Paul Lonyangata made a last-minute uphill push to increase his lead and secure his first Honolulu Marathon victory with an official gun time of 2:15:42.
Running in his second Honolulu Marathon, Lonyangata improved on his 2014 second-place finish, when he ran 2:16:04.
The Kenyan runner fell in with the lead pack early, before making his big move at the 25k mark to grab a lead that he wouldn’t relinquish. Lonyangata fended off Eritrean runner Filmon Ande (second, 2:16:03) and fellow Kenyan Reuben Kiprop Kerio (third, 2:17:32).
“We were running with the pacemaker,” Lonyangata said about his move for first place.”I prepared myself, if the pacemaker finishes running, I will stay in the lead.”
Lonyangata becomes the 31st male Kenyan runner to win the Honolulu Marathon. Kenyan runners won 14 straight men’s races from 2007 to 2021.
Lonyangata adds the Honolulu gold medal to his growing list of first-place finishes.
The 30-year-old was the Paris Marathon winner in 2017 and 2018, he triumphed in the 2019 Shanghai Marathon, and he won the Taipei Marathon in 2020 with a course-record 2:09:18. Lonyangata set a personal best time of 2:06:10 in his 2017 Paris Marathon win.
“All my races I prepare very hard. There is no easy marathon,” Lonyangata said.”All marathons are very hard. So you must prepare to win for any marathon.”
Along with a one-of-a-kind $15,000 solid gold medal crafted by Japanese company and new race sponsor SGC, Lonyangata earned $25,000 for finishing in first place.
“I don’t know yet,” Lonyangata said about his plans with his prize money.”I didn’t know I would win it.”
The elite field stuck together as a pack through the first mile, with the Kenyan trio of Lonyangata, Kerio and pace-setter Dickson Chumba emerging taking the top three spots through 4k. As the pack moved through the Waikiki strip, Ande moved up into second place behind Chumba at the 10k mats.
The lead group, led by Chumba, ran at a brisk 2:08 pace early in the race in the”dead calm” still air, as mentioned by Honolulu Marathon President Jim Barahal.
At the 24-mile mark, as the race headed uphill around Diamond Head, Lonyangata surged up the near-100-foot climb to double the gap between him and Ande.
“You see the hills, you must run and push to get ahead of the others,” Lonyangata said about the hill climb.”If you push ahead there, it’s a winning plan.”
