Honolulu Marathon 2013 – DEFENDING CHAMPION SAYS HER RUN WAS MOTIVATED BY PRETTY DRESS

Valentina Galimova says her favorite thing to do in Hawaii — besides running the Honolulu Marathon, of course — is to shop. But the defending women's champion told a group of students on Thursday that she won't do any shopping until after Sunday's race. However, that may not prevent her from doing some more window shopping. `

`Last year on the race course I saw a pretty dress in a shop window and that made me run faster,'' the 27-year-old professional marathoner told the students at Damien Memorial School in Honolulu. She said that after the race she went to the Waikiki store where she saw the dress and bought it. Whether or not it was the pretty dress, Galimova surged late in the race and edged then-defending champion Woynishet Girma of Ethiopia by 59 seconds. The Russian will have her hands full on Sunday, with Girma seeking to regain her title and three other strong Ethiopian runners also challenging her. Asked why she comes such a long way to run, Galimova said, „I love this place very much. It's the best marathon,'' although admitting she has run only a few races over the 26.2-mile distance.

A resident of Perm, Russia, which is described as the „Gateway to Siberia,'' Galimova says it is „very cold'' there. Twenty-below-zero. So she trains in Portugal prior to coming to Hawaii. „This helps me adjust to Hawaii's heat.'' She described some of the Russian foods she enjoys, and said her training diet features pasta, bagels and meat. She said she avoids sugars just before races.

She emphasized the meat and made it clear she is not a vegetarian. In response to a question from a husky male student, Galimova said she doesn't supplement her running with weight training. „Lifting is too hard. We need to be slim,'' she said, drawing admiring smiles from the male students. She said she ran her first marathon at age 23, and told the students, „you are too young'' for a marathon.

FORMER MARATHON CHAMPION VISITS WITH MID-PACIFIC STUDENTS

Three-time Honolulu Marathon champion Mbarak Hussein visited with a group of elementary students on Thursday, continuing a tradition for his frequent return visits to the race. „It's important to give back to the community and share my experiences with the community,'' he said after the visit with first-, second- and fifth-graders at Honolulu's Mid-Pacific Institute. „We need to reach out and try to inspire the younger kids.'' That inspiration became apparent when the students greeted him with hugs and smiles after running a couple laps around the school's athletic field at the conclusion of the visit. That response was „very exciting,'' and made the school visit worthwhile, he said.

He offered running tips, encouraging the students to start slowly and build up stamina. Many of the students' questions centered on his running career, although they also wanted to know about life in his native Kenya, particularly about language. One student asked if he spoke to his parents in English. He replied that they speak very little English, so communication with them is in Swahili. He also talked about the Swahili names in The Lion King Hussein, the Honolulu winner in 1998, 2001 and 2002, said that as an elementary student, he didn't like running.

He said he later started running the three miles from his home to school and got interested in the sport. Professional runners have to „put in the time,'' and follow a strict training regimen and eat and sleep well, he said. „Diet is very big.'' He still follows a strict diet and at 48, he remains lean and fit. He competes in the master's division in marathon and shorter-distance races, and is a four-time U.S. Masters marathon champion. He also is a high school cross-country coach.

In response to another question, Hussein said his inspiration for running was his older brother, Ibrahim, also a three-time Honolulu Marathon champion, winning consecutive victories starting in 1985. He proudly told the students his brother was the first Kenyan to win the Boston Marathon.

Source: Honolulu Marathon