2009

With cool temperatures and no wind, a pack of eight set a torrid pace from the start, running sub-five-minute miles for the first 10 miles, and race officials in the pace vehicle predicted a new record. The pack had dropped to three when Ivuti made his move at the turn into Hawaii Kai round the 25-kilometer mark. But the torrid early pace took its toll on the return to the Kapiolani Park finish line. Ivuti's pace dropped to 5:24 at the 22-mile mark, and 5:43 at mile 24, which included the Diamond Head hill. Still, his 2:12:14 finish was faster than his 2:14:35 winning time last year. Ivuti said after the race that it wasn't his goal to set a record but just to repeat as winner. He said he was slowed by soreness in his legs in the latter part of the race. He said that after winning the Prague marathon in record time of 2:07:48 last May, winning in Honolulu capped a good year. ``I'm happy; why shouldn't I be?'' he said after the race. Nicholas Chelimo of Kenya was second in 2:13:10, and Whilliam Chebon, also of Kenya, was third in 2:14:59. Muindi was fourth in 2:17:17. It was an all-Kenyan elite field. Chelimo said that around the 40-kilometer mark, he thought he might be able to catch Ivuti, but it wasn't to be and Ivuti held on. A total of 23,248 runners registered for the race, with more than 60 percent coming from Japan.

She was the oldest competitor in the women’s elite field. Defending champion Kiyoko Shimahara of Japan was second in 2:29:53, Pamela Chepchumba of Kenya was third in 2:32:41, followed by Kaori Yoshida of Japan in 2:35:46, and 2003 winner Eri Hayakawa in 2:44:33. Even though more than 60 percent of the field has been from Japan since the early 1990s, Hayashida and Shimahara are the only Japanese to win Honolulu titles. Zakharova, the oldest women in the elite field, said the race went as she planned. She said he wanted to run with a group of women, but at the 30-kilometer mark she felt she could go faster and broke away from the other women leaders. She said she had a minor knee problem but said ``I felt confident and it didn't cause too much trouble.'' After seven years, Zakharova said she was happy to be back in Honolulu. She won her first Honolulu title in 1997 under the maiden name of Vasilieva. She also finished second in Honolulu on five occasions.