COURTESY OF HONOLULU MARATHON Jimmy Muindi led the pack en route to his record-setting time of 2:11:12 in yesterday's Honolulu Marathon.

Muindi shatters record

The Kenyan wins an unprecedented
fourth race in a record time
of 2:11:12

With impeccable timing, Kenya's Jimmy Muindi left his competition and two records in the dust yesterday for his unprecedented fourth Honolulu Marathon championship.

Locked in with a pack of five others approaching the 19-mile mark, Muindi decided it was time to make a move. He poured it on, almost daring the others to keep up, and built a 20-yard lead.

That lead kept getting bigger and bigger all the way to the finish line, which he crossed in a record-shattering 2 hours, 11 minutes, 12 seconds.

Favorable weather, with temperatures between 66 and 70 degrees and winds measuring between zero and 6 mph, was also a major factor in Muindi's second Honolulu win in a row.

"I feel very good about this victory, and I thank God," said Muindi, who won $40,000 in prize money. "My whole family was praying for me, and, at last, I have the course record.

"Near the end, when I went to the aid stations for water, I only got one cup instead of the three I usually pick up. At one station, I didn't get any at all. I was feeling cold and didn't need it."

When Muindi made his break, three fellow Kenyans -- David Mutua, Boniface Usisivu and Mathew Sigei -- were left behind, while three-time champion Mbarak Hussein fell farther back.

Hussein made a charge at the end and finished the 26.2-mile race in third place, but he failed to make it a two-man duel as in 2002 when he beat Muindi at the wire. He was happy for Muindi, whom he considers a friend and who beat Hussein in the quest for the previously unattained fourth title.

"I was feeling tight," said Hussein, who also lagged behind the pack early in the race before reviving midway through. "I had a hamstring problem last week. I didn't pull it or anything, but it was bothering me.

"I wasn't surprised when Jimmy made his move. He always does around the 17th or 18th mile. He was patient, and when the time came, he took off. He kind of catches you off-guard. His pace was almost a little too fast. I was thinking that maybe he would fade and I could catch him, but it wasn't my day "

Muindi bettered the event's previous mark of 2:11:43 set by Hussein's older brother, Ibraham Hussein, in 1986. He also broke the course (which underwent alterations) record of 2:12:17 set in 1997 by Eric Kimaiyo.

Nicholus Muindi, Jimmy's brother, was the early pacesetter and he began to fall back after the 13th-mile mark.

Kimaiyo, a two-time Honolulu Marathon winner, along with Ethiopia's Gudisa Shentema and Hussein, all took small leads prior to the 17-mile mark.

But after the race's turnaround in Hawaii Kai, Muindi took a slight lead, which he held until his final, victorious break.

"I knew they couldn't follow me," Muindi said. "I knew the other guys were done. When I was behind, I was watching their tactics and I was listening to their breathing. It was heavy breathing, so I knew I was going to be OK. I think I could have done a 2:10 or a 2:09 if they were pushing me at the end.

"Nicholus did a great job (as the rabbit). We achieved the goal; I got the course record. He had never done that job before, so I had to teach him on the way. I told him, 'If you see that I want to pass you, that means you're going too slow.' "

Mutua finished in second place, 1 minute, 40 seconds behind Muindi.

"I train with Jimmy," said Mutua, whose previous two tries here ended in fourth- and sixth-place finishes. "So when Jimmy breaks, I also break. Others were challenging, but I was able to maintain that kick."

Japan's first finisher, Junichi Watanabe, finished in seventh place. Will F. Kimball of Anchorage, Alaska, was the first U.S. resident to finish, but he was three spots behind Jason Loutitt of Canada, who finished ninth.

Schabort rolls on: Krige Schabort's seventh victory in the wheelchair division was extra special.

On Thursday, the native of South Africa was inducted into the Honolulu Marathon Hall of Fame, and he didn't want to have a letdown this year.

Schabort didn't come close to breaking a course record, but he rolled home in 1:34:02 to beat Japan's Jun Hiromichi by nearly 90 seconds.

"I was on record pace at the turning point, but for some reason I dropped the pace and got tired," said Schabort, who lives near Atlanta.

"About 2 or 3 miles before Diamond Head, I attacked hard to see if I could make a gap and get away from Jun. I didn't want it to go down to a sprint, because he's really good on the flats. In the last mile, he was 30 seconds behind, and that was too much to make up."

Hiromichi plans to return to Hawaii in April to get married, according to Schabort.

"Jun really pushed me and I pushed him," Schabort added. "He had his best time (1:35:28)."