Californians thoughts on the Iolani Invite in Hawaii 9/21/02

Joe Carlson (LB Poly Girls Coach) - 13th as team

Although we had a relatively poor day of competition ourselves, the Iolani Invitational was both interesting and satisfying. On a day which Greg Char described as hot and humid as it gets on the windward side of Ohau, many athletes suffered, but obviously others rose to the occasion. The course consisted of three loops, on dirt trails and mowed fields, with a hill included in each mile. And while most participants didn't take in the beautiful views from the course's higher points, Kualoa Ranch was a spectacular visual setting.

The Eisenhower girls' pack got off really quick over the first mile, but broke up a bit over the final loop Ruth Graham appeared strong throughout, but her winning time of 19:48 was an indicator of the day's challenging conditions. The Eisenhower boys followed the same formula as the girls, but held together better for the varsity team victory, even though they lost some places over the final loop as well.

The local team members and the meet hosts were gracious and accommodating. Our girls really appreciated the aloha spirit at the pre-meet pasta dinner.

The only downside of the meet was that the featured high school races were staged at the worst time of the day. It would have been a most positive experience if the four high school races were completed by mid-morning. But, hey, hang loose.

KC Cody (Montgomery, Santa Rosa) - Athlete - 8th Overall

It was a really cool trip. I was really lame getting up at 3 AM but it was worth it. Hanging out with some of my favorite people, on an awesome island, doing what I love most. It was awesome. It had draw backs, like jet lag. But the beach was awesome. The course wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't 95º with some crazily big humidity number, but as it was, the race was a real test of pacing. I was really dumb and went out in 5:20. From there I ran a 5:40 and then a 6:30. So things got bad at the end. Even splits are the way to go here. The first mile you feel really good because the humidity makes you warm up really quickly. But then it gets to you and you can't cool off at all. I spent a half hour or so on my back with ice and water, feeling dizzy. But it's part of the experience I suppose. Our team did great. The girls took it all by the sixth runner which is always a good way to take it. And the guys got 5th, which was totally unexpected. Only about 6 people of our 17 stayed to hear the guys results because they assumed we got 17th or something. But when they hadn't said our name by 6th place, I knew we were getting something so I was totally stoked. That was really cool. The course was better (So I hear from others on my team) two years ago, but it was still really nice. A little repetitive, but all right. Overall, I would say it's definitely worth the fund raising. It was great. But now I have tons of homework to do. But it comes with the territory.

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