You’ll have to forgive Matt Stevens if he’s not quite up to speed navigating his new smart phone just yet.
After living in a house without running water for two years, he’s playing a bit of catch-up on the technology front.
Stevens and his family returned to Hawaii about two weeks ago following a teaching stint in Africa. Along with getting back into the swing of life back home, Stevens is getting reacquainted with running.
Between teaching and raising two young children while living in Africa, Stevens –a decorated performer in the local running scene — hadn’t devoted much time to training. But he got back into it when it appeared his scheduled return would coincide with Sunday’s Honolulu Marathon.
"It was kind of motivation to get back in shape, so I started running again in September," Stevens said.
"It’s been a long couple-year break, but it’s very exciting the timing worked out and more than anything I’m just happy to be involved in the event and we’re just loving being back in Hawaii. It’s just a real neat atmosphere that’s created with the Honolulu Marathon."
Stevens, a Hawaii Baptist Academy graduate, was the first runner to win three boys cross country state championships when he placed first in 1994, ’95 and ’96, a feat since matched by Leilehua’s Bryce Jenkins (2006-08). He also won three events at the state track and field championships in 1997.
He ran his first marathon in 2001 while a student at Harvard and claimed the award for the top Hawaii resident finisher at the 2008 Honolulu Marathon, when he completed the 26.2-mile trek from downtown to Hawaii Kai and back to Kapiolani Park in 2 hours, 51 minutes and 56 seconds.
He last took part in a marathon in 2010, so he’s planning to take a more relaxed approach in his return Sunday.
"The marathons I’ve done in the past … almost every one I’ve gone out way too hard and the last 6 to 8 miles is just brutally painful," Stevens said. "I’m looking forward to just cruising a little more this year. I want to go out slower and run a lot smarter than I have in the past, and my goal is just to finish the last mile feeling decent. … I just want to finish feeling good."
The perseverance long-distance running tends to foster was put into real-life application when Stevens; his wife, Lesley; and their two children embarked on their journey to East Africa. Their son, Nate, was 2 1/2 at the time and their daughter, Kylie, was 2 months old.
"We bonded as a family through struggle; initially the first three months was really rough," Stevens said. "We didn’t have running water in our house and sporadic electricity, so just caring for small kids was tough."
Both Matt and Lesley spent those first few months learning a new language, finding fulfillment in teaching while gaining acceptance from their new neighbors.
"We got through the initial hard times and the community really took us in and adopted us," Stevens said. "We probably would have bagged the whole thing if it wasn’t for this one family. They just showed us incredible aloha, taking care of the kids, showing us how to cook, helping wash the kids’ dirty laundry by hand."
Now settling back into life in Hawaii, Stevens is looking for a teaching job at home. He’ll have a wide-ranging resume to present, having taught in a juvenile detention home for three years, followed by three years teaching social studies at HBA, not to mention his latest venture.
"I’ve already had a broad experience in teaching, but teaching in a foreign language in Africa boosts my confidence that I can go into any classroom and feel like I can be a good teacher," he said.
Along with getting back in the classroom, the 35-year-old is looking forward to being part of the crowd congregating on Ala Moana Boulevard in the dark of Sunday morning.
"I kind of have butterflies just because I haven’t run 26 miles in a long time," Stevens said. "I feel some nervousness that I haven’t felt with previous marathons, but that kind of makes it fun too."
