RECREATION
Perimeter race: Unique experience for runners
By Catherine E. Toth
Advertiser Staff Writer
it was a few minutes before 7 p.m. and already the anticipation was mounting.
Scott Morifuji • The Honolulu Advertiser
Hundreds of runners gathered at Kapi'olani Park on a cool Saturday night a few weeks ago, poised to start the most ambitious relay race in the state: A 134-mile overnight race along the perimeter of O'ahu.
A runner hits a lonely trail at the access road to Kaena Point. In this event, runners make their way through residential areas, down highways and along beaches that aren't set off by cones or markers.
Armed with bottled water and sweatpants, they listened to race directors explain the rules and go over final reminders before the annual O'ahu Perimeter Relay, which would take at least 14 hours, began.
Stay hydrated, stay on the course, be quiet in residential areas.
The runners nodded.
First-leg runners took their stance at the starting line. The gun went off. The race had begun.
(There were starts at 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11 p.m., depending on how long the teams figured to take to complete the race.)
The course started at Kapi'olani Park, going counter-clockwise through Kahala, around Sandy Beach toward the Windward coast. By sunbreak the teams arrived at Ka'ena Point, the only unpaved leg of the race. By mid-day on Sunday, runners made their way down the Wai'anae coast, through Pearl Harbor, down Nimitz Highway, through downtown, before arriving back at Kapi'olani Park.
It's a stretch of road that stretches the imagination.
It's possible, but not meant for everyone.
Not for beginners
"This is definitely not for beginners," said Michael Whelan, race director and volunteer with the Mid-Pacific Road Runners, the group that sponsors the perimeter race. "It takes a seasoned endurance runner. And it's more than just running."
The physical aspect of the race is obvious: Seven teammates run 134 miles in shifts. Legs could be as short as two miles to as long as six. By the end of the race, each team member has run approximately 19 miles, or almost a marathon.
"Most people say it's harder than running a marathon," Whelan said.
Though you run fewer miles, the breaks between legs make the perimeter race so difficult. Muscles tire or tighten. Runners are sleep-deprived and temperamental.
"It's a real test of your spirit and physical ability," Whelan said. "It's an incredible experience."
But most finishers — or survivors — rave about the race, calling it "unique," "a personal achievement," "a bonding experience."
"In its own unique way, it's the most interesting race of the year," said 81-year-old Bill Beauchamp, who competed last year and helps organize the race. "People think it's the most fun running experience of the year. I think we get more big grins out of the Perimeter Relay and more morale-building among teams."
The O'ahu Perimeter Relay officially began in 1970, though the first relay around the island was held two years before that. Sailors of the New Zealand ship Blackpool, docked in Honolulu, challenged local runners to a race around O'ahu "for blood and money." Teams from the Army, Navy and Marines, as well as two from the Mid-Pacific Road Runners, took up the challenge. The race started at 3 a.m. at Pearl Harbor, with the first runner crossing the finish line exactly 15 hours later.
Some things haven't changed.
Today, about 75 percent of the teams that participate are military. And the race course, though improved over the years, still runs along the island's perimeter.
"The course has been refined to reflect the true perimeter," Whelan said, adding the number of miles has increased slightly.
Memorize your route
Unlike the marathon or other long-distance races, the perimeter relay doesn't close down highways or require sponge-toting volunteers along the course.
Runners make their way through residential areas, down highways and along beaches that aren't set off by cones or markers. You have to memorize your route and meet your teammates at the next hand-off point miles away.
Sometimes you're running by yourself, along a dark stretch of road, in the middle of the night. Dogs bark furiously at you. Motion-activated lights switch on. Wearing those safety vests and flashing lights suddenly makes sense.
One runner lost his way along Nimitz Highway this year, costing his team about an hour. His frantic teammates finally found him wandering around the Kalihi Kai Fire Station.
Participation on the rise
The perimeter race has seen its share of disasters. Last year, major torrential rains plagued the Windward legs of the course. It wouldn't stop pouring; the runners persevered. About 20 minutes after the last team made it around Makapu'u, a rockslide closed the entire highway.
"We just squeaked by," Whelan recalled.
Participation has grown more than 15 percent over the past 10 years, Whelan said. This year's race had 132 finishing teams involving or more than 900 runners.
The race lures runners of all ages and experience.
Last year featured the oldest team, aptly named the Old Geezers, of which Beauchamp was a member. With an average age of 76, the team finished the race in just over 26 hours. Another team had members in their early teens. (Those still in high school need to have experience in endurance running to participate.)
"Part of it is the teamwork, part is just the experience with the other runners," said Beauchamp, president of the Mid-Pacific Road Runners. "It's a challenge."
Though the race is long and exhausting, Whelan said there aren't nearly as many injuries as you would think. Only about 2 percent of the teams don't finish with all seven runners.
"That's pretty amazing," Whelan said.
After all, just finishing the race is an accomplishment in itself.
• • •
Course records
Men
Mushroom Track Club: 12:21:00 (1990)
Women
Mushroom Track Club Quick Chicks: 15:31:36 (2001)
Mixed
Running Room Mushroom: 13:00:27 (1993)
2002 results
Men's Open
1, Team 5—13:05:15
2, Team 27—15:08:12
3, Team 7—16:07:26
4, Team 74—16:11:28
5, Team 65—16:48:14
6, Team 79—16:50:33
7, Team 42—16:59:11
8, Team 11—18:01:22
9, Team 47—18:39:27
10, Team 63—19:43:01
11, Team 122—19:47:08
12, Team 12—21:14:36
13, Team 25—23:15:00
Men's military
1, Team 23—15:01:33
2, Team 39—15:12:25
3, Team 18—15:19:06
4, Team 21—15:42:32
5, Team 91—15:49:36
6, Team 83—15:52:11
7, Team 60—15:53:48
8, Team 9—16:13:49
9, Team 49—16:15:45
10, Team 87—16:19:51
11, Team 129—16:20:59
12, Team 34—16:49:59
13, Team 51—17:03:14
14, Team 111—17:06:47
15, Team 136—17:08:09
Men's masters
1, Team 85—18:01:01
2, Team 16—18:38:30
3, Team 88—18:47:46
4, Team 118—19:46:49
Women's Open
1, Team 77—19:14:18
2, Team 127—21:37:06
Women's Military
1, Team 106—18:24:05
2, Team 69—20:53:15
Mixed Open
1, Team 58—15:34:35
2, Team 132—16:16:31
3, Team 20—16:26:38
4, Team 53—18:12:41
5, Team 71—18:16:50
6, Team 13—18:20:18
7, Team 138—18:21:54
8, Team 4—19:02:28
9, Team 6—19:13:46|
10, Team 105—19:50:11
11, Team 29—19:51:26
12, Team 78—19:54:25
13, Team 24—19:59:54
14, Team 44—20:21:24
15, Team 31—20:58:38.
Mixed military
1, Team 126—15:47:54
2, Team 10—16:04:58
3, Team 52—16:32:43
4, Team 66—17:19:03
5, Team 61—17:21:59
6, Team 32—17:28:37
7, Team 107—17:46:28
8, Team 19—18:20:11
9, Team 48—18:53:31
10, Team 76—19:01:30
11, Team 90—19:06:01
12, Team 120—19:19:40
13, Team 5—19:27:11
14, Team 56—19:27:53
15, Team 115—19:32:32
Mixed masters
1, Team 50—17:59:39
2, Team 8—18:33:51.
