It is often said good things come in threes. That certainly came true for Jeremy Howard who clinched his third consecutive Team Mango triathlon victory of the year.
The 36-year old Connecticut native began his 2017 season on fire, dominating the local triathlon scene with a string of wins starting with January’s Wintertime Super Sprint Triathlon, followed by the Springtime Triathlon in early February, and then earning an impressive hat trick at Sunday’s Mini Monster 70.3 Triathlon.
But it wouldn’t be easy.
Heavy showers, rumbles of thunder, and flashes of lightning passed over the entire island on Saturday night and made race organizer, Carl (Gecko) Koomoa, a bit nervous as participants inquired if Sunday’s race might be canceled.
“Yes, there were concerns,” Koomoa said. “I had to be here at midnight to start setting up so when I got here there was lightening going off, and the wind was pretty strong, and there were some pretty big swells, and thunder, so yes, I was a little concerned. But then I was watching the weather reports that said it should be calming down so I felt confident that we would have fairly good conditions by morning.”
Koomoa was quick to add that competitors are typically attracted to the 70.3 race distance for the challenges encountered from start to finish. Rain or shine, participants should always be prepared no matter what.
“This is a 70.3 race and distance – it’s gotta be tough,” Koomoa said. “This is one of those races where you just gotta dig down deep and be tough. That’s what racing is all about.”
Over 40 participants turned out for Sunday’s 7th annual Mini Monster 70.3 Triathlon.
Conditions were far from ideal as participants were forced to battle choppy and murky waters for the 1.2-mile swim in Kailua Bay, followed by brutal head and crosswinds throughout the 56-mile bike ride along Queen Kaahumanu Highway, and finished off with a pulverizing 13.1-mile run throughout Alii Drive’s sauna-infused course.
However, despite Sunday’s off weather conditions, Howard said that it didn’t faze him, as it was still better racing and training conditions than the frigid sub-20 degree temperatures of his hometown in Connecticut.
Howard, who is a triathlon coach and ultra-endurance competitor, decided to extend his stay in Kona after crewing for Inaki De La Parra, the winner of last November’s Hawaii Ultraman World Championships. Howard said he couldn’t resist an extra three months of uninterrupted swim-bike-run sessions under warm and sunny skies along the Kona Coast.
Shortly after the countdown to the mass swim start, Howard immediately found himself swimming to the 1.2-mile turnaround buoy on his own.
“I think we were all solo on the swim,” Howard said with a laugh. “We couldn’t see much. It was choppy and the swells made it hard to sight once you got further out. On the way back, I had to be redirected back in a couple times. I think we were all relatively close to each other but I just couldn’t see anyone else out there.”
While exiting Kaiakeakua Beach as the first individual, Howard found himself in good company. Kona’s Bree Wee, who decided to enter the race as part of a female relay team, had also entered the swim-to-bike transition.
“We were together pretty much for most of the way,” Howard said of riding with Wee during the 56-mile bike segment. “It was really fast on the way out and then we got slapped with the head winds on the way back in. So I just stayed in my aero bars.”
Once onto the 13.1-mile run, it was smooth sailing for Howard who had built a sizeable lead from the rest of the field that included Michael DeCarli and last year’s defending champ, Mikey Brown.
“It’s never easy even knowing that I was ahead,” Howard said. “It was nice to have people out there pushing me and seeing them out on the course. When I got back here (passing the Kailua Pier) after 2 ½ miles into the run and the next guy hadn’t left (T2) yet, I just knew that I had a cushion and so I tried to hold a 6:30 or so pace (per mile), but then it just dropped off as the run went on.”
With a wide smile that signaled a huge relief on his face, Howard crossed the finish line to win the Mini Monster 70.3 Triathlon in a stellar time of 4 hours, 29 minutes and 28 seconds.
“I feel good,” he said. “I’ve been working a lot on the bike while I’ve been here and it’s been a lot of fun.”
Finishing in second place was Brown in a time of 5:09:28, with DeCarli in third at 5:17:33.
In the women’s division, Alaska’s Rebecca McKee easily took home her first Mini Monster 70.3 crown with a great time of 5:24:15.
Kona’s Tawnie McDonald once again finished in the runner up position in 6:36:58, with Ultra-endurance athlete, Ingrid Hillhouse, rounding out the women’s top three in 6:49:20.
Bragging rights in the relay division went to Wee (swim, bike) and her run partner, Steph Corker, with their combined time of 4:39:09.
In the longer Monster 140.6-mile Triathlon that consisted of a 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike, and 26.2-mile run, team Westfall &Lester were the only trio brave enough to take on the distance.
Combined times of Caleb Westfall, Jr. (swim, 1:20:17), Jason Lester (bike, 8:15:00), and Westfall Drywall (run, 3:13:53) had them finishing in 12:49:10.
While good things do come in threes, Howard hopes that his mojo continues as he seeks to enter his third Hawaii Ultraman World Championships in November.
“The big goal is Ultraman. I’m really putting everything into having a good race in November. I’ve done it twice before (2011, 2015), but I feel that this year will be a good one.”