Kenyan athletes dominated yesterday's 36th annual Honolulu Marathon, snagging the first five positions amid extremely wet, cool conditions. But the anticipated horse race didn't evolve as first-time Honolulu Marathon participant Patrick Ivuti, 30, pushed the pace early and held on to win, dropping his formidable competition with a strong move at the halfway mark.

Last year's Chicago Marathon champion won the 26.2-mile event by one of the widest margins in history, finishing in 2:14:35, more than 3 minutes ahead of runner up Stephen Njoroge-Kinyanjui, who clocked 2:17:41. Pius Muasa-Mutuko finished third in 2:17:51. Six-time champion Jimmy Muindi placed fifth in 2:21:43.

“;He was definitely the class of the field,”; Honolulu Marathon Association president Dr. Jim Barahal said of Ivuti. “;We were fortunate to get him. He was prepared to defend his title in Chicago but had a minor injury, and he wanted to run another marathon before the end of the year, so we were the beneficiaries of that. He's one of the top in the world.”;

Veteran commentator Toni Reavis noted that although this was only Ivuti's sixth marathon ever, he still clocked a 2:07:46 in his debut in Chicago's 2005 race.

“;He's a two-time silver medalist in world cross country, a fourth-place finisher in the Olympic games at 10,000 meters, a sub-1-hour half-marathoner, and a Chicago Marathon champion. That's probably as sparkling a resume as any of the athletes who have ever run here in Honolulu at the top of their game. So it's no surprise that he won. He's used to racing at the highest levels.”;

Just after crossing the finish line, Ivuti explained his strategy.

“;Since the rain was so bad, it was not easy, but that's why when the pace was coming down, I was trying to push, to push, to push,”; he said. “;The reason why I was trying to push (early) was so that I could recover later, because I knew the end was not very easy.”;

After a relatively slow 5:09 first mile, a pack of 10 men picked up the pace, at one point throwing in a 4:46 mile to pass through the 10K at Kapiolani Park in 31:09. By the time they ran a 5:07 mile up Diamond Head hill, the group had dwindled to six, having dropped 2005 Boston Marathon champion Hailu Nigussie of Ethiopia along the way. Plagued by injuries all year, Nigussie finished 10th in 2:30:32.

With sporadic sub-5-minute miles in the mix, the pack hit 10 miles in 50:17, then ventured onto a soaked Kalanianaole Highway that was mercifully devoid of the head winds that usually encourage the top runners to wait until they've turned around in Hawaii Kai before making a definitive move.

They passed the half-way point in 1:06:06, and at that moment, the race changed. Muindi, Njoroge-Kinyanjui and Muasa-Mutuko faded as Ivuti became even more aggressive, pulling away with pace setter Mwangi-Gichohi, who was scheduled to end his day after 13.1 miles. Through Hawaii Kai, the two men widened the gap. Unusually cool weather allowed them to skip several aid stations. Following 4:55 and 4:57 miles around the 17-mile mark, the pace setter dropped back - but not out - and cruised to an eighth-place finish in 2:28:09.

“;I was trying to assist him to see if he could push me to 30K (18.6 miles), but it was too difficult for him,”; Ivuti said of the pace setter.

So Ivuti ran the last 9 miles alone - with only cheers from thousands of outgoing runners to keep him company. Because he never looks behind when he's racing, he didn't know that he possessed such a solid lead until about 2 kilometers from the finish. Only then did he feel secure. Even so, the lack of competition and fatigue slowed his pace after mile 20.

“;I did what I could,”; he said simply. “;This (marathon) is too hard!”;