In the CrossFit world, the names carry all the weight of superstardom, no different than reverence an NFL fan puts behind Manning or Brady.
Dan Bailey.
Michelle Kinney.
Garrett Fisher.
Tip top competitors who shine every August at the national CrossFit games in California, they’ve built quite a following in the ever-growing sport of CrossFit, a workout style that brands itself as creating the most well-rounded, fittest athletes on Earth. They can clean hundreds of pounds just like an Olympian lifter, muscle themselves around on rings like a gymnast and then run, swim or row just like a sprinter.
But, as the well-rounded theme goes, they’re likely to do all of the above in one workout.
And they’re coming to Kauai.
“Animals,” said Aaron Hoff, owner of CrossFit Poipu, who invited the big name athletes to the Garden Isle for the inaugural CrossFit Poipu Ultimate Hawaiian Trail Run Competition Sept. 14. “And the list keeps growing.”
Around a dozen so far have committed, and more could be on the way. Bailey, fresh off his 10th place finish at the national event for individual men, will be joined by Ben Alderman and Molly Vollmer, who can back squat 275 pounds and clean and jerk 215, the latter movement is taking a barbell from the ground, hoisting it to chest level before throwing the bar up and locking it out overhead.
“It just kind of evolved over the last year,” Hoff said of the event he organized by making the rounds with CrossFitters on the Mainland and Hawaii. “It’s going to be big.”
But the September obstacle run isn’t designed for the elite. Far from it. It’s for anyone who wants to workout in a camaraderie-filled environment. In fact, Hoff’s target audience since opening his gym a year ago is kids. A recovering ice addict 17 years sober, Hoff has spent his clean life working with kids. Working out at CrossFit can be addictive in its own right, he knows, and his plan is to introduce those at an impressionable age to something beneficial.
“It’s changing their lives,” he said of his gym. “With addicts, I was always helping people when they were at the end, their lives were horrible. With CrossFit, I can get in and help them before. You can get in and help their life early and get them surrounded by good people.”
Money raised at the event will go to scholarships for kid gym memberships.
So what type of competitions will unfold at Kahili mountain range? Well, part of CrossFit’s charm, or bane, is workouts are kept secret until right before. The element of surprise adds a layer of anxiety.
Rest assured, super advanced movements won’t be a part of it. But there are 5k and 10k obstacle runs for individuals, where participants run, but have to complete some other movements along the way, say sets of pushups, for example. A 5k run for teams of four will let groups tackle the challenge collectively.
Spoiler alert, the workouts could feature carrying logs with handles on them, a nod to Kauai’s jungle living. Sound archaic? Simplicity still gets results.
“It’s awesome, I’d recommend it to anybody,” said Daniel Hurtado, CrossFit member thinking of joining the event who has shed 15 pounds since joining the Poipu gym. “My energy is up. My eating is better. You’re eating so much, you want to eat healthy.”
Entries fees are $80 individually, or $200 for teams of four. It includes a luau at the Sheraton Kauai Resort in Koloa at 6 p.m. The races start at 8:30 a.m. and team events should wrap up around 2:30 p.m. Participants can sign up the day of, but should show up early. Meanwhile, some of the athletes will be landing on island early to help instruct regular classes, such as Bailey, who is scheduled to arrive Sept. 5
“I want it to open the doors for more people to do CrossFit,” said Jamie Pacheco, Hoff’s partner at the Poipu gym, 2827 Poipu Road in Koloa, who is helping organize the event sponsored by Progenex.
He said it’s a little nerve-racking thinking about instructing a class under the keen eye of an elite competitor, but the name of the game is for everyone to improve, regardless of level.
“I just want everyone to do it, not to be intimidated by CrossFit because it’s good for everybody,” he said.
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