J
ust ask Kona’s Penn
Henderson or Kym
Kiser about the
Big Island’s notorious
6.5-mile Kaloko hill
climb, both will say it’s a
downright brutal grind
from start to finish.
“I always tell people,
there is no easy way up
that road,” Henderson
said. “Whether you go
at maximum effort or
half effort it’s still going
to feel harder than any-
thing you’ve ever done.”
Kiser had a similar
response. “It’s a hard
race no matter what.
I’ve done the shorter
distance, I’ve ran it, I’ve
mountain biked it, and
road biked it. But no
matter what, there is no
easy way to get up this
hill. And even if you are
going easy, it’s still hard.”
With both Henderson
and Kiser being multiple
King and Queen of the
Mountain Champions for
this merciless beast of a
climb, their forewarn-
ings shouldn’t be taken
lightly especially when
the race is appropriate-
ly named Pedal Till Ya
Puke, Run Till Ya Ralph.
After 25 years of hold-
ing this sadistic chal-
lenge, you’d think ath-
letes would get the mes-
sage and stay far away –
opting for a more enjoy-
able Sunday morning by
riding and running on
more gentle terrain such
as Queen Kaahumanu
Highway or Alii Drive.
But there is something
uniquely mysterious and
attractive about taking
on such a formidable
challenge that draws
dozens of athletes from
all fitness levels for the
annual gathering at the
bottom of Kaloko Drive.
And only then, as they
gaze upon the impend-
ing steep gradient of the
road does reality sink
in as they ponder upon
an impossible ques-
tion. “Will I make it?”
Over the years, athletes
have been given a choice
of how best to conquer
the climb, whether to use
a road bike, mountain
bike, triathlon bike, or
just plain old running
shoes. One must also
consider the brutal
SPORTS
FRIDAY, AUGUST 7, 2015 | WEST HAWAII TODAY
ONLINE
| WESTHAWAIITODAY.COM/SPORTS
RANI HENDERSON
RUNNIN’WITH RANI
Pedal Till
Ya Puke,
Run Till
Ya Ralph
Three-time champion Kym Kiser is all smiles
as she makes her way up the 6.5-mile climb on
Kaloko Drive
.
HAWAII SPORT EVENTS/
HAWAII SPORT EVENTS
Coming Up
Sunday
:
The
28th Annual Alii
Challenge, a 6-mile
open water ocean
swim will begin at
7:30a.m.inKeauhou
Bay and finish at
Kamakahonu Beach
next to the Kailua
Pier. Race divi-
sions will include
Individual (M/F),
two-person relay
teams (M/F/mixed),
Youth (under 20),
Open (20-44 years),
and Masters (45-65
years). Onsite reg-
istration and check-
in time for this free
event is 6:30 a.m.
For more info con-
tact Tom Sena at
tomsena1@gmail.
com.
HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL
SOFTBALL
Preseason provides early
tests for BIIF squads
Football is back, and
for BIIF teams around
the island, it’s starting in
a hurry against some stiff
competition.
Five BIIF squads will
be in action on Saturday.
Kealakehe plays host
to reigning MIL Division
I champion Maui High.
Honokaa welcomes OIA
opponent Waialua.
Three teams are on
the road in Keaau,
Kamehameha-Hawaii
and
Waiakea.
The
Cougars
will
like-
ly face the stiffest road
test against last year’s
Division II state run-
ner-up
Lahainaluna.
Both the Kamehameha-
Hawaii Warriors and
Waiakea Warriors will be
on Oahu. Kamehameha
takes on Kalaheo, while
Waiakea will do battle
with Moanalua.
After an 0-9 season
that saw the Dragons
outscored 305-21 two
years ago, Honokaa start-
ed to move in the right
direction in 2014 under
new head coach Morgan
“Hana” Hanohano. The
D-II Dragons managed
two wins and should
continue that gradual,
upward trend.
The roster passes the
eye test with solid size,
depth at skill positions
and added experience
for the coaching staff
and players. A presea-
son schedule that fea-
tures games against
Waialua and St. Francis
on Aug. 22 will also help
Honokaa start out the
season on the right foot
— a benefit the team was
not granted a year ago.
“Last year, the hurri-
cane canceled our only
preseason game against
Kaimuki,”
Hanohano
said. “We will really be
using these games to see
what we have to work on
and who will step up.”
BIIF D-I runner-up
Kealakehe is looking to
rebound from a subpar
4-6 campaign of a year
ago. It is the second season
in a row the Waveriders
BY J.R. DE GROOTE
WEST HAWAII TODAY
Honokaa players run through some drills in preparation for a preseason
contest against OIA opponent Waialua earlier this week
.
RICK WINTERS/
WEST
HAWAII TODAY
PRESEASON SCHEDULE
Page 3B
THRICE AS NICE
SEE
FOOTBALL
PAGE 3B
SEE
RANI
PAGE 2B
KONA GOLD
MAKES IT
THREE IN A
ROW AT STATE
TOURNAMENT
BY RICKWINTERS
WEST HAWAII TODAY
The experienced Kona
Gold softball team con-
tinued to flex itsmuscle in
the Hawaii State Senior
Softball Tournament by
claiming its third con-
secutive state champion-
ship at Old Kona Airport
Park Saturday afternoon.
Kona Gold defeated the
Honomu Rockets 10-8 to
claim the Division A title
at the 40th edition of the
annual tourney, and they
were able to do it on their
home field.
“This year was a big
bonus for us and a team
effort,” Kona Gold play-
er-coach Bob Fitzgerald
said. “This is a great tour-
nament run by the senior
program and the compe-
tition was great. The Big
Island was able to finish
1-2-3 (in the A division)
and that is a big kudos
to how we play on this
island. It is real nice for
us to beat the Oahu and
Maui teams.”
However, the day was
not without its contro-
versy. Originally, Kona
Gold was scheduled to
take on Kona Legends in
the championship game.
However, the Honomu
Rockets thought they
deserved to have a shot
at the title based on the
current tiebreaker rules.
The
three
teams
had the same win-loss
records and after both
tiebreakers were looked
at — run differential and
least runs against — the
Rockets and Legends
were still tied. The rules
stated a coin toss would
decide which teamwould
play Kona Gold. Kona
Legends conceded the
toss, allowing Honomu
to slip into the title game.
The title game was
a good one with the
Fred Costanzo takes a swing in the championship game against the
Honomu Rockets
.
RICK WINTERS/
WEST HAWAII TODAY
SEE
SOFTBALL
PAGE 3B
