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Tuesday, February 20, 2001
Two days prior to the Great Aloha Run, women's champion Sayuri Kusutani decided to skip training and sleep in. Kusutani places first as
first-time competitorBy Ben Freedman
Special to the Star-BulletinBut she wasn't being lazy.
"I wasn't sure (about how I would do) because I had a cold a few days ago," Kusutani said. "I was sleeping all day long on Saturday, so I wasn't sure. So I tried my best."
Apparently, the illness had no adverse effect on her performance. Her "best" was good enough to take the women's title with a time of 49 minutes, 1 second. Her GAR debut was impressive, considering she's 41 and a relative newcomer to the sport.
Although she only took up running three years ago, Kusutani's tennis background gave her an edge in the 8.15-mile run. She also joined a running club at the University of Hawaii, where she is currently enrolled as an English student.
When the race began at 6:59 a.m., the morning air hinted of a chill. There wasn't a blustery breeze, but it was common to see stadium workers and volunteers with jackets. Since Kusutani's originally from Japan and has experienced more intense winter temperatures, these conditions were just fine.
"I like hot weather," Kusutani said. "I don't like cold weather."
Kusutani said she will rest and go back to studying English at UH. She came to Hawaii in December to study so she could bring back a wider knowledge of the English language to her homeland, where she teaches elementary students.As for men's winner Malcolm Campbell, this was the fourth consecutive year he won the event. He was timed in 40:30.
He takes this race just as seriously as the many others he runs.
"I've been to world championships, I've been to the Olympics and I've been to just about every sports event you can run in," Campbell said. "The organization here is as good or better than any in the world."