HONOLULU (14-Dec) -- Pelted by driving rain and splashing through huge puddles, Patrick Ivuti and Kiyoko Shimahara won the 36th edition of the Honolulu Marathon convincingly here today, each pocketing $40,000 in prize money.
Ivuti, who finished fourth in the 10,000m at the 2000 Olympics, ran aggressively in the first section of the contest, pushing up the race's infamous hill in the 12th kilometer on Diamond Head Avenue with pacemaker Samuel Mwangi Gichohi. That thinned the lead pack to six, including his Kenyan compatriot and six-time Honolulu champion Jimmy Muindi.
"I was trying to push, to push, to push to recover the time at the end," explained Ivuti, a Kamba tribesman.
After passing half-way in 66:07, Ivuti and the pacer Gichohi broke the race open, and within minutes they were the only two in contention for the win. Gichohi fell off before 30 km to leave Ivuti to run alone against the rain and the clock. Although he had the course record within his grasp through 25 km, the big climb back up Diamond Head from 38 to 40 km slowed his pace considerably. Nonetheless, he still managed to win by more than three minutes in 2:14:35, a respectable time given the conditions.
"I think that the race was not bad," said Ivuti. "The rain was so heavy; it was not easy."
Stephen Njoroge Kinyanjui and Pius Muasa Mutuku, two of Muindi's training partners, finished second and third, respectively, in 2:17:41 and 2:17:51, respectively. Muindi had an off day, finishing fifth in 2:21:41.
In the women's race, Shimahara got pacemaking help from her Second Wind AC teammate Kaori Yoshida. The two Japanese ran with Kenya's Alice Timbilili through half-way in 1:16:29. Timbilili, who had to scratch her participation in the ING New York City Marathon last month because of a thigh injury, turned the aggressor.
"Timbilili started picking up the pace after half-way," said Shimahara through her manager, Brendan Reilly, who translated for her. "She opened up a lead of about ten meters, but I fought back and by 22 kilometers I was back along side her."
Shimahara, who was fighting stomach and intestinal distress throughout the race, ran with Timbilili through 30 km (1:48:31), leaving Yoshida 30 seconds behind. Shimahara then took off, putting three minutes on the two-time Olympian in the next ten kilometers.
"I felt this was a good time to make a move," Shimahara said of the 30 km mark.
It was clear sailing for Shimahara to the finish line in Kapiolani Park, and the tiny athlete with the big smile became only the second Japanese athlete --male of female-- to win in Honolulu. She was clocked at 2:32:36. Yoshida, who was a designated pacemaker, decided to stay in the race, and made up a 31 second deficit on Timbilili from 40 km to the finish, to bag second in 2:34:35. Timbilili, who later complained of neck pain, held on to finish third in 2:37:31.
Defending champion Alevtina Biktimirova of Russia, who finished second at both Boston and Chicago this year, was never a factor in the race, finishing a distant fifth in 2:45:06.
Despite the weak economy, 23,202 runners registered for the race, with over 14,000 coming from Japan.
Honolulu Marathon champion, Kiyoko Shimahara of Japan - Photo: Jane Monti
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