Guest Race Report: Mango Madness

I am so excited this week to have a special guest race report for you. Fellow runner, triathlete, cyclist, Playmaker's and TCBA teammate, and partner in ultra-running adventures, Leslie Miyasato, (you may remember her from the DWD Gnaw Bone adventure) just returned from a vacation in Hawaii where she used her time wisely and entered a very exciting trail race. I got bits and pieces of it in text messages while she was gone  ("rats," "hill," "roots," "lost") and was super intrigued (and jealous). I asked her if she would write a race report to share with us all on the blog and she said "yes"!!!   So here it is, Leslie's race report of Mango Madness!! 

Each time I travel to Hawaii I check the local race schedule.   There is always something going on, and always a family member that is gullible enough to join me.   This trip was no exception.   My daughter Christi and my Finnish daughter Maria agreed to join me on their first ever trail race, Mango Madness!  

The race is advertised as "10+" miles. The plus is for the little "detours" they send you on. It begins and ends in a mini “park” at the intersection of Mikiki & Mikiki Heights, a residential area at the base of the mountains in Honolulu.    The term park is used loosely, since the only thing there is a pumping station, some grass, a tree and glaring lack of a pre-race staple.   Not a restroom or port-a-potty in sight, gulp!    Anyone that knows me knows this is not an ideal pre-race situation, not at all!   OK, from the lines I always see at races, this is not ideal for anyone.   Thank goodness this was a trail race.   All trail races have foliage to hide behind, right?    We were also promised a real restroom at mile one of the race, and thankfully, I elected to use it.   Foliage and cliffs don’t really make for wilderness pit stops!

Registration for the race began at 6:00 a.m.     We dropped our $10 into a plastic shoe box and picked our “race bib”, a number written on our leg just above the knee.

Hawaiian "bib"

After a short race briefing, we were off for our 7:00 a.m. start.   Make that 7:20ish……..we are talking Hawaii time here!   Christi and Maria planned to speed hike with me, even though both are runners.   We started at the back of the pack and thought we had ourselves nicely placed between two groups of runners.    We were nipping the heels of the first group, but decided we wouldn’t pass them until after the long awaited restrooms!   So much for nipping at their heels, we never saw them again.   

 After a short race briefing, we were off for our 7:00 a.m. start.   Make that 7:20ish……..we are talking Hawaii time here!   Christi and Maria planned to speed hike with me, even though both are runners.   We started at the back of the pack and thought we had ourselves nicely placed between two groups of runners.    We were nipping the heels of the first group, but decided we wouldn’t pass them until after the long awaited restrooms!   So much for nipping at their heels, we never saw them again.   

The first half of the race was well marked.   We climbed and climbed.    Plenty of roots, mud, and climbs. Everything you’d expect on a trail race, and more.   The scenery on the Tantalus trail system is spectacular, so spectacular that I caught a root at around mile 2.   Thank goodness I’d worn my calf compression sleeves, or my race would have been over.    It’s amazing what a black compression sleeve can hide!   I decided to wait and check out the damage at the first aid station (the one with no first aid kit, but plenty of water and Gatorade).    Not pretty, but I still had 8+ miles to go, so covered it back up and headed up what is affectionately known as the “Concrete Hill."   It’s steep, it’s slippery, and it’s covered with a pebbly concrete of sorts.    The first man and woman up the hill receive a special award.   Perhaps an award should go to the last one up too, although that wouldn’t have been me.    We passed 2 women on the way up.    Yay, no longer in last place!

Mango Madness is a trail race with unexpected detours.    We hit our first detour at the top of the concrete hill.    What’s a little more climbing at this point?   Well worth the view of Honolulu from the peak!   We were given a blue bracelet (a piece of blue plastic ribbon tied around our wrist) to prove we’d been there.    That is the last time we saw anyone.    The two women behind us opted out of the detour.   One more trail marker, and we never saw another one of those either.   Here we were on the top of the mountain, with trails going in various directions at intersections.    We guessed, and guessed, and guessed.    Evidently the person clearing the markers for the last 5 miles of the race cleared them a little too soon.    Oops!

The route down the mountain took us through bamboo, banyan trees, tropical flowers……..more roots and cliffs.    I’m still not sure how people actually run through all of the roots on the trails.    They are incredibly treacherous in a lot of places.     

One amazing find while lost was a tree that looked like it was wearing a grass skirt.    You won’t be seeing a photo, thanks to the rat tree.    I stopped to take a photo when Maria commented that there was a mouse in the tree.     It wasn’t a mouse; it was a rat.   Make that a lot of rats.    The tree actually started to shake with rat activity.   If anything can get me to run through a maze of roots, it’s the thought of rats jumping out of a tree and landing on my head.    Off we went, without a photo of the cool looking tree.  

After more wrong turns and some backtracking, we made our way back to the finish.   We conquered Mango Madness, although Coconut Craziness would have been even more fitting for our trio!   We had a lot of laughs, and actually got to enjoy the scenery once we realized we were lost.   

Would I recommend the race?  Absolutely!   There were some glitches, but hey, we are talking about a $10 race here.   One major snafu (in addition to the missing route markers) was some information we were given at the race briefing.   We were told to be sure to check in at the finish, because they would not leave until everyone was accounted for, even if it meant they had to sit there all night.    I guess someone miscounted.    Everyone was gone, with the exception of the race directors.   They were getting into their cars when we came around the bend, and had no clue we were unaccounted for.    Oops!   Not good on a trail that is an injury waiting to happen and somewhat confusing.    Next time I’ll be sure to stick a map of the trail system in my pocket!  

If you are visiting Oahu, be sure to check out the H.U.R.T (Hawaiian Ultra Running Team) website (www.hurthawaii.com).   They have weekly trail runs and numerous races, including the HURT 100.    It’s a great group, and even though we were lost on Tantalus, we had a great time!   

Have you run an interesting, exciting, or fun race that you would like to share a report of? If so, email me (wyld_runner2@yahoo.com) to make arrangements for a guest post.