POIPU — JT Service shouted this question over and over to nearly 200 keiki on Saturday: “I need to know one thing. Are you ready to run?”
And the answer, each time, was the same.
“Yeahhhhh!”
Moments later, Service sent them on their way.
“Parents, are you ready?”
“Chicken, are you ready?”
“We are ready to go. On your marks, get set, go!” he shouted.
Swams of kids were off, as fast or as slow as their little feet could carry them after that man in the bright yellow chicken costume.
Service’s energy and enthusiasm seemed to pour over into the boys and girls, who grinned, laughed, cried and celebrated at the finish line of the sixth annual Keiki Run at the Grand Hyatt Kauai Resort &Spa in Poipu.
He’s been the voice behind this race from year one. It’s what he does, as founder and owner of Soul Focus Sports, which produces such events around the country.
This one happens to be among his favorites. The sheer delight of the children stirs the passion for running that’s long been in his heart.
“I just love that it brings the kids out and starts to set a good example of what running could be,” he said. “It doesn’t have to be hard, it doesn’t have to be punishment. It can be fun.”
Service is more than an announcer, promoter and organizer of all things running.
He won the inaugural Kauai Marathon in 2009, finishing in a time of 2 hours and 41 minutes.
That year, he didn’t even come to run the race. He came to work the running expo.
He had run in the Olympic marathon trials just a few weeks before, finishing in 2:20 and in the top 50 marathoners in the country.
“I thought, as long as I’m out here I might as well run the marathon,” he said. “I was fortunate enough to win the inaugural Kauai Marathon.”
That would be his only marathon win — at least so far.
“For me, this place means a lot,” he said.
“I love hills and I love a challenge and that’s what this course is all about,” he said. “So it’s almost like it was made for me a little bit.”
He recalls it being “quite lonely” as he made his way up and down the hills of Lawai and Kalaheo that have made this 26.2-mile race one of the toughest in the country.
And he recalls Jeff Sacchini, Kauai Marathon founder and owner, coming by on his Vespa and being surprised to see Service out in front.
“I do remember how stunning the views were and how beautiful the course was,” he said. “Just the feeling of being so grateful to be there, just happy, like some of these kids today.
“It was one of the best feelings of my life,” he said. “You’re in a beautiful place and getting a surprise win. There’s nothing like it.”
Service would run the marathon again, finishing second in year two and then a third later. He’s run the half, as well.
In his prime, Service ran twice a day, 110 miles a week. He competed in cross country and track at the University of California at Santa Barbara. Later, he went to law school at Santa Clara University and trained for the Olympic trials.
He still runs today, three to four times a week, mostly for fun, and lives in Santa Cruz, California.
“My role now is more of race production,” he said.
He planned to run the half marathon today, but a calf injury sidelined him.
“I just love it here,” he said.
As CEO and founder of Soul Focus Sports, he travels the country. His work will take him to Chicago, New York and San Francisco, overseeing a staff of 12 and 35 independent contractors.
On this Kauai trek, he went solo.
“I’m the only one out here just because I need a vacation,” he said, laughing.
He called his life “a collision of passions” that combines, running, endurance, fitness and business.
“So I wake up every day just stoked to go to work,” he said. “Like today. This is my job. This is crazy. Pinch me.”
Running, at one time, was everything to Service.
“It’s still super important to me. I just have a different role,” he said. “It’s given me a ton of opportunities. It’s given me my business, but also, it’s given me friends. The people it brings to the sports is my favorite thing.”
Starting a new business, like Soul Focus Sports, he said, is like running. You start with a few steps and build up to a mile, two miles, 10 miles and then, a marathon.
“In a weird way, there’s a lot of similarities,” he said. “Putting one foot in front of the other.”
At age 37, Service still has plenty of foot speed and endless positivity. He would love to come back to Kauai and win the marathon one more time. And he believes, if he finds time to train and remains healthy, he could do it.
There is one person who might derail those hopes, and it’s that guy in the yellow chicken suit, being chased by all those kids that Service sent after him. Tyler McCandless is a three-time marathon winner and four-time half marathon winner.
“As long at Tyler doesn’t run,” Service said with a smile.
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Bill Buley, editor-in-chief, can be reached at 245-0457 or bbuley@thegardenisland.com.
