It was the hope that by now — a year after COVID-19 forced the cancellation of all organized sporting events on the island — families and young athletes would be back at Kaiakeakua Beach to participate in a Peaman Biathlon event, but that hasn’t happened yet.
Instead, a whole year has passed and still no word on when the popular swim-runs will return to the sports calendar.
The monthly Peaman Biathlon events have been a staple on the Big Island calendar for the last 33 years offering a free, fun, family-oriented swim in Kailua Bay followed by a short run on Alii Drive. The event is geared for all fitness levels where participants range from beginners to professional athletes with several divisions offered to include just about everyone.
The last biathlon event to occur was the Zoomin’ Zak Plunge and Plod Biathlon — a ½ mile swim and 3.9-mile run held on March 1, 2020.
“We are hoping to check back with DLNR (Department of Land and Natural Resources) in July and find out when they will be issuing permits for group activities again,” said Peaman, Frozen Peas Productions event organizer. “I am told they won’t be giving out any permits to anyone until July so as soon as we find out what month we can begin, our initial goal would be to have a Keiki only event — the Lavakids PeaWee event.”
Peaman said he would like to do a short course 200-yard swim, 1-mile run for those aged 18 and under. That way it would be a smaller group, allowing participants, parents and volunteers time to get reacquainted with the sport, but in a manageable setting minimizing the concern of people gathering and hanging out.
“We just want to follow all of the responsible guidelines and what the State and County ordinances are at that time,” Peaman said. “If they give us a cap like a hundred people, then that would be really simple to maintain because we rarely get a 100 people to do the short PeaWee Course. So, it just really depends on what rules are in place. Again, for right now, it is just waiting to hear when they will allow groups events to happen and when they will issue permits.”
Peaman added that he was actually cleared and given permits by DLNR to hold his biathlon event for the months of November and December, but then decided otherwise.
“Mainly because I didn’t have enough volunteers in our key group of organizers who were willing to putting it on,” said the four-time Ironman World Championship finisher. “We were given the green light for November and December, then they stopped giving out permits in January. We will just have to see to what pans out in July.
“You can have Plan A, B, and C, but there are no guarantees. Last year we paid insurance for the entire year but we only had three events out of 13. You don’t get a refund and we insured something that didn’t happen. When we find out we can have events, then we will need to apply for our event 30 days in advance, and then you also need to have insurance. And that is for every single event. It’s not easy when you have to do it 13 times.”
Peaman, who has been open about his personal health issues over the years like suffering through ten concussions and at one point, weighing in at 80 pounds on his six-foot frame, said he is currently looking for a volunteer to help as the “Peaman Events Insurance &Permit Coordinator.”
“People always come up to me and ask how they can help,” he said. “So, I’m putting it out there. This is where I need the most help. We need a volunteer or volunteers, who would be able to secure and deal with the insurance policy and also dealing with event permits. This is what I’m really needing help with in order to keep Peaman Events going.
“Up until now, it’s been on me. Dealing with the insurance and permits is not that hard — it’s actually pretty easy, but it’s just a matter of time. I don’t have the time to do all the steps toward putting on an event. But before we really get up and running again, we really need to get some new volunteers.”
When asked what’s it been like to not have his monthly fix of fun and fitness, Peaman didn’t hesitate to answer.
“I miss it. That’s my social life. I miss seeing everybody as it’s always been a motivating factor for my mental and physical health. When you have a purpose to something you want to accomplish each month and something that brings you great joy, there’s nothing better for your mental, physical and spiritual health. So, it’s been hard to not have that boost and to not have that goal each month.
“Having it start back as a PeaWee event will be a good launching pad to get the kids moving and feeling like they have a goal to work toward — not just for training and exercising. So, there is much to look forward once we get the green light.”