It's that time of the month again .. when box jellyfish swarm Hawaii's shorelines.
And like clockwork, the jellyfish were back again this morning -- mostly along the south shores.
It prompted honolulu triathlon officials to make changes to the race.
The 6th annual Honolulu Triathlon .. Was actually a duathlon instead.
The race usually includes a swim along Oahu's south shore, followed by a 40-K bike ride, and a 10-K run.
But race officials canceled the swimming portion .. and replaced it with more running because of the threat of box jellyfish.
"This is the first time we've had to change this race from a triathlon to a duathlon, but others in hawaii have had to do it, it's part of living in hawaii and the jellyfish" says Race Director, Steve Foster.
Box jellyfish stings are painful, and sometimes debilitating and deadly.
Race officials didn't want to take any chances.
"I think we all would rather swim but like you said safety is the most important thing" says triathlete Colin Kuster.
And actually, it worked out in Colin Kuster's favor.
"My swim is the worst part so not doing the swim, an extra run, I did better than I did last year" Kuster laughed.
About a thousand people participated in this year's race, which is less than past years.
Race officials blame it partly on the change, and partly on the economy.
About a hundred triathletes flew in from Japan .
And more than 150 from the mainland, including Kathryn Lee's group from San Francisco.
"We came here to hawaii to swim in the ocean and like to take part in hawaii but at the same time we're here and there's no way not to enjoy it" says Lee.
