Even more respect for Kona finishers!!!
I spent last week on vacation on the Big Island. Figured I'd better do some running and dirve the bike course since I'm still waiting to be lucky in the lottery (actually didn't enter this year since my daughter is getting married a couple weeks before the race). Got up on the morning of my second day and ran the part from the little blue church 3.5 miles in towards town and back. Then a couple of days later ran the part from the natural energy lab out to the queen K and back. It looks pretty flat when you watch it on TV, but it's hard. The heat and humidity were difficult for an NCAL resident even in the morning in April. It must be absolutely brutal on race day - even on a good day. A couple days before we left, I drove out the queen K and dropped the family off at the beach at Mauna Kea then headed out toward Hawi. Those hills are much steeper and longer than they look on TV. And the wind - everyone talks about it - but near Hawi I could feel it pushing the minivan around - I was glad I wasn't on my bike. I'm sure none of this is any surprise to you who have raced in Kona, but it was to me. Congratulations to all of you who have finished in the past and those of you who get the chance this year. Maybe I'll get my chance before I'm too old or too tired.
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The good news is the smart EN members will recon the course the week before the race, riding and running the key sections. By the time race day comes around there are no surprises and they are ready for it. It's easier on race day as you can watch the people in front of you and anticipate when the gusts are coming. Also, if you pay attention to the small hills and valleys on the side of the road you can guess pretty good when the wind gust is coming, the mystery is which direction will it come from.
Specifically, it pays to be prepared coming out of a cut through a hilltop onto the fill on the subsequent valley, going from the hlilside protecting you to be open to miles of air eager to move downhill from the mountains - there will always be a side wind there, and it almost always blows towards the ocean (unless you get up REAL early)