The atmosphere was electric at Sunday’s Peamania as a crowd of 120 eager pea-ticipants gathered at Kaiakeakua Beach to celebrate 31-years of Peaman Biathlon events.
It was the largest turnout of the year for the monthly swim-run, with Sunday’s anniversary race featuring a ¼-mile swim and 2-mile run going clockwise, followed by another ¼-mile swim and 2-mile run in the counterclockwise direction.
“Your right, this event marks 31-years, I almost forgot about that,” laughed Peaman, who was busy getting things organized ten minutes before the start. “It feels really good though. And what we’ve been seeing over the last couple of years is that there are more kids now. It’s just great seeing more young kids from teenagers down, and to be able to get them to come out and exercise is like really uplifting.”
The first ever Peaman event was a 1.3-mile swim in Kailua Bay — the Post Pig Out Plunge — that began on Nov. 29, 1987, the Sunday after Thanksgiving.
“What’s most memorable for me about that race would be looking back, I can’t believe that started all of this,” Peaman gestured with his hands. “But at the time, I just liked racing and not much has changed since.”
But what has dramatically changed over the last few years is the elaborate post-race raffle that offers Keiki some of the best toy giveaways around.
From drones to Legos, to motorized cars and trucks, beanie babies and dolls, and even a three-foot toy alligator, it almost feels like an early Christmas for the near 50 kids who participate every month, with Peaman happily playing the Santa Claus role.
“I’m the biggest kid of them all,” said Peaman, who coincidentally wore a holiday green BioAstin shirt. “Ninety-percent of the prizes is self-funded by me, but Big Island Honda has also helped us for many years. We are never too old to be kids and getting a toy makes everyone happy. Anytime you can make someone happy it makes the world a better place. And if it takes getting a prize to be that little motivation to get them to come out and exercise, then that’s way better than them staying home or just being on the computer all day.”
Peaman added that Keiki do need to participate in order to be included in the raffle, and most of the toy prizes offered are functional in one way or another.
“Most of the prizes are something that encourages the kids to use their brain a little, like Legos or a Lite Bright, or something that moves their body, like a Frisbee or football, or something that can bring the family together like a board game,” Peaman said. “With every prize given out, I know that it will be put to good use.”
Class reunion
Sunday’s Peamania also turned out to be a class reunion of sorts as some legendary names in the Peaman Biathlon circuit returned after a long hiatus, to test their fitness and partake in all the crazy fun.
From Kris Kiser, owner of Kiser Motorcycles, to Big Island Running Company’s Jason Braswell, and even Harry “The Hammer” Yoshida, all have achieved Hall of Fame status when it come to Peaman events.
“Yeah, it’s been awhile,” laughed Yoshida who was readying his transition area. “I’m here because it’s fun and to see if I can do a little swim and run as I might be doing the Triptophan (Turkey Day Triathlon) this week. I haven’t been running at all so we’ll see.”
Another reunion was Team BioAstin as it was their first appearance together since 2017. Agnes Prehn and Gabriella Markova planned to compete as a relay, with Edgar “Eddie-O” Ombac also present to offer them moral support while donating BioAstin products to the event.
“I am here as part of Team BioAstin because we love to support this races and this is a big one for a lot of people as it is everyone’s favorite — you swim-run, then swim-run again,” Ombac said. “And we also brought down BioAstin products to give away to all of the participants.
Ombac said he remembered meeting Peaman for the first time when he moved to the Big Island over 20-years ago, and eventually began participating in the monthly biathlon.
“I was star struck the first time I got to meet Peaman,” said the 2015 Ironman World Championship finisher. “And it’s how I got into (triathlons). It’s very local, it’s mom and pop, very grassroots. I love running races put on by runners, triathlon races put on by triathletes, and multisport races put on by multisport athletes. So Peaman is like a legend when it comes that.
“And now he’s a BioAstin Ambassador and so we are stoked to support him and his events because he does so much for the community. I mean, how can you not support Peaman?”
The Race
Overcast skies and tranquil waters of Kailua Bay set the stage for some ferocious action at Sunday’s double biathlon.
As is the norm with every Peaman Biathon event, Kona Aquatic swimming standout, Aiden Ankrum, was the first to exit Kaiakeakua Beach to tag his brother and running relay partner, Alec Ankrum, who happened to be this year’s BIIF Boys Cross-Country Champion.
Then came a slew of arms thrashing and splashing about as a large pack of biathletes ran up the cement stairs, then onto Alii Drive for the two-mile sprint.
The first individual to return back to the Kailua Pier after the first round was Vaclav Seifert, who quickly removed his running shoes and grabbed his goggles to start his second lap of the ¼-mile swim, with Kailua-Kona’s Josiah Randerson right on his heels.
However, Randerson’s speedy swim split placed him in the lead running up the cement stairs before charging down Alii Drive for his second 2-mile run, and forced Seifert to initiate a hard chase.
In the end, it was Seifert who had the faster turnover to win his first Peamania event in a fabulous time of 36 minutes and 56 seconds. Not too far behind was Randerson, who claimed silver in a time of 37:27, with Chris Blick securing bronze in a time of 39:13.
Noe Vargas won the women’s division in a great time of 44:47 with her sister, Kela, taking second place in 46:41. Kailua-Kona’s Mercedes DeCarli rounded out the women’s top three in a time of 48:07.
The Ankrum brothers claimed the Peamaniac double loop relay division with their combined time of 34:22, with Marta Ciancio winning the double 2-mile run in a great time of 45:05.
The long course individual race also featured a one-loop division with Kris Kiser winning in a time of 23:52. Austin Randerson topped the tw0-mile run in 15:04, and Alex Duncan claimed the ¼-mile swim in 8:57.
The LavaKids PeaWee Maniac division also featured a double-loop and single-loop for the 200-yard swim and 1-mile run.
Max McCloskey won the PeaWee Maniac double-loop in a great time of 27:26, Spencer Laux topped the double-run in 24:59, with Jana Seifertova and Jan/Lida Seifert winning the double relay in a time of 32:44.
The PeaWee Maniac single-loop was won by Elisa Childers in a speedy time of 12:21, while Brandon “Wildman” Curry continued his winning streak in the one-mile run division with his time of 7:41.
The single-loop relay division was topped by the fabulous canine duo, Makoa Pup Cobb (swim) and Kualua K9 Cobb (run), with their combined time of 32:40.
Next up will be Peaman’s last swim-run event of the year, the Doc Ferren Hall of Fame Biathlon, slated for Sunday, Dec. 30.
Big Island Time Trial Championships
The long anticipated Big Island Time Trial Championships held on Saturday at the bottom of Kaiminani Drive on Queen Kaahumanu did not disappoint as only 21-seconds separated the top three riders.
The cycling event, hosted by the Hawaii Cycling Club, featured a 19.5-mile out-and-back course, with 34 riders starting individually on 30-second intervals.
After the pedal pushing, maxed out heart rates and quad-burning was over and done with, it was Holualoa’s Ben Torres, who ended up being the fastest of the morning to take the overall win in a blazing time of 45 minutes and 24 seconds – averaging a speed of 25.77 miles per hour.
Hilo’s teen triathlete, Gabriel Low, kept it close by being only 10-seconds back to claim silver in 45:34, while Jens Heycke held onto bronze with his time of 45:37.
The women’s race witnessed Ninole’s Jennifer Real, who recently finished the XTERRA World Championships a few weeks ago, win her second time trial of the year in a speedy time of 54:18. Rosie Spicer was next in 57:15, with Greta Friesen taking third in 1:07:24.