Honolulu - This city of 800,000 welcomed the warm sunshine which greeted them yesterday morning.  It was a much needed respite from more than a week of rainy weather, some of it accompanied by winds so strong they uprooted a few of Oahu's oldest trees.  But the rains were back again this morning, and the downpour which began just minutes before the 35th Honolulu Marathon started at five o'clock set the tone for today's race where Ambesse Tolosa of Ethiopia and Alevtina Biktimirova of Russia splashed their way to victories and $40,000 in prize money.

MEN

For Tolosa it was his second win here in as many tries.  Like last year, he used a patient approach, not taking the lead until the important climb up Diamond Head Avenue at the 38km mark.  It was there he found himself in exactly the same position as last year: trailing five-time Honolulu Marathon champion, Jimmy Muindi of Kenya, by one step.

"He's a very challenging competitor," Tolosa said of Muindi after the race.

The fact that only two men remained in contention at that point in the race was a bit of a puzzle given the relatively cool conditions and the slow pace.  Tolosa and Muindi successfully dropped Kenyans Lawrence Saina and Boniface Mbuvi despite only covering the five kilometres from 30km to 35km in a plodding 16:49.

"Nobody wants to push," observed Italian marathon coach Gabriele Rosa who was watching the race from the press truck.

Muindi had planned to go much faster, but every time he tried to accelerate he was overcome with nausea.

"My stomach was very bad," said the lanky Kenyan who dropped out of his other two marathons this year in Rotterdam and Chicago because they were so hot.  "I just had to slow down.”

Running past the multi-million dollar homes in the fashionable Kahala neighborhood, Tolosa lowered his head and pressed gently as the climb began.  Muindi tried to respond, but instead got sick.  The race was over.

"It was just like last year," said Tolosa as he sat shoeless with his feet in the muddy grass adjacent to the finish line.  "I waited to the last minute."
 
Tolosa's winning time of 2:17:26 was the slowest here in 16 years.  Muindi, understandably downcast, jogged home in second in 2:18:53.  Eric Nzioki, a Kenyan who had been dropped from the lead pack very early in the race, finished third in 2:21:32.

WOMEN
 
For Biktimirova, her victory was relatively easy.  Her only real challenge came from Akemi Ozaki of Japan, who ran a personal best 2:28:39 at Tokyo just three weeks ago.  Ozaki was entered here primarily as a pacemaker for her Second Wind AC teammate Kaori Yoshida, but she also had her own personal goals.
 
"I decided before the start that I would finish," said Ozaki.
 
By 30km, Biktimirova had taken over the lead from Ozaki, and cruised home to win by more than a minute in 2:33:07.  She said her victory was harder than it may have looked.
 
"I was trying as hard as possible," she said speaking to reporters after the race.  "A lot of humidity makes it a little bit harder.  Humidity was worse than rain."
 
Ozaki came across the line next in 2:34:22, while the World Championships silver medallist in the steeplechase, Tatyana Petrova, finished third in 2:35:56.  Yoshida was a disappointing fourth in 2:43:21.
 
Some 27,000 runners, 18,000 from Japan, signed up for this year's race.  In keeping with the "Aloha Spirit" of these islands, the finish line will remain open until the very last athlete comes in, usually some 14 hours after the race begins.

David Monti – Race Results Weekly – for the IAAF
 
Results:
 
MEN 
 1. Ambesse Tolosa, ETH, 2:17:26
 2. Jimmy Muindi, KEN, 2:18:53
 3. Eric Nzioki, KEN, 2:21:32
 4. Boniface Mbuvi, KEN, 2:22:59
 5. Aleksey Aleksandrov, RUS, 2:24:36 (debut)
 
WOMEN 
 1. Alevtina Biktimirova, RUS, 2:33:07
 2. Akemi Ozaki, JPN, 2:34:22
 3. Tatiana Petrova, RUS, 2:35:56
 4. Kaori Yoshida, JPN, 2:42:21
 5. Mina Ogawa, JPN, 2:47:32