Runnin’ with Rani: A night under the lights for Big Island Cyclocross

Race No. 2 in the Big Island Cyclocross series returned to the Old Airport soccer fields and after weeks of anticipation, hype and a bit of smack talk amongst competitors and spectators alike, Sunday’s night event did not disappoint.

Nearly 30 riders took to their two wheeled weapons of choice, selecting among a variety of cyclocross, mountain or modified road bikes to navigate over some steep and technical terrain featuring a few hilly run-ups, sharp S-turns, barricade obstacle jumps and yes, entering and exiting the Circle of Death.

“It’s exciting to finally get Race No. 2 down in the books,” said race organizer, Vern Sekafetz, before the start of the event. “I think this is probably a little more of a technical course than the last time. We have a few more steeper run ups and the course on the field has got a circular pattern to it that includes jumping over several barricades. We call it the Circle of Death.

“The important part for each rider is knowing how to pace themselves as it can become a bit confusing at times. With the Circle of Death, riders will need to circle back out the way they came in so yes, it can definitely become confusing especially when trying to judge where everyone else is at.”

Sekafetz added that organizing an event that begins at sunset and under the stadium lights of the Old Airport soccer field offers the community something different on the race calendar. Most evident was having more new people turn out and lots of spectators present to heckle, whistle, and ring cowbells to cheer for those in the race.

“We definitely got a few more athletic people out here, and we also have our returning top two, Todd (Marohnic) and Dave (Matthiessen), who I would probably put my money on,” Sekafetz said. “But it’s hard to judge because we also have a few very skilled triathletes here as well like Jose (Graca) and Kristin (Old). But who knows what that means in the form of Cyclocross.”

As the sun began to slowly transition the sky into a spectacular hue of pink, orange and yellow, Sekafetz sounded the race horn for the multi-lap course that would conclude after 35 minutes. With the winner being determined by who could complete the most laps within the designated time frame, the race for first was certainly up for grabs.

Once the lead group jostling for position finally settled down over the first lap, Sekafetz’s early prediction rang true as Marohnic, Matthiessen and Graca separated themselves as the top three men.

Marohnic won the first race in the Big Island Cyclocross series in March with Matthiessen taking a close second. While Graca, an elite Ironman triathlete competing in his first Cyclocross race, entered as the dark horse.

“I decided to pace myself like as if I’m in an Ironman — not start out too hard but go at a moderate pace until I felt good enough to pick it up a bit,” Graca said of his strategy. “I didn’t really know who to watch but after a few rounds, I noticed who was the number one and two guys were and I just tried to keep up with them.”

Graca, who was born and raised in Brazil and currently training for Ironman Coeur d’Alene slated for Aug. 27, said that after studying how Marohnic and Matthiessen were jumping over the barricades for a few laps, he decided that it was time to attack.

“I noticed that they would sort of stop, then carry their bikes over,” the 42-year old Kailua-Kona resident said. “So I decided that maybe it was better for me to drop my bike before (getting to the barricade) and use my momentum to keep going over (the barricade). It worked as I was able to pass them and then I noticed I opened a gap from them by doing that. So every time I did that, I gained a couple of seconds, and after a few laps, the gap grew wider.”

Meanwhile, Marohnic said that his plan was similar to the last time, “Don’t start too hard and try not to make too many mistakes.” Marohnic added that he knew if he went out too hard in the beginning then the possibility of riding sloppy later on would cost him a lot of time.

While his plan worked for the first half of the race, Graca suddenly came flying by which placed Marohnic and Matthiessen on defense.

“At that point I was fine sitting on him until we came into one of the climbs,” Marohnic said. “Somebody got between us and then I couldn’t make the hill because they didn’t make the hill and that’s when the gap formed. Then I got plugged up at the next gate behind someone who was walking it and so the gap got a little bigger. After that I could never close it, so I just resigned myself into staying in my position.”

Matthiessen, who possibly had the most Cyclocross experience of anyone out on the course and the runner-up at the last Cyclocross race held in March, said that he decided to let Marohnic take the lead in the beginning to see how he was feeling.

“Then I saw Jose come up from behind,” the 45-year old said with a laugh. “I could feel him breathing on us, and then I just couldn’t hold him off. He’s just too fast.”

After 35-minutes, the final bell lap rang and with both hands raised in the air, Graca claimed his first Big Island Cyclocross victory with a completion of 12 laps and a winning margin of 17 seconds. Marohnic and Matthiessen followed in second and third respectively, each also completing 12 laps.

“I am surprised with my win but very happy,” Graca said with a wide smile. “But it was a bit challenging because I didn’t know how to do sharp S-turns at a high intensity as with Ironman, everything is long distance and going straight.”

In the women’s race for first, Kristin Old held the lead from the beginning of the race to the final bell lap, winning her first Cyclocross race having completed nine laps.

“That was really difficult, but at the same time, fun and different,” Old said. “It was nice to have a different kind of challenge in this town and it definitely surpassed my expectations. It was intense, your heart rate is maxed out the entire time and you are trying to pass people and people are trying to pass you. It was so exhilarating!”

And everyone agreed that the most impressive competitor out on the night course was 7-year-old Whistler Nelson. The Kahakai Elementary School second grader not only proved that he can hang with the best of them, but that he also has a bright future in Cyclocross. Nelson finished his night completing six laps with his dad, Nick.

So what did competitors think of having a race at night under the lights?

“It was awesome,” Matthiessen said. “It really set the atmosphere. More people came out yelling and heckling. And the course was great. There were lots of turns so you are really digging in on each turn and it was super fast. Just a lot of fun.”