Advertisement - Click to support our sponsors.
Friday, March 3, 2000
Straub
Women’s 10K
a race with grace
Roses to every competitor and
By Linda Aragon
an award in memory of Ruth
Iwasaki give the event more
than a touch of class
Special to the Star-BulletinSweat meets elegance Sunday in the 23rd annual Straub Women's 10-Kilometer Race.
Awards bought at Tiffany & Co. and long-stem roses given to every competitor make this run "by far the most classy and prestigious race of its kind," said Rachel Graybill, a two-time winner of the race.
""We work really hard to make it nice,'' said Ann Nishida, race coordinator and public relations director for sponsoring Straub Hospital. "A lot of the women really like to have a special event just for them, and not have to worry about being trampled by men."
About 1,200 women are expected to compete in this year's event. That's quite a change from the race's early years when only a few hundred participated.
"It got started when running was just beginning to take off here,'' said Mimi Beams, one of the race founders. "Nike was sponsoring an all-women's marathon in Atlanta and we wanted to send four of our top women to that event. The 10K here raised money for that race.
"We always wanted to make it a competitive race, so that if you won the Women's 10K, it was a big deal.''
The course record for the 6.2-mile race is 34 minutes, 40 seconds, set in 1998 by former Hawaii resident and Olympic-hopeful Marty Shue, who also won last year.
"I would say that the top 10-to-25 women are very competitive," Graybill said. "From start to finish, you don't know what will happen next.''
The course begins at Kapiolani Park and heads up Diamond Head past Triangle Park. It continues on Diamond Head Road through Kahala, and then returns the same route to the Kapiolani Park finish line.
In 1990, her senior year at the University of Hawaii, Graybill won her first Straub 10K. The former UH cross-country runner won again in 1997.
"The women glow after this thing," Beams said. "Everybody sets their own goal, whether it is to beat your best friend or place in the top 10.''
In addition to the overall and age-group awards, there is a special one in memory of Ruth Iwasaki, who died of stomach cancer last year. Iwasaki completed all previous 22 races, including last year while battling the disease.
"She was very healthy and fit,'' Nishida said. "Her husband bought something nice from Tiffany's, and we're going to give it to the person in her age group (60-69) that runs closest to her time.''
Packet pickup is 10 a.m.-2 p.m. tomorrow at the Ala Moana Liberty House Body Concepts Department. Late entry fee is $35.
Straub Hospital
