Hey Dad,

Every person has fears and dreams.  For you, one of your dreams was to
conquer a fear: running the Volcano marathon.  After you finished the
Kona marathon, marking your 20th one, I thought you had achieved your
running dreams and would retire from the sport of long distance
running.  Yet, against opposition from family and friends (including
me), you decided to run one more.  And not just an ordinary one, but
"one of the toughest" there is.  So regardless of the outcome, I was
proud to see that you attempted to run up that volcano.  Now, to see
that you actually made it, that makes me even more proud of the
accomplishment.  Great job Dad!  Thanks for showing that fears really
can be conquered and dreams really can be realized.     

Love,
Bronson

 

Dear Brother Rod,

Hope that you have a good and memorable experience running the Volcano Marathon this weekend, bro.  I knew that you would eventually run it because it is something that captured your interest and resonated within your soul to take on from the first you heard of it.  You're really something else and most definitely a 'one of a kind', bro!  LOL.  But, this is what makes you the intriguing, fascinating and high achiever that you are. It's been quite an experience growing up alongside you, Rod.....and, i would consider this to be an 'understatement'!  LOL.  ;) 

It was my pleasure to have trained alongside with you as you prepared for those inclines that you'll face during this Big Island marathon.  Being able to work those muscles that one doesn't normally use during regular long distance running was a 'refreshing' and good thing. ;) Thanks for showing us that we both still can take on 'killer hills' at this stage of our journey of life.  WOHO! 

Anyway, just wanted to wish you luck and joy as you continue to challenge yourself this weekend.  Take good care. I am confident that your mental toughness and loads of experience should allow you to fare well with this 26.2 mile.  May God bless, guide and protect you as you take out Madame Pele's course, bro.  +++

Love always,
Brother Clay :)

 

Aloha Ingrid.? How nice to know someone in Bavaria!?

Met with Rod yesterday prior to his marathon (which I know he completed) today. We had a great conversation, was great to meet him and talk story.? I've put a link to your site on my web site (I tried it and it works) and looked for a place to sign your guest book but couldn't find any place to sign.? I got the problem fixed re my guest book.?

 

CONGRATULATIONS, ROD!!!
YOU DID IT!!!  WE'RE ALL SO HAPPY AND PROUD OF YOU!!!
I said an extra prayer for you last night and I was thinking about you as you were running the grueling marathon route today. I was so relieved when I heard you made it!  7 hours and 8 minutes?....not too shabby!  haha  The main thing is YOU MADE IT to the finish line safely.  You are too awesome, brother dear!  You've proven to yourself and to the rest of the family that you are a WINNER!!!  Take care of yourself, enjoy your Sunday day of rest and enjoy your laurels.....see you on Monday! =)

With love & admiration,
Verna

 

Hey Rod,
 
WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW!  YOU DID IT, huh?  Simply AWESOME, bro!  Looking forward to hearing ALL ABOUT this most trying and gruesome run that you CONQUERED today!  ;)  Yes, had a STRONG feeling that you were going to be able to make it, bro!  I am soooooooooooooooooo very, very, very happy for you; and, very, very, very proud of you, Rod.  You have once again proven to me, that, you are one healthy, very strong minded and determined fella!  COOOOOOOOOOOONGRATULATIONS, Bro Rod!  :)
 
You've earned a good rest before getting them running shoes pounding the pavement again!  lol.  ;)  Enjoy and reeeeeeeeeeeelax. 
 
Love you,
Brother Clay :)
I guess that by now you have kicked that volcano's ass!!Yay Pygoya!!So,didja'see any aliens or what?!C'mon Joey,fill me in!!Hope ya'got good pics of their visit.Were they hovering above the lava goading you on??Did they come in the guise of some hot young chicks circa'50's Betty Page(that's my own hope for a visitation!!)Hope all went well and you finished!!Let me know and I'll update my blog to include the info for your fellow Rabid Dogs!!
Jim


check out my ever changing site at
www.riverratspress.com
thanks!!

YAY!!!  Now, we can breathe again.... THANK YOU SOOOOO MUCH FOR MAKING IT!  Sigh!  Whew!!!  CONGRATULATIONS RODNEY!!!!!  My thoughts were with you as you ran around that volcano.  Did you get the phone message I left on Erlinda's cell?  After seven hours went by I was calling around to check on you!  Finally, got word that you made it without injury and I was greatly relieved.  You really are something else... extremely hard headed, and extremely STRONG!  I'm very, very Proud of you, Rod.  Okay, all pau now.  You can run just for the FUN of it now.  Yay!  Much Love, your relative Sandy

Pygoyawrote:

i made it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

YAHOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! thank God!!! im so happy to get your email!!!
did you get my and parker's phone message last night?!!!
congratulations on doing your fear factor!! you are insane and im glad your guardian angels were right by you!!!
i so cant wait to see your photos!!!!!  and glad you made it back safely! and even to finish it with 22 mins to spare! incredible!!!

a.erlinda must be relieved! how did you managed to drive yourself after the run?

i sent your message to everyone! :) yahooooo!!!!!!


have a nice relaxing day!  you are crazy and  courageous!!!

thank you for sharing your marathon story with me!!!

loveya! and lets have another dessert party before brons leaves?!  to celebrate you are home and aloha party for brons?
wanna?!!

talk toyou soon!
love

mich!

 

hi everybody!!! i'm at kaatsbaan now!! it was about an hour ride from
the airport. i got to ride in a limo with 3 other people. one of the
girls, who's 19 goes to julliard year round! cool yeah??

the dorms here are really nice. oi'll take pictures of them sometmiem
and send them to you. i have 2 room mates and the room is about as big
as the dinjing room plus a bathroom! but we only ahve one dresser and 2
closets. there are 3 beds so i chose the one in the middle =] the first
roommate i met is 17 from boston ballet named olivia. she went to sAb 3
summers! so she's prbably super good! hahah. my toher roommate's name
is sophie and she's 16 from nebraska. her dad's a farmer and we talked
about a lot of animals today during dinner! hahah. i saw a fox today
too.

good thing i brought my labtop. haha... well, olivia nad sophie brought
theirs too. haha tomorrow, i'm getting up at 715 and we going to eat
breakfast at 8. and classes start at 9. there are about 27 girls and 9
boys.

its good cuz i obviously have internet connection. i get one hour of
free internet connection everyday!! good yeah! haha. ok. i'm gonna go
to sLeep. i'm tired ! OK!! byeee miss you guys

Hi Roch,
Glad you made it ok and looks like you're settled in and ready for some fun and learning in ballet.
Hey, no congrats for my Volcano Marathon completion?  Haha!
Hope this place is everything you expected, that you meet lots of nice new friends, and that the instructors realize your potentials as a talented dancer and pro.
Love,
Dad

 

Rodcle!

You did it!

Good job Rodcle!  I am very proud of my great 21-marathon uncle!

Congratulations!!!

Love,
Jeremy

CONGRATULATIONS, UNCLE ROD!!!

Wow, that sounds like an adventure!  Alice and I are so proud of your accomplishment.  Looking forward to the photos!

Love,
Allan & Alice

hi uncle rod!
got ur email fwd'd from mich. what an accomplishment! im in all "aw" of what u have done! it's amazing! i'm proud of u!!!

love,
Juli

glad you got our message! :)

that is so cool that they keep a list of names of finishers and the times by it!  how cool is that!!?!?!!  you are super awesome that you made it! be proud! 1st place or last, it's just awesome that you accomplished such a crazy thing!!!!!

hope you have 1 more day to rest your legs! 

love,
mich

 

Congratulations on finishing the super duper hard marathon!  Michelle sent me your e-mail and I was soooooooo happy to hear that you finished and "Leila" didn't take you!  Whew!  You must be so happy and completely satisfied with your efforts.  It sounded pretty scary when your leg cramped up.  Thank goodness that other runner helped you with her cream.  So you're okay and recouperating at home now.  Its just so unbelievable what you have accomplished with your life so far.  Now, what new venture are you going to try next?!  With you, nothing is impossible!
 
Take care, sit back, and enjoy your the success of reaching your goal!
 
Love,
Jan

 

CONGRATS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! TO MY FAVOURITE RUNNER AND GENERALIST PYG.
Of course this computer offers no letters big enough to congratulate you on such a special achievement! You reached the TOP! The highest point of the mountain. Like Steve I was sure you'ld make it but nevertheless was thinking about you with extra good vibrations because of this extra dangerous course.
 
Enjoy the sweet feeling of success and victory but knowing you for sure you're already thinking of new adventures...
 
Love and Hugs, Le(i)la

 

 

Hi Rod,
Again, Aweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeesome going, brother!  Appreciate the 'blow by blow' details regarding this Volcano Marathon that you CONQUERED on saturday.  WOW!  You've got to be soooooo proud of yourself, bro.  Teeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeerrific!  Having completed the last of five Hawaii marathons must make you feel euphoric, huh?  You're a true real McCoy marathoner....... 
 
It was a blessing to have met up with your 'guardian angel' fellow marathoner, Liz, from Arizona, huh?  What a wonderful person she was to be there just in the nick of time to give you that healing female's touch with the wintergreen magic gel.  ;)  She sure sounds like a real trooper having been able to finish this marathon in her painful state.
 
Well, take it easy, bro. You deserve at least a week or so off to rest and recuperate from this masochistical feat that you overcame.  Really proud of you, Rod.  Let me know when you're ready to resume our running on Sundays, ok?  ;)  Talk to you soon.
 
Love,
Brother Clay :)

 

CONGRATS to you Rod for the uncanny accomplishment!!!!  Job well done, and I look forward to seeing the pics.  That lady may have been moaning but she was a big help physically and emotionally to you, so she was a little bit of an angel from Phoenix...hey from Phoenix....there is a great symbolism there!  He's ALIVE with lucky 21!!!  Take care of the aches now.  Jon

 

Hi Pygoya
 
You did it - that's great !!! 
 
Here the links of the results:
 
http://www.volcanoartcenter.org/PARTS/Runs.raceresults/2007/M-ovl.txt
 
http://www.volcanoartcenter.org/PARTS/Runs.raceresults/2007/M-div.txt
 
 
 
http://www.volcanoartcenter.org/cgi-bin/vac?!00EuuoiuIrOmd4oavr3TtCnbTearIj0arsvqvE2ET2E4oom9QMdYesvbF42oR2gbuoermr05rt7MO5bTTjnKulfr1j0ar0vNOodTfeE8n5ienhdau2o0OlCLfGfON8
 

 How did you feel after the big run? Exhausted, but satisfied?
 
Warm greetings from the rainy summer in Zurich (17 days of rain in July!).
Rolf

Rolf Waeber

 

WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Those are super  awesome photos!!!!!  I LOVED THE PHOTOS and can’t wait for MORE!!!!!

Thanks for getting it up so quickly to share! I’ll send to everyone! 

The terrain is CRAZY!!!!   I don’t know how anyone can run on the lava!!  It looks more like a hike than a marathon. So easy to get lost!  And that is so awesome that the volunteers camped out! Neat photos! I hope they all have a chance to see it!

 

I saw the buffalo man before at the HNL marathon!

 

You look so happy and proud! J  and buff too!

 

Congrats uncle rod!!!! What a huger than huge accomplishment!  So, when is the celebration party?!!

 

Love,

michelle

Hi Marathon Man,

WOW!!!  These are amazing pictures!  Thanks for taking them and sharing with the rest of us regular people.  It's so much easier to look at your pictures rather than running the marathon.  I feel like i ran it with you ... and you spared me the falls on the sharp lava rocks.  Even if I were strong enough I don't think I would be able to find my way back to the finish line because those little orange marks looked real tiny.  Don't know how you did it brother Rod.  You are definitely the bomb!  Good job and Congrats once again.  You did it!!!!

Looking forward to seeing  you in October, Mr. Marathon Man!

Love,
Sandy

 

Damn dude,you ARE insane!!Tired just from looking at the photos.I thought that it was a pretty amazing thing that you did it in the first place but now,after seeing the course itself,I am convinced that you really are as crazy as they come!!LOL
Jim
Hi Rodcle,
 
Wow, that's a crazy looking marathon.  It looks more like a hiking trek.
 
Allan

> That terrain is ridiculous, I saw all the pages of photos and get tired just
> looking at them! You look in great shape!
> The time and effort to take all the photos en route must be
> considerable.

Ursula

 

That is not running, that is hiking fast all over creation!!! You are amazing!  DId anyone get lost?  It does not seem clear where to run.  I bet they make you sign all kinds of waivers about injury and death, huh?  Portland will be civilized.  October will be here pretty quick.  Enjoy the anticipation and all your training!  Have a good weekend.  Jon

 

Hello Rodney,

Great email form Rochelle. I am waiting for The Rock School to go through
it's waiting list and call me. School of American Ballet & JKO (ABT) School
say "no vacancy". No one ever turns down these schools at the last minute. I
will call North Carolina School of the Arts while I am off island (Atlanta)
to see what they say when they are back from their break.

If nothing works out we should definitely plan ahead for her senior year.

Call me any time.
Glad you survived the marathon!
Lee.

Rod,

   I just enjoyed your pictures of the run, UGH, fantastic views, felt I was there.  Hey after seeing the map of Big Isle, how about the Kohala district for our gallery?   Steve said he was not interested in Kona but maybe he would consider the northern part?

 

Aloha,

H

 God Rodney, the photos are great, would have loved to have been there 
with my new camera, if I knew how to use it.  Would like to just walk 
parts of the run to take pictures. You must have been really thrilled 
to have done it. Well done again.  If you do it again I'll go and 
take some pictures, wonder if I cold rent a mountain bike and ride 
the course? Would think the marathon folks would pay to have a photo 
history to publicize the run for next year. Picture worth a thousand 
words.  Can't see how you could even know where to go even wtih the 
markers.  FANTASTIC job Rod.  steve

 

Dear Brother Rod,
 
WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW!  Those pics that you took were simply amazing, bro!  I can easily see why this Volcano marathon would be considered one of the toughest, if not the toughest, marathon in the world that one could ever experience.  The terrain that you had to cover looked extremely rugged and formidable.  I can see how one could very easily slip and hurt oneself foiling one's attempt to conquer Pele's grounds.  

Today, at the youthful age of 61, you are one heck of an athlete, brother Rod!  You are in better shape and more balanced than back in the day when we hiked thru the hills and cliffs of Makapu'u point with our fishing gear with uncle Ah Seong.  You're unreal, bro!  ;)

This victorious feat requires one to be a real 'Hawaiian Superman'!  And, this is what you have proven to yourself and the world that you are, Rod!  You did it!  Let the training begin for your October Portland marathon.  I will be honored to do those Sunday training runs with you, Mr. Marathon man.  ;) 

Thanks for sharing those unforgettable pics with me.  It made me clearly understand why you were overcome with emotion when you crossed that finish line and received your finisher's medal. 

My salute to you, bro,
Brother Clay
Unbelievable pictures!  I was in awe that you ran that race!  How in the world did you runners find the trail?!  I know you said it was marked with these orange markers but I could hardly see them.  No wonder people could get lost!  And the trails, they hardly looked like trails at all.....good grief!  You could really understand how people got hurt running on those lava rocks.  I give you so much credit for doing this marathon.  It sure lives up to its name as being the hardest marathon!  The sites were just beautiful and the change of scenery was like you were in two different worlds.  It was truly a spectacular run!  I can't wait to see the other pictures.
 
So how was the psychic sitting today?  Wow, 6 hours sure sounds like a looooooong time.  I bet she told you that you would live a long and healthy life.  You looked so buff and handsome in the pictures, how can you not live to be 100!!  Ha! Ha!  Take care and looking forward to more pictures of your run.

Unbelievable pictures!  I was in awe that you ran that race!  How in the world did you runners find the trail?!  I know you said it was marked with these orange markers but I could hardly see them.  No wonder people could get lost!  And the trails, they hardly looked like trails at all.....good grief!  You could really understand how people got hurt running on those lava rocks.  I give you so much credit for doing this marathon.  It sure lives up to its name as being the hardest marathon!  The sites were just beautiful and the change of scenery was like you were in two different worlds.  It was truly a spectacular run!  I can't wait to see the other pictures. 

jan

 

hey doc,great photos of the course again.i'm sweating just thinking about it...and here's some new goodies for ya'to check out.
Jim