However two seconds later it dawned on me that behind Isabella was Ryotaro, and behind him Patrick and Erick, and behind them Katie & Bree – and the rest of Team Hawaii! It was no time to start daydreaming about running like an elite Kenyan!! Luckily Steve from the Windward Training Freaks was cheering right on the corner of Diamond Head Road before the final hill – and that snapped me out of cruise-mode. When finally the road gave away to the tiniest of a rolling downhill, the first chaser caught me: Isabella! Making it look easy, Isabella floated past and for a moment I tried to match her stride – an attempt to take advantage of a Kenyan’s slipstream. With the rising sun beaming straight into my eyes it was difficult to take in much more than the immediate road in front. I blurted something out to Katie in an attempt to rally us both, the reply was: ‘6 minutes to the top’! And it was such a long six minutes. Instead I took a mouthful of Gatorade and then grabbed a cup of water to pour over myself before the real hard work of the race began. In a smart move Katie passed one to me but I knew my stomach was not up to digesting even a few hundred calories of simple suagrs. Right before the climb we ran past an aid-station where Katie grabbed a handful of gels. Guess which mile was up Monsarrat with 155ft of climbing from sea level? Katie and I had both completed training runs along Monsarrat, on separate occasions, but there is nothing quite like a hill on race day to take the wind out of your sails! For those who haven’t had the pleasure of running this long, climbing road, I’ll allow the splits to do the talking: Mile 9, 6:23/ mile Mile 10, 7:12/ mile Mile 11, 6:04/ mile. The final part of the Hapalua course contains the notorious Monsarrat Avenue, which leads runners around the back of Diamond Head. Katie and I were working together by this point, trying to maintain the upbeat pace we had set as best as we could, whilst giving snippets of encouragement to each other -just like Shalane and Amy, relatively speaking of course… However, those shared miles were a highlight of the day for both of us. There was so much support from the pack it was impossible to acknowledge all the shouts & cheers but it really spurred us on and kept our spirits up. The middle third of the Hapalua route gives almost everyone running in the main half marathon a chance to see the chasers and Team Hawaii out in front. Bree, Katie & I ran as a trio almost glued at the hip for the first 4 miles, but then as we left China Town and began to loop back towards Ala Moana Boulevard, Bree let up on the pace and yelled: ‘ Just go girls’! Before we knew it Katie and I dropped a 6:05 min/mile and were alone on the ‘out-n-back’ section of the course taking us on the return leg to Waikiki. From the get-go Katie and Bree set the perfect pace, and even though it was just slightly faster than my goal pace of 6:20-23 min/miles (at 6:18, 6:14, 6:22) I simply decided to go with it and stay as relaxed as possible, for as long as possible as the course took us through Waikiki towards China Town. Starting line on Sunday April 10 th, in front of the Duke Kahanamoku statue in Waikiki – 5:43am – and we we’re off. Slightly awkward photo opp with the gracious Isabella Ochichi on the group shake out run Loads of time, right? Well maybe if Patrick Makau’s half marathon PR wasn’t 58:52 and mine was at most 1:15, or something like that… Previously I’d run 1:24:43 on the Hapalua course, and was interested to see if I could improve on that time this year. I was in Group D with Bree Wee and Katie O’Neil and we had a 17 minute head start ahead of the top two men, Patrick and Erick. The format of the chase is basically akin to a handicap race, when the fastest runners start last and have to try to catch everyone who started ahead of them. This year four elite runners were the official chasers: Isabella Ochichi, Ryotaro Otani, Erick Kibet Kogo and Patrick Makau. If I asked you to name one trait that elite runners all have in common my guess is that you would probably say: “They make running fast look easy!” But isn’t that why we adoring non-elites enjoy nothing more than seeing top athletes in motion – putting grace into action? It’s one reason why in the last few years, when I have been asked to participate in ‘ The Chase’ section of ‘ The Hapalua’, Hawaii’s biggest half marathon, I have resolutely said YES!! Not only is The Chase a chance to line up in front of and attempt to run with some of the world’s fastest runners but it’s also a great opportunity to be included in Team Hawaii, which consists of 24 local runners from across the islands.
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