Heather’s *Top Twenty* Highlights of the Perimeter Island Relay
1) Meeting the fabulous girls team @ Kaya’s in Punaluu ; Julie, Jan and Cheryl (our great crew).
2) Running my first 15 miles on my home turf : north east Oahu to Sunset Beach.
3) Sunset on the North Shore with a car load of sweaty girls.
4) Catching up with Mike and Don @ Chuns in their Badwater shirts.
5) Benita’s PB & J sandwiches, trail mix and funky flash light that shone multi colors and learning about satellites from Arvel while we waited for Benita and Mike to do Haleiwa to Kaena Point (this is where I could hear Jan sleeping…)
6) Doing Kaena Point in the pitch black of night with a trillion stars above in the company of Mike and Jan.
7) The way Mike’s pace sped up as he took us girls safely past multiple trucks parked along the roadside at Yokohama Bay in the dark with the inhabitants lurking in the shadows…
8) Passing through Yokohama Bay and Waianae after 1 a.m with Julie and Mike and being accompanied by a Pueo (Hawaiian Owl) who watched us and followed us. Hawaiians consider the Pueo sacred and a Protector. Some say it is a physical manifestation of ancestral guardians so it was quite incredible that it was with us during the more ‘dangerous’ sections of the adventure.
9) A curious and friendly cop in Waianae.
10) Breakfast at daybreak in Waianae – ok, so I had a tangerine, a banana and Gatorade while the others had McDonalds….but I enjoyed the company…and we sat at a table!
11) Meeting more of the HURT Ohana along the way and marveling at the support you all give to each other!
12) Andy in a kilt and his bagpipes serenading on a street corner in Makakilo.
13) I loved that Julie and Jan got excited about my tin of Zam-Buk (best ointment in the world from South Africa for preventing or treating chafing).
14) Julie’s smile and consideration and concern for everyone’s wellbeing.
15) Discovering that like me Jan can also roar like a lion when she has to!
16) Cheryl is the Gold Standard as crew. We definitely would not have made it without her. Mahalo!
17) Taking off at the end and finishing strong after my accumulated 53 miles on foot.
18) Experiencing my island home up close and very personal.
19) Seeing Mike finish his 135 miles. What an accomplishment….well done!
20) Making new friends by meeting up with strangers and then running 50+ miles with them…nothing quite like it!
H.U.R.T rocks! Can’t wait to spend more of my running time with you.
If you’d like to follow my blog re: my preparation for the 155 miles Kalahari Extreme Marathon I've signed up for and other running related stories go to : www.braidsandlaceshawaii.blogspot.com
