Ironmen move through sun, rain or vog

“Swim with the Honu, ride on the IRONMAN World Championship bike course, and run in a vacationer’s paradise,” reads the website for the Ironman 70.3 Hawaii race, set for Saturday on Hawaii island.

Kilauea’s wrath is not mentioned: After all, it may actually be a “vacationer’s paradise” all that distance from Puna. There is no way to know whether the wind might carry some of the vog closer to the course in North Kona and the Kohala coast.

But people who gut through a half-Ironman don’t quit, so the event will go on. You’ll be breathing hard, racers. Let’s hope for fair winds.

Looking for aloha on Kuhio Beach

After nearly 46 laid-back years, Kuhio Beach’s beachboy culture is getting a corporate look. Now the beachboys wear Dive Oahu blue polo shirts and carry iPads.

For some, the change in vendors is just too much.

Dive Oahu, which replaced Star Beachboys and Hawaiian Oceans Waikiki, said it experienced angry outbursts from people threatening customers and yelling at workers since it started operations on Tuesday.

The frustration might be understandable, but it’s unfortunate. Visitors are not responsible for the change; they shouldn’t get caught up in the dispute during their vacation.