Pierce Murphy finished third in the 5K race Sunday out of a field of 86 runners registered in the Old Koloa Sugar Mill 5K race Sunday morning. At first, it might seem like third place out of 86 is nothing
Pierce Murphy finished third in the 5K race Sunday out of a field of 86 runners registered in the Old Koloa Sugar Mill 5K race Sunday morning.
At first, it might seem like third place out of 86 is nothing spectacular until you meet Pierce, the 11-year-old son of Shawn and Doreen Murphy of Kilauea.
From there, it was off to the North Vidinha soccer fields where Pierce was part of the KSC-Imua’s 2-1 victory over the Lihu‘e Lightning at the Kaua‘i Soccer Association (KSA) soccer playoffs that were taking place over the weekend.
“He’s never walked,” Doreen says with a twinkle in her eye. “He’s been running ever since he was a little guy.”
When Pierce started playing soccer at about 5 or 6 years old, Doreen said they discovered that he was really fast. That prompted Pierce’s parents to start taking him to the competitive races.
Early this year, Pierce topped all runners handily at the East Kaua‘i Y’s Men’s/YMCA Youth Fun Run, 2-mile race, at the Kilohana Estates. “His picture was in the paper,” Doreen boasted.
Pierce followed that race with the Hanapepe 5K run with Russell the Rooster, finishing third in that event.
Two weeks ago, Doreen said Pierce competed on O‘ahu in a Brain Cancer race where he finished second out of a field of 83 runners, Pierce being the only child registered in that run.
But, Pierce’s big race came on June 19, Doreen explained. “He ran the Kona Marathon, 5K race, and finished 5th overall out of a field of about 180 runners.”
Pierce’s time of 17.22 catapaulted the Kilauea youngster to the top of the national listing, Doreen explaining that his fifth place finish earned Pierce the best national time for his age group.
A 5K race encompasses 3.1 miles, and if you compare Pierce’s time, it is noteworthy to see that several weeks ago, Scott Martin of Waimea High School finished first in the KIF cross country race with a time of 17.14, missing his personal goal by a scant 14 seconds.
Martin continued to finish first at the KIF championships held at Kapa‘a High School where he clocked a 17.10 in his top finish.
Doreen said that Pierce practices with the Kula School cross country team, and is usually at the front of the pack.
And, as Pierce settled down for a brief rest following his victorious soccer game, he said he runs “because it’s fun.”
His sister, Jade who is 6, also takes part in some of the runs where she tries to keep up, but for the Murphy household, Pierce is the winner.
His mom jokes, “Maybe one day, he might be running in the Olympics.”
But, for Pierce, there’s still the title games coming up next Sunday, and more races to run.
