This release is from David Monti, editor of Race Results Weekly, who is a media consultant for the Honolulu Marathon, which happens on December 11, 2022.
ETHIOPIANS AND KENYANS LEAD THE ELITE FIELD AT THE HISTORIC 50TH HONOLULU MARATHON
David Monti, Media Consultant
d9monti@gmail.com
HONOLULU (01-Dec) — Athletes from Ethiopia and Kenya lead the elite field for the historic 50th edition of the Honolulu Marathon, scheduled for Sunday, December 11. Founded in 1973 and historically one of the five largest marathons in the United States based on finishers, this year’s race will have its first full elite athletes program since 2019, paying prize money three-deep for both men and women: $25,000-10,000-5,000. The race will be run on its traditional course, starting at Ala Moana Beach Park, making a loop through Downtown, wrapping around Diamond Head, going out along the Kalanianaole Highway to Hawaii Kai, then returning to Waikiki to finish in Kapiolani Park just after sunrise.
The race was held virtually in 2020 because of the pandemic and had only a limited elite athlete program in 2021. Organizers are excited to have athletes this year who are strong enough to challenge the course records which were both set by Kenyans: 2:08:00 (2:07:59.02) by Titus Ekiru in 2019 and 2:22:15 by now world record holder Brigid Kosgei in 2017.
“We are excited to welcome top professional athletes to attack our incredible course records for the 50th-anniversary race,” said Honolulu Marathon Association President Dr. Jim Barahal. “At its core, the Honolulu Marathon is an athletic competition, whether against others or against oneself, and we are excited to see what transpires on December 11.”
Shifera Tamru is the leading entrant from Ethiopia. The 24-year-old has a personal best of 2:05:18 (Dubai, 2019) and has three marathon wins and five podium finishes in eight starts. He won the 2022 Daegu Marathon in Korea last April in 2:06:31 and was most recently fifth at the Bank of America Chicago Marathon in October in 2:07:53. He’ll be running the Honolulu Marathon for the first time.
His top rival is likely to be the Kenyan veteran Stanley Biwott, the 2015 TCS New York City Marathon champion who has a personal best of 2:03:51 (London 2016). Biwott, 36, has not completed a marathon since 2018, when he was fourth at the Abu Dhabi Marathon. He returned to racing after a long layoff earlier this year, clocking a 1:01:57…
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