COURTESY OF SUSUMU NAKAJIMA Eri Hayakawa won the 2003 Honolulu Marathon despite trailing Albina Ivanova by 2 minutes at one point.

Taking it
step by step

Coach Susumu Nakajima has
defending champ Eri Hayakawa
advancing in increments

Watch out for Japan's Eri Hayakawa when she has her eyes on the prize.

The 23-year-old gained a foothold on running glory by winning the 2003 Honolulu Marathon, and she has a chance to climb another step toward greatness in the sport by defending her title in Sunday's 2004 edition of the race.

At one point in last year's event, she trailed Russia's Albina Ivanova by 2 minutes.

Honolulu Marathon When: Sunday, 5 a.m. Start: Ala Moana Blvd./ Queen St. Extension Finish: Kapiolani Park Established: 1973 Major sponsor: Japan Airlines Awards ceremony: Sunday, 1 p.m. Wheelchair division: Starts just prior to 5 a.m. Late entries: Accepted until 6 p.m. Saturday at the Honolulu Marathon headquarters at Hawaii Convention Center, $120. Distance: 26 miles, 385 yards Record holders: Men -- Ibrahim Hussein, Kenya, 2:11:43 (1986); Women -- Lyubov Morgunova, Russia, 2:28:33 (2000); Wheelchair --ĘKrige Schabort, U.S. 1:31:04 (2001)

"When I started to catch up and I could finally see the lead runner, that's when I told myself, 'I can make it happen,' " said Hayakawa through an interpreter. "As soon as I saw that light, I had the insight that I could beat her. I saw that light."

Another insight -- this one by her coach, Susumu Nakajima -- played a major role in Hayakawa becoming a marathoner.

"The first time I met Eri 2 1/2 years ago, she was running in the gym," Nakajima said, also through an interpreter.

"It was inspirational. I felt she could do it and thought, 'Oh, there's a marathoner.' I felt I found a marathoner, kind of like when someone finds a girlfriend or a wife. I believe that's her fate, to run and win marathons. She's born with it and she's also born with something else, good luck and good fortune. She has an aura about her. We'll walk into an empty restaurant and pretty soon lots of people will be there."

But Nakajima has Hayakawa advancing in increments.

"We don't really know how much potential she has," Nakajima said. "That's something we're trying to establish."

So far, so good.

In college, Hayakawa ran the 800 meters and slightly longer distances. When she began working out for marathons, she trained by running 500 kilometers a month and wound up feeling a lot of pain.

Now, she's up to 800 kilometers a month and her body isn't hurting much at all.

One concern is Hayakawa's size and whether she can take the pounding of running over the long haul. She is slightly under 5-foot and weighs 86 pounds.

"So far, we haven't rushed into it, because that would be premature," Nakajima said. "She's not quite ready (to enter a lot of races). If we do that, she could have a short marathon life.

"Next year, we are looking ahead to her running in the Boston Marathon. She's definitely one step ahead of last year, based on her times in practice."

STAR-BULLETIN FILE PHOTO Eri Hayakawa will be gunning for the course record of 2:28.33, held by Lyubov Morgunova.

Hayakawa's goal for this year's Honolulu Marathon is to break Lyubov Morgunova's course record of 2 hours, 28 minutes, 33 seconds.

Potentially, it's a reachable mark, because Hayakawa ran 2:21 while working out in Japan. She won last year's race in 2:31:57.

Like any good student, she believes in what Nakajima is teaching her.

"Of course it's a great team," Hayakawa said. "He convinced me that I could do it. At first, I thought, 'No way can I run a marathon.' "

Hayakawa has run only three marathons, two in Honolulu (she placed fourth in 2002) and one earlier this year in Nagoya, Japan.

It's also hard for her to tell which course she likes better, because most of the Honolulu course is run in the dark, early morning hours and she can't really see the scenery well.

STAR-BULLETIN FILE PHOTO Eri Hayakawa passed Alevtina Ivanova of Russia during the last leg of the Honolulu Marathon en route to winning the race last year. Ivanova will be among the runners aiming to unseat Hayakawa as champion in Sunday's Honolulu Marathon.

At any rate, she's hoping for no wind on Sunday, when Ivanova, Morgunova and Alevtina Ivanova (no relation) will be among the runners trying to unseat her as champion.

"Wind, that's her biggest obstacle," Nakajima said.

"No wind, no problem," Hayakawa chimed in.

In her spare time, Hayakawa likes to swim and go to hot springs, a popular thing for young people to do in Japan.

"It makes me feel calm," she said. "It's meditative and I don't have to think about anything. My body and mind and everything can be relaxed."

For needed carbohydrates the night before the race, she'll eat kasutera (sponge cake).

But after the race, if she wins, comes the real reward.

That's when she's hoping to celebrate a victory with some more sweet nourishment.

"I won't just eat a small serving of cake, either," she said. "I'll grab a spoon and dig in with it and eat the whole thing. Any kind of cake. Then, about one week after the marathon, that's when I'll go back to my regular diet. Anything sweet, I love it."