For Holualoa’s Ben Torres, participating in Team Mango Racing events is all about having “a nice, local, low-key, no stress, just have fun” type of race on a lazy summer morning.
However, at Sunday’s Summer Sprint Triathlon featuring a ¼-mile swim in Kailua Bay, a 16-mile bike on Alii Drive followed by a 2.5-mile loop from the Kailua Pier to Target and back, his race was everything but “low-key.”
Torres shifted into high gear right from the beginning of the mass beach running start and never looked back. The 49-year-old electrician completely decimated the field after posting the morning’s fastest swim, bike, and run splits to win in a stellar time of 1 hour, 4 minutes and 8 seconds.
“It went good,” Torres said of his race. “I went too hard on the swim but everything else was nice. The swim and bike are my strengths, but the run is my weakness. I tend to go harder on the swim and bike to try and gain some time, but overall, it was fun and it was a good day.”
The win wasn’t his first Team Mango victory. Torres claimed the overall title at the grueling Captain Cook Challenge, held in South Kona this past April.
The triathlon featured a 1-mile swim in Kealakekua Bay followed by a gnarly 2-mile climb over the ancient Kaawaloa Trail path. Competitors then transitioned right into a challenging 28-mile hilly bike segment before finally finishing off with a hot and humid 4-mile run on the Old Government Road.
“This is only my second Team Mango event as the Captain Cook Challenge was my first,” he said. “But this was definitely easier — short and sweet.”
Following Torres in the men’s division were Adam Ankrum and Daniel Piccuta with their times of 1:12:17 and 1:18:08 respectively.
In the women’s race, Lori Montgomery was able to hold off 10-time Maui XTERRA World Championship finisher, Wendy Minor, for the win. Montgomery finished in a great time of 1:30:09.
“It feels wonderful,” Montgomery said. “It was a tough, competitive group but it was also a nice, doable event and it was a lot of fun.”
The 60-year-old Kailua-Kona resident is no stranger to podium finishes and tough competition as she is typically within the women’s top three at almost every Team Mango Racing event.
“I think while all the Team Mango courses are very different, they are still a lot of fun and they are pretty doable, not like an Ironman or anything,” Montgomery said. “I like short races and the camaraderie with everyone, it’s just great to see everyone having fun.”
While Minor, who finished as the second female with her time of 1:44:18, said that in addition to having fun, she had other intentions for her participation.
“I was thinking about XTERRA (Hawaii Island) while driving over here this morning,” said the 73-year-old Waimea resident. “I thought that it would be fun to put all three events together. The swim is not going to be that much longer than XTERRA and mountain biking is really my thing.”
The inaugural XTERRA Hawaii Island is set for Aug. 26 and will feature ½-mile rough water ocean swim beginning and ending at Hapuna Beach, followed by a grueling two-loop, 10-mile bike course traversing over Hapuna Beach Park State land, and then finishing off with a pulverizing 3.1-mile run at Hapuna Beach Resort.
Organized by Aloha Sports Kona, it will be the Big Island’s first-ever qualifier that will offer 25 slots to Maui’s XTERRA World Championships slated for October 28th.
“I’ve won nine-age group XTERRA World Championships and I’ve participated in a total of 10 World Championships,” Minor said. “I’ve only come in second once in my age group and first all the other times. XTERRA is my favorite thing.”
Torres will also join Minor at the start line.
“I’m signed up for XTERRA (Hawaii Island) but I don’t own a mountain bike and so I’ve got one on reserve at Bike Works,” Torres said with a smile. “So we’ll see.”
For event organizer Carl “Gecko” Koomoa, who spent the last two and half weeks in the French Alps conducting a bike guiding tour amidst July’s busy and exciting Tour de France, returning home to host the Summer Sprint Triathlon was like a walk in the park.
“People really like the short sprint distances so I think today’s event was very accommodating,” Koomoa said. “And it’s really chill compared to watching the Tour in person – that was unreal. To see the Tour’s organization and how they run things, it’s really an inspiration for the Team Mango events because it gives me a lot of ideas of how to organize on this end, and so it’s really been an eye-opener for me.
“The way the race shaped up this year, and to see all the top guns in contention for the race come flying up the hill with (Vincenzo) Nibali chasing them was like, wow! And Peter Sagan was always a joy to watch. But mainly, a lot of it with the Tour is the spectators. They truly made the energy of the event so unreal.”
Coming Up
Saturday: Hawaii Cycling Club presents the epic Sea To Stars cycling hill climb race featuring a 9,800 feet elevation gain starting from Waikoloa Beach Road and finishing near the Mauna Kea Visitor’s Center. Start time for the 48-mile climb is 8 a.m., with sign-in beginning at 7 a.m. at Bike Works Beach &Sports at the Queen’s Shops in Waikoloa. For more information contact Tom Solis at hccseatostars@yahoo.com
Sunday: Frozen Pea Productions presents the Pedal Till Ya Puke (6.5-miles), Run Till Ya Ralph (6.5-miles), Papa Pea Pedal or Plod (3.5-miles), and Mad Dog Mile on Kaloko Drive. The varying hill climb races will begin at 8:08 a.m., with all races free and open to road and mountain bikes, runners and walkers. For more info contact Peaman at 938-2296.