Day 2 - "Fun Run" with Dean Karnazes and Bart Yasso

Saturday,  September 4

OK, I have to admit to being a tad excited about the fun run... with celebrities??? Got up early, the run was to start at 8, and we were on the northeast side of the island, about 45 minutes away. Drove down to Poipu - my favorite part of the drive is this:

Tunnel of Trees (I found out later these trees are 99 years old)

 found a place to park and started chatting with some of the other people waiting for it to start.

View from the start of the fun run

With Dean!! With Dean!! (Too bad I look so dorky, lol)

The fun run was just that... fun. It was short, just over a 5K, but Bart and Dean both "slummed it" and ran and chatted with us. We met a few nice people and got a feel for the running climate. We jogged down to the corner to the Poipu Bay Golf Course to use the bathroom:

We had some time to kill until the expo started for the day, and we wanted to be there for the panel with Bart and Dean, so we headed back up north to shower and get out of our running gear. We headed out for our morning Starbucks and saw this:

:::swoon:::

Best drink ever!!! We shopped a bit and then had Pau Hana for lunch (yep, more burgers and fries) and then headed back down to the south side. We found the expo and I picked up some extra gear. I picked up Bart's book, got it autographed... and a picture!

L, Bart Yasso, Me

After we were done at the expo we headed out to the panel where Bart, Dean, Rich Hanna, and last years marathon winner - J.T. Service.

Bart, Dean, Rich, J.T.

The panel was great! They answered a lot of questions, ranging from "How do you prepare for a race," "What is your most memorable race," to "What are your thoughts on barefoot running?" After the panel we actually had a chance to talk one-on-one with Bart and Laura Yasso. I can't even begin to express what it was like talking to this guy! He is funny and down-to-earth, it was a pleasure getting the chance to talk to both him and his wife.

The panel was held outside - this was the view

We had bought tickets to the carbo-load luau, but it didn't start for a few hours, so we walked around some shops and drove around a bit. Ended up driving on part of the course and saw them putting down the mile markers:

Had a bit of trouble finding WHERE in the Sheraton the luau was - but... like most everything else in Kauai, it was being held outside.

View from the Luau

The entertainment was amazing - with lots of dancing and music:

The food was "buffet style" and I loaded up:

The entertainment continued on through (and after) dinner:

We left the luau around 8, we still had a 45 minute drive back up to our hotel. I had my pre-race beer while getting everything ready.