Who To Watch IN Hawaii

 

 

Elli Brady

Punahou HS

2013

 

Best times in a 5K and 3 Mile race?

5K:     19:07.00 - 2010 Stanford Invitational
3 Mile:    18:43.33 - 2009 Iolani Invitational

 

Tell us how your training is going?

I have just come off my best summer of training ever.  I have gotten back into form for the upcoming season with a combination of intervals, different types of distance runs, and hill workouts.  My coaches and I are putting great emphasis on staying healthy so that I can take full advantage of all the hard work I have put in over the past 3 months.  I also had the opportunity to participate in a track and cross-country camp at the University of Notre Dame, which was an amazing experience.

 

What are your goals for the upcoming season?

My main goal is to further improve my times and become more competitive nationally.  My second goal is to help my high school team win the Hawaii State Cross Country Championship.  My third goal is to continue to enjoy my teammates, coaches, and running because, in the end, running is supposed to be fun. 

 

How long have you been running and how did you get started?

I am a former soccer player, which initially started my running career.  I played outside midfield where I was running up and down the entire soccer field for most of the game.  When I was nine, I started running summer track at Mililani Track Club.  The coaches emphasized that running is fun, and encouraged me to enjoy myself, even while working hard and improving my times.  I ran my first season of cross-country during my freshman year, and loved it from the first practice.  That was when I discovered that I wanted to become a competitive runner.  

 

Will you be competing out of state this season?

I am running in the High School seeded race at the 2011 Stanford Invitational.  I also plan to attend the 2011 Footlocker West Regional.  

 

Favorite course to run in Hawaii?

My favorite course is at Mid-Pacific Institute, which is near the University of Hawaii.  I love it because of its difficult hills, which I embrace.  Though I am running uphill for half the race, it really pays off because a long downhill always follows.  I also like the course at Island School on Kauai because it is flat and fast.  I ran one of my all-time best races at this course.

 

Toughest course in Hawaii?

The toughest course is at Central Oahu Regional Park, which was where my league and state championships were held last year.  It is very hot and the course has many short, steep uphills and downhills.  My home course at Punahou is also fairly tough for the same reasons.  I train on it every day, and I am still challenged by that course. 

 

What is your favorite cross country race so far in your high school career?

My favorite race so far is the 2010 Stanford Invitational High School Seeded Race.  I had been struggling with tendonitis in my right knee early in the season after growing 2 inches over the summer.  Prior to Stanford, I had only run in one meet, and I hadn't yet completed a full week of training.  My coaches told me to go out in this race with no pressure, not to think about my knee, and to do my best.  I followed their advice and pushed myself harder than I ever had before.  As a sophomore, I placed 28th against very strong competition, and beat my 5K PR by over 50 seconds.  I am most proud of this race because of all the adversity I had to overcome to run well.  This race also taught me how powerful the mind can be when racing.    

 

Favorite Cross Country memory?

My high school team is very close, and there are so many great memories that it is hard to pick just one as my favorite.  One memory that I will never forgot is my team's annual chocolate fight.  I helped start the tradition during my freshman year when I became a victim of a friendly chocolate syrup squirting competition between a few of my teammates.  It then became a tradition for the veteran runners to surprise the freshman with chocolate syrup being squirted all over them at the last full-team practice of the season.  It is such a great bonding experience walking back to the locker room with everyone covered head-to-toe in chocolate in front of all the athletes from other sports.     

 

When you are not running what is your favorite thing to do?

When I'm not running, I love to hang out with my friends, especially at the beach.  I also enjoy going on hikes.  When you live in a place as beautiful as Hawaii, you need to take full advantage of it.   

 

Favorite quote?

My Mom once told me before a race, "Go out there and have fun when you're racing."  My Dad responded by saying, "If you're having fun during a race, then you’re not running fast enough.  The fun comes after the race."  It seemed like a cruel piece of advice at the time, but is actually very accurate.  Even now, I still remember that quote before I go out and run a race.    
 

 

 

Gianni Cuadrado

Kapolei HS

2013

 

Best times in a 5K and 3 Mile race?

5K: 17:45 MT SAC Footlocker Regionals, 3 mile: 16:11 Waialua Varsity Champs, both 2010 season

 

Tell us how your training is going?

My summer training has been consistent and modest backed up with lots of mileage. Usually I get in about 55-65 per week. Overall, it’s been fun, hard, and good because I’ve remained injury free.

 

What are your goals for the upcoming season?

I hope to finish in the top 3 at States in Maui and hopefully can get my times in the 15’s this year.

 

How long have you been running and how did you get started?

I have been running consistently for about 3 years. My dad is my biggest inspiration and my mentor.  He was a professional runner in his day, having qualified for and competed in the 1988 Olympic Trials 10,000 meters with a 28:35 personal best.  He was also a 5 time All-American in XC and Track at Adams State College in Colorado and just got inducted into the RMAC Hall of Fame.

 

Will you be competing out of state this season?

Yes, plan on going back to MT SAC again this year for Footlocker Regionals.
 

Favorite course to run in Hawaii?

Waialua, like the tough hill going up and then coming back down it.

 

Toughest course in Hawii?

CORP (Central Oahu Regional Park)

 

What is your favorite cross country race so far in your high school career?

I really enjoyed competing out of state at Footlocker on a challenging course.  It was great competing with runners from many other states

 

Favorite Cross Country memory?

Making States freshman year and competing in Kauai. I didn’t do so great but it was still quite an experience and a privilege to compete.

 

When you are not running what is your favorite thing to do?

Bodyboarding, hiking, swimming

 

Favorite quote?

An athlete’s career is a brief lightning flash; let me do as much as I can with it before it ends.” – Lasse Viren


 

 

 

Dakota Grossman

Seabury Hall HS

2014

 

Best times in a 5K and 3 Mile race?

19:15 3mile at 2010 States. Not sure exactly on my PRs.  
 

 

Tell us how your training is going?

My training has been going great. I have been putting a lot more mile in then last year, which has helped me to get a good start and to set new goals that i can hopefully acheive.

 

What are your goals for the upcoming season?

I have to main goals this year. One, is to try and stay under 19 minutes and two, is to have our JV team win JV championships because this year we finally have enough girls to compete. We have all been training and working hard so i hope that they do great and wish them the best.

 

How long have you been running and how did you get started?

I began running in 1st grade in California. I was running a track team called the Northridge Pacers for fun and was only entered in the sprinting events. Then one day there was a Runathon (where you just run as long as possible) and I ended up running the whole day with out stopping. After that unexpected run my coach decided to enter me in a longer distance (which was the 1500 meters) and I did pretty well. When I moved to Maui during the 2nd grade I did crosscountry for Haiku school and enjoyed the experience a lot.  Ever sence then I have been running every event and having a great time.

 

Will you be competing out of state this season?

I have been thinking about attending a race in LA in September, but havn't made a decision at the time.

 

Favorite course to run in Hawaii?

There are many beautiful courses to run on in Hawaii, but if I had to chose one, it would be between Kamehameha Big island or my home course at Seabury Hall. The Big Island course is extremely tropical and a great challenge and Seabury has a beautiful campus where the all students and staff can come to support. So those two courses are my favorite. 

 

Toughest course in Hawaii?

I have heard that HPA on the Big Island and the Kapalua Maui course are both very challenging. States this year will be held at the Kapalua course which will make the race a tough competition.  

 

What is your favorite cross country race so far in your high school career?

My favorite race would probably be States 2010 because i worked hard the whole season and earned myself a gold. It was really fun traveling with my team and competing on Oahu with all the other high schools.

 

Favorite Cross Country memory?

 My favorite memory would be States but also MIL League Championship because it was fun sharing the win with all my teammates. It was our 5th MIL title in a row which started with my sister when she was a freshman.  

 

When you are not running what is your favorite thing to do?

When im not running i enjoy biking, swimming and playing musical instruments.

 

Favorite quote?

"Dream as if you'll live forever, Live as if you'll die today." -James Dean