John Howerton decided to forego the final aid station even if his muscles were cramping and his body was begging for water.
It was a strategic decision that he didn’t take lightly. Nearly maxed-out and already in the painful “red zone,” his rash decision certainly placed him at risk of completely blowing up during the final two miles before reaching the finish line.
But Howerton knew from experience that taking risks is what racing is all about. After a quick glance at his competitor’s face, now beet red, grimacing in pain, and taking in breaths that had become loud and labored, Howerton believed that he still had enough left in him to take the win. It was time to make his move. It was now or never.
For the past 35 years, The Captain Cook Challenge has built a reputation of being the most brutal, grueling and unique triathlon race in the South Kona District.
This epic challenge dates back to 1983, with the race beginning in beautiful Kealakekua Bay.
As the only underwater state park on the Big Island, Kealakekua Bay boasts breathtaking natural beauty with its protective rocky lava shoreline, surrounding lush vegetation, and towering sea cliffs.
Intimate encounters with Hawaiian Spinner Dolphins, schools of tropical fish, Hawaiian green sea turtles, and a plethora of vibrant coral plumes, is an everyday fascination within this amazing marine sanctuary they call home.
On the northern end of Kealakekua Bay stands a site of great historical significance – a tall, white, marble obelisk erected in 1874 to memorialize the famous Captain Cook who sailed his ships into the Bay in 1779, which ultimately culminated with his death.
Over the years, this towering monument has served as the 1-mile swim marker, a landmark for competitors to sight as they make their way across Kealakekua Bay’s pristine waters starting from the rocky shoreline of Napoopoo Beach.
From there, athletes quickly transition into their run shoes and charge out to tackle their next challenge – an uphill climb on a rugged, off-terrain, 2-mile trail that boasts an elevation gain of 1,500 feet. Even the most experienced trail runners have succumbed to walking sections of the ancient Kaawaloa Trail due to its gnarly terrain and steepness.
After exiting near the top of Napoopoo Road, competitors then transition onto their bikes for the hilly 28-mile bike portion. The one and half looped mountainous course starts near the top of Napoopoo Road, travels south along the winding roads of Mamalahoa Highway, down a fast descent on Keala O Keawe and Puuhonua roads, followed by a quad-busting grind climbing back up Napoopoo Road.
The final segment of the race is a short run on the Old Government Road. With no shady trees nearby to cast shadows along the desert-like course to offer reprieve from the unrelenting sun, the last 4-miles have often been described as a death march.
Race organizer, Carl Koomoa, has always described the uniqueness of his event as being “truly special” and that he’s proud to have had the ability to keep the tradition going on for so long.
On Sunday twenty brave souls turned out for the 35th edition of this epic race.
Relay family team member, Aiden Ankrum, did what he normally does best – rip the swim – exiting the water in a swift time of 20 minutes and 49 seconds before tagging his brother, Alec, for the 2-mile trail run.
Not too far back was a chase pack made up of Josiah Randerson (22:17), Peaman (22:20), and women’s leader, Helen Meigs (22:32).
Once onto the Kaawaloa Trail, Howerton went straight to work making up ground on both Randerson and Alec by posting the fastest trail run split of 24:33.
While Alec was the first to exit the trail (25:21) to tag his father, Adam, who was waiting on his bike, Randerson (27:28) was next as the first individual with Howerton just a few strides back.
It was evident that an exciting race for the overall win was about to begin between Howerton and Randerson.
Howerton, who recently won the Road Runner Biathlon three weeks ago, was intent to secure his first win after three attempts at The Challenge. While Randerson, who catapulted himself into the history books earlier in the year by becoming the youngest victor at a Team Mango event, was determined to celebrate his 16th birthday with an exclamation mark.
A quick transition had Howerton taking off on his bike in first, but Randerson pedaled hard to reclaim the bike lead before reaching the top of Napoopoo Road.
From there, it became a game of leapfrog as each battled hard for the lead. Howerton however, had the final say as he powered himself into the bike-to-run transition in first, posting the fastest bike split the day at 1:31:23. Randerson was close behind in 1:31:39.
But the race was far from over.
A determined Randerson offered no breathing room and used his trademark “lightening fast” transition to get a jump on the run course in first. Howerton, now struggling to fight off muscle cramps and dehydration, began his run a good 30-yards back.
While it seemed that Randerson was well on his way to begin his birthday celebration with yet another hard earned win, Howerton had other plans.
“I knew he was tired too so I just wanted to keep him moving and not resting,” Howerton said. “I saw that he stopped for a quick drink of water at the turnaround point on the run, and that’s when I decided to keep going and passed him.”
Howerton said that the lack of water in his body began to take its toll and at that point, his legs began to “massively cramp.” In the meantime, a tenacious Randerson passed him back again.
“I wanted to force him to push as he basically was in front of me the whole way back,” Howerton said. “Then I started to do little surges to run up next to him at his shoulder, and then he would push again because he didn’t want to let me pass him. It was hard. But you could hear it in his body, I knew he wanted to win badly, and after all, it was his birthday.”
With just 400-yards to go, Howerton said that the sound of Randerson’s heavy, labored breathing was the moment that he was waiting for. It was now or never.
“I’m not going to just let you have this, I’m going to make you earn it,” he yelled out to Randerson as he bridged back up.
With one last surge, Howerton said he made his final move, running a 5:40 pace per mile until he hit the finish line victorious with a time of 2:49:16.
Randerson finished just a few strides back, setting a new personal best for himself at 2:49:22, with Joe Catenzaro in third place at 3:14:10.
First for the women and competing in her first triathlon ever was Meigs in 3:14:30. Jennifer Real finished in second place at 3:24:14, with Captain Cook’s Erin Rene rounding out the women’s top three in 3:40:13.
The Ankrum family took top honors in the relay division with their combined time of 2:49:05.
“I’ve always wanted to win this race, it’s basically my favorite race on the island,” Howerton said. “I love Josiah and his enthusiasm for the sport and I think he has tons of potential. I have no doubt that he will turn pro someday – he is built for it, he has the desire for it, his family is into it, and I really like racing with him. And that’s why I pushed him hard. I know that he wants to be pushed hard to get better.”