Triathletes converging on Hawaii's Kohala Coast for the 6th anniversary of the Ironman 70.3 Hawaii may be interested to know that athletic competition and elite running has been going on along this coast for quite a while longer than Ironman events have been taking place.
Hawaiian communities have existed along the sunny northwest coast of Hawaii for at least the last thousand years. As years and generations passed, these areas grew and spread, and a system of trails was created to connect the various communities together. One of the more well-known trails can be found near the coastal pathways of the elegant Fairmont Orchid, Hawaii, Ironman 70.3 Hawaii's host hotel and partner, and just steps from this year's finish line. This trail, known as Ala Kahakai, meanders around the entire circumference of the Big Island, usually staying very close to shore.
Trails such as the Ala Kahakai were used by travelers of every variety in Hawaii, from ruling chiefs, known as ali`i, down to the merest commoners. Among the travelers generating the most excitement were the kukini, the Hawaiian runners. Kukini were often of royal descent, and were chosen for their vocation because of demonstrated athletic ability. They logged long training miles, worked on both speed and distance, and ate a special diet very similar to the foods suggested for triathletes today: lean meats and fish, and fresh vegetables, including a local favorite: yams.
The kukini were employed by ali`i to work as messengers – to swiftly carry messages between ali`i living in different locations, to summon warriors to battle, to gather intelligence, and otherwise to do their chief's bidding. Legend grew around the fastest of the kukini, and stories tell of kukini going out for a run through villages spread miles apart and returning in the time it took to cook a fish, or unload a canoe. The taste for competition being perhaps a basic part of human nature, foot races among the kukini took place, and spectators bet big on their favorite runner.
Keep the kukini in mind as you bike and run through this hard-baked land of wind and lava on race day, or as you relax in an oceanfront massage cabana after the race. Without aid stations, energy gels or electrolytes, the kukini swept along Hawaii's trails at something near the speed of light. You think your competition in 2009 is fast, and it is. But put up against the kukini of old – where do you think the spectators would place their bets?
Written by Dawn Henry, Dawn@DawnHenry.net