Anyone feel a Bree(ze)?

In what amounted to a day off, Kona resident Bree Wee made short work of the course and her competitors at yesterday's 10th Annual Na Wahine Sprint Triathlon.

Wee recorded the fastest times in the .31-mile swim (8 minutes, 7 seconds), 12-mile bike (30:43) and 3.10-mile run (18.11) for an overall time of 57:01, easily outpacing Marion Summerer (59:08) and defending champion Rachel Ross (59:59).

Wee, who gave up her job as a third-grade teacher at Kahakai Elementary to turn professional earlier this year, toed the starting line fresh off three Ironman triathlons in three months — including two in the past month. She completed Ironman Japan (9:37:12) on June 22, struggled to a DNF at Ironman Canada on Aug. 24, then completed a difficult Ironman Kentucky (10:48:25) on Aug. 31.

"I sort of needed a mental rest, so this race was just to have fun — no pressure," Wee said.

"My entire day was just 'have fun,' " she said. "It's been a pretty challenging season as far as pressure goes because this is my first year getting my pro card. I just felt that all of my races had a lot of pressure and a lot of expectations. I just wanted to do one just for fun, just because I love it, and not because anyone is expecting anything of me."

Of course, nothing is quite as fun as winning.

Wee, who also won the all-female race in 2005, led from the start and didn't look back. And while her main goal was to enjoy the day, Wee said that the thought of elite competitors like Ross in pursuit kept her on her toes.

"I'm not a very good come-from-behind," she said. "I like to be up there already. I was first out of the water and I didn't see any of the girls after that. I just maintained my position throughout the day."

In related events also staged yesterday, Gwendolyn Isherwood won the Super Sprint (.15-mile swim, 6-mile bike, and 1.7-mile run) in 51:26, and Thea Kendall-Osborne claimed the Duathlon (1-mile run, 12-mile bike, 3.1-mile run) in 1:14:47.

Roughly 300 females of all ages, backgrounds and racing abilities competed yesterday. And while a few, like Wee, were in it to win, others were attracted simply by the personal challenge the race has come to represent.

It took a decade of false-starts and maybe-next-years before Kawehi Napoleon finally committed to entering the race. When she joined K.C. Carlberg's Try Fitness training program late this summer — just months after being diagnosed with cancer — she could barely run from one Kapi'olani Park ironwood tree to the next without losing her breath.

Two months and 30 vanished pounds later, the 40-year-old Kapi'olani Park resident jogged past the finish line and into the arms of family and friends.

"I cried coming around the corner," Napoleon said. "It was such a sense of accomplishment."

Because of her medical condition, Napoleon couldn't consume any of the energy bars or gels on which endurance athletes commonly rely during races. Instead, she drew her energy from friends and family members who positioned themselves at key points along the route.

Toward the end of the run, close friend Edralin Caberto joined Napoleon on the course.

"I'm so grateful for so much support," Napoleon said. "It was amazing."

Napoleon finished in 2:28:45. She vows to better her time next year.

Napoleon still has a long way to go to catch 80-year-old Jan Newhart (1:58:16), who strode to the finish area afterward in a long-sleeve athletic top emblazoned with "80 Rocks!"

Newhart ran her first marathon in 1974 and finished her first triathlon 10 years later.

"I was very competitive in my 40s and 50s," said Newhart, who set national age-group records in her late-blossoming prime. "But I stopped in my 60s. I said, 'No more competing.' Now, I just do it to do it."

Newhart's time would have been faster if not for a slight misunderstanding about the course. She thought it included two laps around the park, as it had the previous year.

"I went quite a bit out of my way before I realized we only had to do one," she said, laughing.

Still, for Newhart, the joys of racing are often sweetest off the course.

"Before and after the race, gabbing with friends, that's the biggest fun," she said. "It's mostly seeing old friends. The race itself, well ..."

Like many others yesterday, Newhart said she always returns to the Na Wahine race out of respect and admiration for Carlberg and the spirit of camaraderie and sisterhood she's fostered over the years.

"I really admire K.C. for getting these women out here, getting them fit and inspiring them to stay fit," said Newhart. "I do it as much for her as for anything."

Carlberg, six months removed from her last treatment for ovarian cancer and looking fit and well, said she was gratified with the strong turnout of fit, confident women.

"Everyone, elites and everyone else, comes out because they feel comfortable and safe and they know they can have fun and see their friends and just have a great time," she said.