bree brown

January 30, 2020

Bio

Who is Bree Brown? "I'll borrow the words of Erma Bombeck, 'When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, I used everything you gave me'."

Bree grew up sailing on boats with her mom and sisters, swimming, and surfing. To help pay for college she lead trail rides and would practice riding barrels after work thinking she would grow up to be a rodeo princess like her father (except he was a cowboy, not a princess). College took forever till graduation as she changed her major 5 times! "I struggled to decide if I wanted to stick with Marine Biology and the ocean theme of my youth or veterinary medicine and one day ride off into the sunset on my own goat farm, but I also LOVED Spanish (my minor) and thought about teaching English in Costa Rica, where I spent my summers and a semester of college. We didn't come from money so I had to pick and get myself graduated before I'd land living on the streets, so I flipped a coin! Heads Hawaii and tails Costa Rica. Heads it was! I've been teaching at the same little school near the beach, Kahakai Elementary, since January 2003...with a tiny break to travel the world as a professional triathlete."

Karate at Hale Halawai and paddling with Kai Opua, it still wasn't enough so she decided one day to do an Ironman! Before long she traded everything in for triathlon. "I loved, loved traveling the world as it let me return to Costa Rica and explore new places, meet new people, and quench that part of me that wanted to experience a really full life." By this time she had also become a mom, getting to bring her son Kainoa along with her was the opportunity of a lifetime. All of it was beyond anything she ever expected to happen to her, the poor girl who got to see the world!

After winning & losing races all over the world and 2 Ironman titles later, her heart just wasn't full. "I returned to paddling and raced Molokai Hoe with some of the most amazing ladies of Kai Opua. Crossing the Molokai to Oahu channel lead me to realize everything I want, I have. Kainoa was at that age when he starting to take on his own passions, I wanted to nurture those. I traded in my bike for the classroom and everything felt right in the world again. I needed purpose bigger than my own dreams, I wanted to help give opportunities to children the way others did for me."

I Take BioAstin

"My adventures these days are running all over Hawaii. I run more for the sheer passion than applauds, but of course I enjoy a good race here and there & smack talking with training partners. Running or hiking up to summits or to waterfalls with the other crazy people that enjoy 20-100 miles at a time is my new pace, or any hike I can convince the husband or Kainoa to go on. I'm really thankful to be on Team BioAstin year after year as I'm convinced it's part of the reason I can keep going and going and going..."