fast guys would be, and once I figured that out I keyed off of them and was able to take the lead.”
When asked if he had any plans of competing in Ironman one day, Ranfranz left it open-ended saying “maybe,” and adding that it was still a little too early to make that decision.
Libby Davidson was the first female to cross the finish line in the 5k. She placed sixth overall with a time of 18:22. A total of 280 runners competed in the shorter race.
In the 10k race, Martin Diebold took the top spot with a time of 34:25 in a field of 190. He was followed by Pedro Gores (36:09) and AJ Baullo (36:13). Christine Schleifer was the first female to cross, placing fifth in a time of 37:35.
The longer race is often dubbed the “fastest 10k in the state” because of all the Ironman competitors who compete.
For PATH executive director Tina Clothier, being able to host the 30th event was very emotional.
“I was privileged to be the race director for the very first PATH Run back in 1986, which we called back then the Kona Community Safety Lane,” Clothier said. “In the first run we had about 100 people and it has grown steadily over the years. It is so fabulous to see this organization grow and watch all the good things it does for the community.”
For three decades, the PATH run has been connected to Ironman, and Clothier cited that the Ironman Foundation has been very generous to the organization.
“Today we just heard that the Ironman foundation is giving us another $1,400 dollars on top of the $3,500 they gave us for the Queens’ Lei,” Clothier said. “They do so much in our community and we are so grateful.”
The PATH run and Hoala swim are just two of many races and activities planned for Ironman week.
Up next is the Heroes of Hawaii event set for today at 5 p.m., followed by the Keiki Dip-n-Dash on Tuesday at 4 p.m.. The Parade of Nations will follow the Dip-n-Dash at 5 p.m.