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Tuesday, June 20, 2000
Triathletes who
train together,
stay together
Members of 'Team Hawaii'
By Tim Crouse
thrive on giving selfless
support to each other so
everyone can improve
Special to the Star-BulletinA triathlete faces the daunting challenge of swimming, cycling and running for 10 or 11 hours, so just crossing the finish line is a big enough reward.
But for a group of local triathletes, the rewards have been much greater.
Rod Young, Gary Sato and Rod Huddleston are three athletes in a group of about 14 who train, compete and even travel together to events as far away as Japan.
Nearly every day, the triathletes meet in various spots around the island to train. The group is made up of men with different experiences and backgrounds, and of athletes at different levels, but they share a common bond through their training, racing and traveling.
"It's a great group of guys who enjoy what they're doing," Young said. "We train together for the athletic part of it, but also for the friendship."
Sato, 43, and Young, 38, have been competing in triathlons since 1984.
"I came up 15 years ago and at that time everybody was for himself," Sato said. "I was getting turned off by that. I try to stress that we try to bring everybody up, regardless of weaknesses or strengths."
They started training together then, and through the years the group has grown, mostly by word-of-mouth.
"Through competition, we developed friendships," said Eric Choi, 33, who has been part of the group for three years. "Local guys try to stick together."
Huddleston, 41, who finished third in his age division in the Balance Bar Triathlon last weekend on the North Shore, joined the group about three years ago.
He said this group is different, and has helped change him as a person.
"We train together because of the support and camaraderie that we find within each other," Huddleston said. "I hadn't noticed it in other groups. I didn't realize it was there until I had spent a year with the group.
"I've come away thinking more of others," he said. "This is a selfless group. I find that I talk less about myself now and more about them and how I can support them."
In April, 14 of them -- "Team Hawaii" -- traveled to Japan to compete in the Strongman Triathlon.
It was the eleventh straight year for Sato, and the rewards have far outweighed the training and the $4,000 to $5,000 it takes to get there.
Not only do the athletes have a chance to race in a foreign country, but they also establish friendships with athletes from all over the world, and have a chance to spend time with Japanese students in a "culture exchange."
Team Hawaii visited nine schools during their trip, playing games with the children, learning origami, watching traditional Japanese dances and telling the students about life in Hawaii.
"We bring things from Hawaii to share with them, and they share with us," Sato said.
The team was given much support by the local fans, and the Japanese students even made an English banner for Team Hawaii that won a best-banner contest.
Sato finished second in his age group in the Strongman, and 29th overall, and Randy Taniguchi also finished in the top 85, but the biggest reward for the athletes was their interaction with the Japanese school kids and the other racers.
Young said he now has three Japanese pen-pals and Choi said he has become friends with a Korean triathlete and they've been corresponding for the past couple of years.
Sato's first triathlon was the 1984 Tinman, an annual competition on Oahu that is a scaled-down version of the Ironman.
That first race ended short of the finish line with a crash during the bicycle portion of the event.
"It's the only year I ever beat him," Young said with a laugh.
Despite the sudden end to his first attempt, Sato said he was already hooked.
"Because I didn't finish, I wanted to come back," Sato said.
A big reason he and the others have been able to come back year after year is the training they do.
"One of the main reasons we train together is to push each other to do the best we can do in any given race," Sato said.
When they're preparing for a race such as the Strongman or Ironman, they train seven days a week. Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays are devoted to cycling. On Wednesdays they run -- hill work and speed. Sundays they train long distance and Mondays and Thursdays, which are recovery days, are devoted to swimming and light running.
It's a tough balancing act, with families and full-time jobs, but they have the support of their families, and the satisfaction of completing the races.
"I've always said I'm going to finish the triathlon, even if I have to walk over the finish line," Young said. And he's finished every time in 15-plus years of racing.
Sato did well enough in his last race, placing ninth in the Keauhou Kona Half Marathon last month, to qualify for his 12th Ironman in Kailua-Kona in October.
"Gary's really taken it to the highest heights that a non-professional can go," Young said.
