JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO@STARBULLETIN.COM
Ukulele virtuoso Jake Shimabukuro moans and groans as he reads the application for the Honolulu Marathon, but the musician is hoping to run the 26.2 miles for the first time and then play at the event concert afterward. He says he'll start training in September in Japan.
|
|
Who da guy whizzing by?
Jake Shimabukuro aspires to do more than just play music at the Honolulu Marathon this year
Everyone knows Jake Shimabukuro can play the ukulele. And judging from his onstage gyrations, he moves pretty well, too.
But can the musician -- who has never run more than a block or two while hustling for the bus back in intermediate school -- move for 26.2 miles without stopping?
That will be only the first test of the 29-year-old musician's endurance. He plans to run his first Honolulu Marathon on Dec. 10, then walk, limp or crawl, as the case might be, to the stage to play the marathon's noon concert for the sixth year in a row.
"To be honest, I don't know if I'll be able to pull this off," he said, while in Honolulu for a day between concerts. Though he possesses an ideal mara-thoner's build at 5 feet 6 and 128 pounds, he admitted, "I'm not an athlete, and I definitely don't enjoy running.
"It's going to be a physical challenge but also a mental one, too. With music, I'm very disciplined. Just being able to sit with my instrument for six or seven hours without taking a break ... that kind of focus will really benefit me. Especially when I'm dying out there."
JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO@STARBULLETIN.COM
Jake Shimabukuro plays his new signature ukulele, designed by Casey Kamaka. The $5500 hand-crafted instrument is made of curly koa, with a black ebony fret (inscribed with Jake's initials) and abalone shell inlay. The Kamaka family will construct only 100 of Jake's signature models, which will be hand numbered and autographed. Ukuleles are available through lottery at www.jakeshimabukuro.com.
|
|
If he's not mobbed by enthusiastic Japanese fans on the course, he anticipates completing the event in five hours. "The main thing is, I want to finish before I have to play," he said.
"If people are running along and they know it's Jake ... they'll probably get really excited and try to keep up with him, so he might have an entourage," said Honolulu Marathon race director Jonathan Cross. "He's so big over there (in Japan), you can't believe it."
When asked if he has a coach, Shimabukuro shrugged and indicated that experienced friends would guide him. Had he started training consistently? Not until September, when he will be in Japan on a 21-city tour to launch his new CD, titled "Gently Weeps," his first solo ukulele album, which also contains "Beyond the Break," the title track he composed for the Hawaii-based television series.
When on tour in the United States, he plays at night and boards an airplane every morning at 5 a.m. to get to the next destination. In Japan he is able to maintain a home base and travel by bullet train to many concert locales, giving him more training time during the day.
A looming 30th birthday and a demanding tour schedule that keeps him on the road at least nine months a year have inspired Shimabukuro to pay more attention to his health. Eating pizzas at 2 a.m., he said, are a thing of the past. He consumes very little alcohol and has started drinking plenty of water and eating more fruits and vegetables. Yoga is his newest endeavor, which he thinks will help his running.
"I don't get jet lag anymore," he said. "I feel like I'm back in high school!"
Though he has always participated in the marathon in one way or another, Shimabukuro says participating in the run will help him feel connected to the festivities more than he does when he "rolls in a half-hour before the show, when everyone else has been there since 3 o'clock in the morning."
He anticipates this will be a one-time affair. "But who knows? Maybe I might be passionate about running after this. Maybe you'll see me jogging around Kaimuki!"