Way to go, Markie V!
My good buddy Mark Van Akkeren was first out of the water at Kona this year (with a faster split than any of the pros, who started a few minutes up) and led the amateur race into the tenth mile of the run, when he started having back problems. Read more at http://trimarkyv.blogspot.com/.
I'll look forward to seeing Mark on the pro circuit next year. Once he gets a bit more durability on the run he'll be unstoppable.