40th Honolulu Marathon – GALIMOVA WINS WITH LATE SURGE – KENYA’S KIPSANG WINS

Valentina Galimova sprinted away from defending champion Woynishet Girma six-tenths of a mile from the finish line to win the Honolulu Marathon women's racer on Sunday. Her time was two hours, 31 minutes and 23 seconds, which was a minute ahead of Girma of Ethiopia, whose time was 2:32:22. American Stephanie Rothstein-Bruce of Flagstaff, Ariz., was third in 2:32:47.

Three-time winner Svetlana Zakharova, who was inducted into the marathon's Hall of Fame on Thursday, was seventh in 2:39:49. At age 42, it was her last marathon. Galimova's victory was the eleventh here for a Russian woman since 1996. She finished third last year, and this was her first marathon victory in four races. „I feel a little tired,'' she said after the race. She described her effort as „a big job,'' saying it was the most difficult marathon she has run. „It was windy going out, but the wind was at our backs on the return,'' she said. She also said the weather was hot, noting a big climate change in coming to Honolulu. „It's cold in Russia now.'' She also noted Zakharova's Hall of Fame induction, saying „it's nice to keep up the tradition of Russian women.''

Galimova said that with her $40,000 prize, she and her new husband will have to „make a decision on where to live.'' She and Alexander were married in September. Kaori Yoshida of Japan and Hellen Mugo of Kenya broke away from the field right after the start. They ran together to the half-way mark when both began to slow down. Yoshida, who finished fourth, pulled away, and Girma caught up with her at the 31-kilometer mark. When Yoshida faltered, Galimova caught up and ran with Girma. The two were shoulder-to-shoulder up the Diamond Head hill, but Galimova made her move heading into Kapiolani Park. Lyubov Denisova of Russia set the women's record of 2:27:19 in 2006.

KENYA'S KIPSANG WINS WITH FIRST NEGATIVE SPLIT

When the winds finally settled down, Wilson Kipsang made his winning move. Feeling comfortable and strong, Kipsang made a push at the 22nd mile and pulled away to win Sunday’s Honolulu Marathon in 2 hours, 12 minutes, 31 seconds.

“A win for me is good,” Kipsang said. Kipsang, running in his first marathon since his bronze-medal performance at the London Olympics, pulled away from Markos Geneti of Ethiopia after the 22nd mile. Through the back of Kahala and Diamond Head, Kipsang gradually increased his lead to win his Honolulu debut. Geneti was second in 2:13:08 and Kiplimo Kimutai of Kenya finished third in 2:14:15. Patrick Ivuti finished fourth in 2:14:55 and Julius Arile was fifth in 2:15:17. All five men were part of a group of nine runners in the lead pack for most of the race. They tackled a windy stretch on Kalanianaole Highway by running behind each other. “It was a lot of wind,” said Kipsang, who was to run in November’s New York City Marathon until the event was canceled.

At that point of the race, Kipsang said it was hard to take the lead. “The guys were running very well,” Kipsang said. “We were trying to run on top of the pace.” By the 19th mile, the lead pack whittled down to four runners — Kipsang, Geneti, Kimutai and Arile. As the winds started to die down, Kipsang made his surge. “I felt it was the right time to make the move,” Kipsang said. “But he was a very strong a runner.” As his lead grew in the last two miles along Diamond Head, Kipsang received cheers and applause from competitors still tackling the marathon. They stopped and took pictures of Kipsang with their computers and smart phones. Kipsang is the first Honolulu Marathon champion to run a faster time in the second half of the race than the first half.

“I was feeling strong and was aiming to break the course record,” Kipsang said.

 

Decathlete Bryan Clay finishes with wife

Bryan Clay says the toughest part of running a marathon is „having to keep going.'' The 2008 Olympic gold medalist and his wife, Sarah, ran the Honolulu Marathon on Sunday, finishing hand in hand in four hours and 46 minutes. It was their first marathon. That time was only slightly over their goal of four and a half hours, he said. „The decathlon is tough, but this a a different animal,'' said Bryan. Running with his wife kept him going, he said. „If I had tried to run this competitively I wouldn't have made it.'' Wife Sarah did a „great job,'' he said, and running the marathon „was her idea and definitely not mine. She decided that if we were to do a marathon it should be in Hawaii.''

Bryan was raised in the 50th State. While both had tough spots during the run, and both started fading at the 23- or 24-mile mark, they called their effort „a lot of fun.'' „We had a great time,'' he said. „We were talking to people all along the way. Having people call out your name really gives you a boost.'' Sarah started training without him, and it was only four weeks before the race that Bryan decided he'd better start getting serious about it. He got in only two 15-mile runs, saying „I definitely don't recommend that.'' Although they looked good after the race and said they felt pretty good, the couple said they would give themselves time to recover before deciding whether to do another marathon. But Bryan said it is possible they will return to Honolulu to run again.

3 generations to run together in 40th Honolulu Marathon

Betty Jean McHugh turned 85 last month, and is celebrating by running the Honolulu Marathon for the sixth time. This time it will be a three-generation effort with her son Brent, 58, and granddaughter, Ava, 21, also racing. The three-generation effort was Ava's idea, McHugh said, and it will be the first time the three have run in the same race, and Ava's first marathon. McHugh, known as BJ to family and friends, started running at age 55 and has completed "roughly" 15 marathons and more than 300 other races. Years ago, she did a 10-kilometer race every weekend, she said. She holds numerous age-group records, especially in the half-marathon, her favorite distance. The North Vancouver, B. C., resident first ran the Honolulu Marathon following her 70th birthday.

She started her running career by jogging around a park while waiting for her daughter to finish swim practice. "Parents weren't allowed to watch," she said. "The fitness craze had just started, and initially I trained in the morning and then tended to family matters." Son Brent said he trains with his mother and accompanies her to destination races. "It is my job to make sure she doesn't get lost," he said as she laughed. McHugh said she probably won't be doing many more full marathons and will concentrate on the half. "But every year I saw it's my last," she said. She enjoys the camraderie of running, saying "when you get old, develop young friends."

 

Hall of Fame inducts Svetlana Zakharova

With five former honorees looking on, Svetlana Zakharova of Russia was inducted into the Honolulu Marathon's Hall of Fame at a reception Thursday night.

"I am thankful for this gift and that my career achievements are noted," said Zakharova, a three-time winner and six-time runner-up in the Honolulu race, through an interpreter. She will be competing here for the 11th time on Sunday, and said she is "very happy to come from Russia and be here in Hawaii." She will end her marathon career after the race.

Zakharova won the Honolulu women's race in 1997, and repeated in 2002 and 2009, when she posted her fastest time of 2 hours, 28 minutes and 34 seconds. That time is the fourth fastest among women since the race started in 1973. She also is a former winner of the Boston and Chicago Marathons.

Other Hall of Fame members on hand to congratulate Zakharova were Frank Shorter, Barack Hussein, Gladys Burrill, and Ronald and Jeanette Chun.

 

Source: Organisers