"A beautiful sunrise along a beautiful course," said men's winner Bekele, 27, a visiting professional runner from Ethiopia.
Added women's winner Graybill: "Winning my first Tamanaha Run was my best Easter present yet."
Graybill, 27, like Bekele, led her division from start to finish. But unlike the visitor who ran pretty much unopposed, Graybill was pressed -- by another runner named Rachel.
"With two miles to go, I knew Rachel Portner was close behind. I could hear people cheering for her," Graybill said. "I knew the time had come for me to pick up the pace."
While Graybill averaged 6:20-minute miles finishing the 15 kilometers in 59:06, Bekele turned the hilly course in 47 minutes flat while sporting a 5:03 average.
"I would have run faster than today's 75 percent effort but I had no one to push me on," said Bekele, who six weeks ago won the Great Aloha Run.
Brian Salter, 24, a former Hawaii Pacific University cross-country harrier, was second 49:09.
"I stayed with Bekele for the first mile, then he took off. He was too strong and too fast."
Although Portner, 43, finished second to Graybill in 59:28, she won the women's 40-and-over masters championship.
Michael Georgi, 44, a Punahou School teacher and running coach, won the men's masters title with a fifth-place finish in 52:48.
Graybill and Bekele used yesterday's run as workouts for marathons down the road -- Rachel hoping to run a fast New Zealand marathon in May and Tesfaye shooting to win the Boston Marathon April 21.
"Should I win Boston I'll return to Hawaii, buy a house and train here forever," said Bekele, who recently won $10,000 for his second place Los Angeles Marathon finish.
The 9.3-mile run, which started and finished at Kapiolani Park, drew 400 participants. The footrace honors Tamanaha, known locally as the "Father of Hawaii Road Racing."
The Easter morning run included 50 Hawaii National Guard Youth Challenge teenagers.
No course records were broken.
Triathlete pals Debbie Hornsby and Cliff Rigsbee were among those using the run as training.
"Good preparation for my upcoming Japan Strongman triathlon," said Hornsby, winner of her 30-34 age-group.
In addition to recording a fast 1:06:46 time, Hornsby managed to sandwich in a pair of training runs, before and after the race.
"Winning the trophy came as a surprise," she said.
With generous five-year age-divisions through 80, the Tamanaha became a hit with seniors.
"This race was so important that I rolled out of bed at 3 a.m. in order to make the (6 a.m.) start," said Waianae's Masaru Morikawa, winner of the men's 75-79 division in 1:24.
The race took Honolulu's Bob Terukina, 81, a difficult 2:16 to finish. "An age-group win has a way of making pain disappear," he said.
Etsuo Tonokawa (1:23) won the Harold Chapson Award presented to the first 70 year or over finisher. Margaret Lee, 77, finished under two hours -- a division-winning performance.
Oriental Medical Institute's acupuncture tent became a post-race gathering place for those seeking relief from aches and pains.
"My muscles are relaxed and I feel ready to run again," said Bekele, after surviving the prodding and poking of a dozen, or more needles.
"A very good patient," said acupuncturist Evelyn Oh of yesterday's race winner.
Werner Stahlberger (1:32:59) and Robyn McMullin (2:02:44) led the men's and women's racewalk divisions.