Kenyan Ivuti repeats
POSTED: Monday, December 14, 2009
For the second straight year, Patrick Ivuti took charge of the race but then had to soldier on alone to the end.
Ivuti, a corporal in the Kenyan army, seized command of the 37th Honolulu Marathon with a surge on Hawaii Kai Drive yesterday before gritting through a solitary slog to the Kapiolani Park finish line.
Ivuti, 31, successfully defended his men's title in the 26.2-mile event with a time of 2 hours, 12 minutes and 14 seconds, nearly a minute in front of countryman Nicholas Chelimo, who finished in 2:13:10. William Chebon followed in third place (2:14:59) and six-time winner Jimmy Muindi finished fourth (2:17:17), as the Kenyan contingent took the top five places.
After setting a blistering early pace and running off the race “;rabbits”; and his main rivals, Ivuti faltered a bit in the final 8 miles but still managed to record the sixth-fastest time in race history.
With the race-time temperature at a cool 68 degrees and trades barely blowing, the elite Kenyan contingent of eight men shot out at the 5 a.m. start and ripped off a series of sub-5-minute miles.
Led by Ivuti, pace setter Gilbert Chepkwony, William Chebon and Muindi, the lead pack zipped through 6 miles at a 4:37-mile pace and passed the 10K mark in 30:04. The four frontrunners then tossed in 4:46, 4:56 and 4:51 miles up and around Diamond Head, with Muindi and Chelimo trailing by a couple of seconds. The brisk pace was enough to whet the appetite of race officials eager to see Muindi's 5-year-old race record of 2:11:12 fall.
MEN'S WINNERS
The last 20 men's winners in the Honolulu Marathon:
2009: Patrick Ivuti, Kenya, 2:12:14 2008: Patrick Ivuti, Kenya, 2:14:35
2007: Jimmy Muindi, Kenya, 2:18:53
2006: Ambesse Tolossa, Ethiopia, 2:13:42
2005: Jimmy Muindi, Kenya, 2:12:00
2004: Jimmy Muindi, Kenya, 2:11:12*
2003: Jimmy Muindi, Kenya, 2:12:59
2002: Mbarak Hussein, Kenya, 2:12:29
2001: Mbarak Hussein, Kenya, 2:15:09
2000: Jimmy Muindi, Kenya, 2:15:19
1999: Jimmy Muindi, Kenya, 2:16:45
1998: Mbarak Hussein, Kenya, 2:14:53
1997: Eric Kimaiyo, Kenya, 2:12:17
1996: Eric Kimaiyo, Kenya, 2:13:23
1995: Josiah Thungwane, South Africa, 2:16:08
1994: Benson Masya, Kenya, 2:15:04
1993: Bong Ju Lee, Korea, 2:13:16
1992: Benson Masya, Kenya, 2:14:19
1991: Benson Masya, Kenya, 2:18:24
1990: Simon Robert Naali, Tanzania, 2:17:29
*—event record
Source: honolulumarathon.org
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Muindi and Chelimo rejoined the lead pack and Chebon fell back as the men hit the half-marathon mark at 1:04:20, still well below race-record pace. But like last year, Ivuti decided that he had to take matters into his own hands to ensure victory.
“;At around 22K (13.7 miles), I realized that (the other runners) were not able to push (the pace),”; he said. “;That's the time (Chelimo and I) started to push.”;
Ivuti and Chelimo quickly mounted an attack that took the fight out of Muindi and Chepkwony. Ivuti accelerated as he turned onto the loop entering Hawaii Kai, and the defending champion dropped his last remaining rival along the 16th mile.
“;Patrick made that little move at 25K,”; said David Monti, the editor and publisher of Race Results Weekly who covered the race from the men's pace truck. “;He put the knife in there. The race was in the bag.”;
Ivuti opened up a wide margin on Chelimo as he made his way back along Kalanianaole Highway, but with no one to push him, his pace slowed at around the 17th mile as his early effort began to take its toll.
“;That's when I start to feel my left leg pulling a bit,”; he explained after the race.
By the time he turned off the highway stretch near Waialae Country Club onto Kealaolu Avenue, Ivuti's pace had dropped off to a 5:23 mile, and he glanced over his shoulder a few times to locate Chelimo, 31, who had closed the yawning gap to 61 seconds.
“;My plan was to catch him at 38 kilometers or 40,”; Chelimo said. “;But I feel very tired.”;
The precipitous dropoff in the last third of the race was the price Ivuti had to pay for the punishing early pace.
“;They were so aggressive early on that there was going to be a penalty late in the day,”; said Toni Reavis, who provided commentary for the radio broadcast of the race.
“;It's amazing in the marathon, when the wheels fall off, how quickly it goes,”; observed Monti. “;And the record was gone, poof.”;
Though he labored a little on the arduous climb up Kahala Avenue and Diamond Head, Ivuti had enough left in the tank to hold off Chelimo, clinching the $40,000 first-place prize and notching the third-fastest time on the current course since the race route was adjusted in 1992.
Though he fell short of the race record, Ivuti still earned an additional $6,000 in incentive time bonus money, and a likely invitation to return to Honolulu next December.
“;We're thrilled again to have a repeat champion, and hopefully (Patrick) can come back and go for a three-peat next year,”; said Jim Barahal, Honolulu Marathon Association president.
TOP MEN
| Name | Age | Country | Time | |
| 1 | Patrick Ivuti | 31 | Ken | 02:12:14 |
| 2 | Nicholas C Kipkorir | 26 | Ken | 02:13:10 |
| 3 | William Chebon | 26 | Ken | 02:14:59 |
| 4 | Jimmy M Muindi | 36 | Ken | 02:17:17 |
| 5 | Gilbert Chepkwony | 24 | Ken | 02:18:48 |
| 6 | Brandon Laan | 26 | Usa | 02:25:41 |
| 7 | Satoshi Kato | 29 | Jpn | 02:26:16 |
| 8 | Samuel M Gichohi | 26 | Ken | 02:27:36 |
| 9 | Joseph N Maregu | 32 | Ken | 02:27:56 |
| 10 | Yasukazu Miyazato | 30 | Jpn | 02:28:34 |
| 11 | Steve Slaby | 28 | Usa | 02:31:23 |
| 12 | Yousuke Itagaki | 31 | Jpn | 02:31:51 |
| 13 | Mitsuru Shinohara | 42 | Jpn | 02:38:26 |
| 14 | Kiyohiro Watanabe | 22 | Jpn | 02:39:30 |
| 15 | Hirokazu Yoshida | 30 | Jpn | 02:39:48 |
| 16 | Patrick Werhane | 24 | Usa | 02:39:54 |
| 17 | Brendon Seipolt | 42 | Aus | 02:41:13 |
| 18 | Takeshi Araki | 30 | Jpn | 02:42:03 |
| 19 | Yuta Tsutsui | 22 | Jpn | 02:44:42 |
| 20 | Paul Noone | 25 | Usa | 02:43:46 |
| 21 | David Easa | 35 | Usa | 02:44:23 |
| 22 | Shimpei Fujita | 22 | Jpn | 02:45:01 |
| 23 | Mark Riggs | 22 | Usa | 02:45:41 |
| 24 | Andrew Taylor | 30 | Usa | 02:46:16 |
| 25 | Takahiro Oue | 34 | Usa | 02:46:25 |
| 26 | Yuichi Inoue | 29 | Jpn | 02:46:38 |
| 27 | John Mozer | 33 | Usa | 02:47:28 |
| 28 | Takaaki Tonosaki | 35 | Jpn | 02:48:11 |
| 29 | Kentaro Uno | 27 | Jpn | 02:48:36 |
| 30 | Marty Muchow | 44 | Usa | 02:48:19 |
| 31 | Yuji Yamanaka | 38 | Jpn | 02:48:26 |
| 32 | Yasuto Kimura | 42 | Jpn | 02:48:25 |
| 33 | Conor Lucas-Roberts | 27 | Usa | 02:48:52 |
| 34 | Masaki Kawanabe | 42 | Jpn | 02:48:41 |
| 35 | Tomoya Kawai | 22 | Jpn | 02:49:25 |
| 36 | Jonathan Lyau | 45 | Usa | 02:49:14 |
| 37 | Tomoyoshi Kosaka | 19 | Jpn | 02:53:42 |
| 38 | Yoshiyuki Shibata | 39 | Jpn | 02:50:13 |
| 39 | Masahiko Nagasaka | 46 | Jpn | 02:50:48 |
| 40 | Graham Moore | 45 | Nzl | 02:51:25 |
| 41 | Kazuya Mukai | 42 | Jpn | 02:51:39 |
| 42 | Yu Kuroiwa | 32 | Jpn | 02:52:43 |
| 43 | Brian Richter | 40 | Usa | 02:53:06 |
| 44 | Takeshi Araki | 48 | Jpn | 02:53:07 |
| 45 | Kazuhiro Nagata | 19 | Jpn | 02:54:06 |
| 46 | Takashi Nabeshima | 31 | Jpn | 02:53:37 |
| 47 | Keita Suzuki | 25 | Jpn | 02:53:59 |
| 48 | Akihiko Futaki | 50 | Jpn | 02:54:16 |
| 49 | Josiah Badger | 27 | Usa | 02:54:18 |
| 50 | Pete Boksanski | 40 | Usa | 02:54:25 |
| 51 | Tomi Halme | 24 | Fin | 02:55:55 |
| 52 | Jun Tashiro | 39 | Jpn | 02:55:03 |
| 53 | Tetsuya Ishiyama | 32 | Jpn | 02:55:10 |
| 54 | Katsutoshi Saijo | 35 | Jpn | 02:55:23 |
| 55 | Jason Hall | 34 | Aus | 02:55:27 |
| 56 | Jamie Armstrong | 32 | Can | 02:55:57 |
| 57 | Chris Taylor | 50 | Aus | 02:56:37 |
| 58 | Takahiro Fukazawa | 34 | Jpn | 02:56:12 |
| 59 | Masanobu Nakazawa | 48 | Jpn | 02:56:44 |
| 60 | Shinji Sato | 34 | Jpn | 02:58:02 |
| 61 | Hideki Hirose | 41 | Jpn | 02:56:55 |
| 62 | Shun Tsuyuki | 22 | Jpn | 02:57:56 |
| 63 | Lyman Perry | 42 | Usa | 02:57:24 |
| 64 | Masao Ishihama | 48 | Jpn | 02:57:53 |
| 65 | Raymond Kuderka | 25 | Usa | 02:58:16 |
| 66 | Christopher Guarino | 26 | Usa | 02:57:43 |
| 67 | Wataru Hashimoto | 20 | Jpn | 02:58:52 |
| 68 | Toru Ishizuka | 46 | Jpn | 03:00:10 |
| 69 | Aaron Wallen | 38 | Usa | 03:01:33 |
| 70 | Kenichi Hongo | 36 | Jpn | 03:02:07 |
| 71 | Karl Honma | 46 | Usa | 03:01:57 |
| 72 | John Mannle | 41 | Usa | 03:03:57 |
| 73 | Toshikazu Saito | 27 | Jpn | 03:02:12 |
| 74 | Masato Ariga | 21 | Usa | 03:02:26 |
| 75 | Herman Rafol | 48 | Usa | 03:02:54 |
| 76 | Kazushige Hiyama | 55 | Jpn | 03:03:13 |
| 77 | Norikazu Endo | 35 | Jpn | 03:04:30 |
| 78 | David Carlsson | 45 | Usa | 03:03:39 |
| 79 | Motohiro Aoki | 46 | Jpn | 03:05:36 |
| 80 | Masahiro Honda | 25 | Jpn | 03:04:31 |
| 81 | Kenji Sakaguchi | 47 | Jpn | 03:04:59 |
| 82 | Paul Hopwood | 46 | Usa | 03:04:16 |
| 83 | Yusuke Tateno | 26 | Usa | 03:05:18 |
| 84 | Tobias Schnirring | 40 | Ger | 03:04:39 |
| 85 | Tero Halme | 24 | Fin | 03:06:12 |
| 86 | Paolo De Carlonis | 36 | Ita | 03:06:27 |
| 87 | Gregory Kugle | 42 | Usa | 03:06:08 |
| 88 | Brian Hsia | 28 | Usa | 03:05:45 |
| 89 | Akira Hoshio | 62 | Jpn | 03:05:29 |
| 90 | Yoshihisa Shimada | 47 | Jpn | 03:05:30 |
| 91 | Michael Georgi | 57 | Usa | 03:05:36 |
| 92 | Robert Plotts | 34 | Usa | 03:05:44 |
| 93 | Megumu Komikado | 45 | Jpn | 03:07:11 |
| 94 | Mark Shorter | 53 | Usa | 03:05:52 |
| 95 | Jun Matsuura | 40 | Jpn | 03:05:58 |
| 96 | Yasuyuki Hana | 45 | Jpn | 03:06:21 |
| 97 | Takio Fukami | 65 | Jpn | 03:06:09 |
| 98 | Katsuo Kobayashi | 44 | Jpn | 03:06:31 |
| 99 | Micheal St Hilaire | 38 | Usa | 03:07:15 |
| 100 | Dan O'Connor | 24 | Usa | 03:07:07 |
