Abrupt, maybe, but when Chin's coach is also her husband, Richard, he isn't hesitant about telling her what to do.

"It helps the marriage relationship because you are spending so much time together doing something you love," Joni said. "Of course, when you have someone yelling at you, it's not as much fun."

She hopes the instructions come in handy at next week's USA Masters Outdoor Track and Field Championships, the national championship for athletes 30 years and older, which is being held in Hawai'i for the first time.

The Chins, of St. Louis Heights, are two of nearly 60 Hawai'i athletes who will be among the 800 athletes from around the world at the University of Hawai'i's Cooke Field Thursday to Aug. 7. Additional field events will take place at UH's soccer practice field.

Track events range from the 100-meter dash to the 10,000-meter run, with field events including jumps and throws.

Former Olympians — including Hawai'i's Duncan Macdonald — and world record holders are participating.

"They are going to see the finest masters, older athletes, bar maybe a few not showing up," Richard, 46, said. "These guys run as fast or faster than the high school guys. I'm talking about the 60-year-olds."

Richard, who is running the 100, 200, 400, 4x100 and 4x400, has doubled as Joni's coach and husband since she started training in January.

"Coaching my wife is not tough, because she does it," Richard said. "I'm the hard one. I'm kind of harsh, like, 'Would you quit talking and just do it?' "

Joni, 45, a self-described "non-athlete" who was the "last one picked on any team in high school," dropped 15 pounds since beginning training.

It's also helping her lose her shyness, helpful when she has to compete against men when there are no other women to race against.

"When you're young, you always worry about what other people think," she said. "As you mature, you don't care any more. It's for yourself and your health."

She is running the 100-meter dash at the nationals, after dropping her time from around 30 seconds to 18 seconds officially (she has run 16 seconds hand-timed).

"I think the 100-year-old guy (Erwin Jaskulski) had faster times than me," Joni, an Avon representative, said. "I'm not good, but I'm way faster than I ever was."

She got involved with track in last year's Aloha State Games, running the 4x100 Ohana Relay with their children, Cherie, 13, Michael, 10, and Naomi, 6. They also have a son, Noah, 4.

After encouragement from Richard, she decided to train full time — Monday through Thursday for two hours with time trials on Saturdays. Like most new sprinters, she's working on her form and starting out of the blocks.

Richard, a hair stylist, comes with a good pedigree. He coaches other sprinters, and ran in the finals of the Hawai'i's Fastest Human in 2004.

"We discuss how we did and I tell him what's hurting me or what I think I did wrong, and he tells me what I did wrong," said Joni about the benefit of having her husband coach her. "You can't call up a coach in the middle of the night and say, 'I think something is wrong with me.' "

She said even without track and field experience, people hesitant about it should try it out.

"If they want to come out, and they think they can't do it, or haven't done it since high school, come on out," she said. "If I can do it, anyone can. If you do it, you start feeling better about yourself."