WAIKOLOA — When Bree Brown toes the starting line for Lavaman Waikoloa with 1,500-plus other athletes this morning, she can already mark it down as a victory, even if she doesn’t add to her record eight wins by the end of the afternoon.
Just four months ago, Brown broke and damaged ligaments in her leg after falling during the XTERRA Trail Run World Championship on Oahu.
The injury not only put the former professional triathlete on the shelf for her primary goal of competing in HURT100 — a daunting 100-mile trail run on Oahu that was just seven weeks away at the time — but it also sidelined one of the most active people on the Big Island.
For Brown, the injury meant a complete shift in lifestyle, going from running anywhere from 75-100 miles a week, to being bedridden, unable to walk.
“It was hard,” Brown said. “I had to surrender. That was my key word for healing. I had to let go of hopes, goals and plans. That was making me suffer more than the pain.”
One by one, Wee reluctantly crossed events off her list. But with a grueling physical therapy schedule and a fierce desire to get back on her feet, it started to become a reality that Brown could potentially make her comeback at Lavaman — one step, or wiggle, at a time.
“At one point, I couldn’t even wiggle my toes. It was frustrating. But I had an incredible physical therapist who challenged me,” Brown said, referencing the work of Jacob Pobre. “He never gave me baby steps. They were giants steps, but he believed in me that I could do it. There’s no doubt, I wouldn’t be here without him.”
For Brown, Lavaman seemed like the only appropriate race to make her comeback into the competitive circuit.
“For a first race back, there’s no better race than Lavaman. It was really the start of everything for me,” said Brown, who recorded the first win of her career at Lavaman Waikoloa. “Coming from not even being able to walk to being on the start line — I’m just so happy.”
When at her best, Brown has been untouchable in Waikoloa. The last two years she’s been more than six minutes better than the next closest woman on the course, which features a 1.5K swim, 40K bike and 10K run.
While Brown’s not limiting the possibilities of what she will be capable of, she understands this time around will not be like her other dozen starts at the race. Brown just started jogging March 1, and has been in the water less than a month.
“My doctor told me, ‘I’m going to let you do this, but you have to be OK not being up front,’” Brown said. “I don’t know what to expect, but I’d rather be wobbling on the course than sitting on the sideline.
“And no matter what, everything will be a new PR with screws in my leg.”
Brown will compete in the “Open” field, which is reserved for elite athletes looking to claim the overall honors at the event. She’ll be accompanied by six other female athletes, including Rani Henderson, who has finished third the last two years.
On the men’s side, it’s many of the usual suspects when it comes to the 14 participants, with Ben Williams back to defend his crown.
Last year, Williams, who lives on Oahu, won the race in thrilling fashion, outrunning local triathlete Jose Graca in the finishing chute with a time of 1:56:28. It was his second win in Waikoloa.
Graca, who tumbled in the sand down the final stretch, finished just 11 seconds back and returns in hopes of claiming his first Lavaman title.
Among the other names to watch on the start list are Kona’s David Wild, who always finds himself in contention, and Alaska’s Jason Lamoreaux, who won the race in 2017.