Byron Acohido deals with stressful deadlines on a daily basis as the writer of USA Today’s "CyberTruth" blog and column, which focuses on Internet security.
The 1973 Damien Memorial School graduate won the Pulitzer Prize in 1997 for his series of stories for the Seattle Times exposing Boeing 737 rudder control problems that caused the crash of USAir Flight 427 in 1994, killing 132.
Acohido, who was born and raised in Wahiawa and now lives in Seattle, says long-distance running provides him with a sense of well-being and stress relief from the demands of daily journalism. He has participated in marathons in Portland, Ore., and Seattle, but this year he’ll run his first Honolulu Marathon.
"I ran a lot when I was in my 20s and 30s, then stopped in the late 1980s. I started again in March 2011 when my oldest son, Blake, asked me to run the Portland Marathon with him that fall," said Acohido, 58. "Running helps me stay fit to do other activities and enjoy good food and wine with a clear conscience."
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THERE’S ALWAYS NEXT YEAR!
If running a marathon is on your bucket list, you might want to sign up for Dr. Jack Scaff’s free 2014 Sunday Marathon Clinic, scheduled for March 13 to Dec. 4 at 3833 Paki Ave., near the site of the old Kapiolani Park driving range. Informative talks about training, diet, proper shoes and injuries are followed by group runs. The sessions begin promptly at 7:30 a.m., with groups for beginners (people just starting to exercise), intermediate runners ready to transition to marathons, and advanced runners. Visit honolulumarathonclinic.org.
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On Sunday he will be running alongside more than 25,000 runners in the 41st Honolulu Marathon.
"This will be the first time I’ve run any kind of organized run in Hawaii," he said.
Acohido and his wife, Robin, a 1973 Waipahu High School graduate, have three other sons, one grandson, and two granddaughters on the way. He will be running with Blake, 35, an ophthalmologist in Portland, Ore.
"On the weekends we try to train together. It’s about a 31⁄2-hour drive (from Seattle to Portland)," Acohido said.
His best-ever marathon time is 3 hours, 9 minutes, in 1988 when he was "in my prime." For the Honolulu race, Acohido’s goal is to finish in 4 hours, 20 minutes.
In addition to long-distance running and training for races, he also enjoys stand-up paddleboarding and outrigger canoe paddling to find a physical and spiritual balance in his life. "I’ve always been active and plan to keep on moving," he said. "I love the repetitive, mind-numbing stuff. I spend 10 hours a day using my brain, so I always feel good afterward."
He is a member of Hui Heihei Wa‘a canoe club in Silverdale, Wash., paddling competitively during the summer racing season. During the winter he lifts weights. "I also stand-up paddle on Puget Sound and occasionally stand-up paddle-surf on the Washington and Oregon coasts," he said.
As if that’s not enough, his wife runs a halau in Seattle, and Acohido plays ukulele for them.
His trip to Hawaii won’t be all about running. "We plan to see Hawaiian musicians and hula dancers perform, as much as we can, check out the winter surf on the North Shore and have banana-macadamia nut pancakes for breakfast at Orchids in the Halekulani," he said. "I’m also hunting for a nice, Hawaiian-made uke."
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“Be Well” features inspiring stories of people dealing with health challenges. Reach Nancy Arcayna at narcayna@staradvertiser.com or call 529-4808.
