By David Monti, @d9monti | (c) 2024 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved; used with permission
HONOLULU (26-Nov) — Backed by a record field of about 35,000 runners of all abilities, a combined total of fourteen Olympians are set to compete in the Honolulu Marathon and the Kalakaua Merrie Mile on the weekend of December 7th and 8th, race organizers announced today. For the Olympic athletes –three in the marathon and 11 in the mile– this will be no island vacation. They must be prepared to run fast, and several significant records could be broken in the mile.
“We have put together an incredible field of world-class athletes, including many Paris Olympians from the summer of 2024,” said Honolulu Marathon Association president Dr. Jim Barahal. “The Kalakaua Merrie Mile is rapidly emerging as one of the world’s most prestigious road miles, and the unique format in which the men chase the women to the finish line promises to deliver another incredible finish. The first athlete across the finish line receives $5,000 and a solid gold plaque.”
The mile, which will be held on Saturday, kicks off with about 2,500 citizen runners who will run the flat, World Athletics-certified, out-and-back course on Kalakaua Avenue adjacent to Waikiki Beach. After that the professional athletes will line up with athletes in the women’s category getting a 32-second head start over the men. Prize money is paid based on the combined finish order of men and women.
Leading the charge in the women’s division is reigning USATF 1500m champion and 2024 World Athletics Indoor Championships 1500m silver medalist Nikki Hiltz. The former Arkansas Razorback has competed in the Merrie Mile three previous times, and was fifth across the line last year behind the top four men. Hiltz’s time of 4:28.07 was just a fraction off of their national and all-comers record of 4:28.0 set at the Grand Blue Mile in Des Moines in 2023, a record that could easily fall this year in Honolulu. Hiltz was passed by Morgan Beadlescomb just steps from the finish line; the finish photo had to be used to separate them.
“I made a pretty hard move at 400 to go and nobody [in the women’s division] went with me,” Hiltz said after last year’s race. “So when I heard people [behind me] I assumed it was the men. I just wanted to beat as many bodies as possible the last 50 meters.”
Hiltz will have a strong group of women to push them this year including American Olympians Emily Mackay, Heather MacLean, and Weini Kelati; Irish Olympian Sophie O’Sullivan, Japanese Olympian Nozomi Tanaka, and Kenyan Olympian Susan Ejore-Sanders. Sinclaire Johnson, the 2022 USA 1500m champion who was fourth in the 2024 Olympic Trials, will also be competing.
A formidable group of men will be trying to chase down the women, and three of them –Paris Olympians Oliver Hoare of Australia, Neil Gourley of Great Britain, and Hobbs Kessler of the USA– have run sub-3:50 miles during their careers. Two other Paris Olympians, Americans Bryce Hoppel and Nico Young, will also be competing along with Australia’s Jack Anstey, the USA’s Vince Ciattei, and Kenya’s Festus Lagat.
In addition to Hiltz’s national record, athletes could challenge the USA all-comers records in Honolulu (3:56.58 for men and 4:28.0 for women), as well as the fastest time in the world by a woman this year (4:30.3), and the fastest times on U.S. soil this year (3:56.97 and 4:32.20). There will be pacemakers for both the men’s and women’s fields.
REIGNING CHAMPIONS RETURN FOR THE MARATHON
Sunday’s Honolulu Marathon will feature both of the race’s 2023 champions, Cynthia Limo and Paul Lonyangata of Kenya. In last year’s race Limo, the 2016 World Athletics Half-Marathon Championships silver medalist, won by a wide margin in her marathon debut. Her time of 2:33:01 was solid for Honolulu’s hilly course, intermittent rain, warm temperatures, and high humidity. She ran solo from 35 km to the finish.
“When we got to 35 kilometers, I felt that I was still strong and I knew it was only seven kilometers that remained, so I had to do it by myself,” said Limo. “I tried to push and push. I am so pleased.”
Limo’s key rival this year will be compatriot Judith Jeptum Korir, the 2022 World Athletics Championships Marathon silver medalist, who will be making her Honolulu Marathon debut. Also hoping for a podium spot will be Ethiopia’s Fantu Shugi Gelasa.
For Lonyangata, twice the Paris Marathon champion, this will be his third appearance in Honolulu. He was second in 2014 before coming back to win last year, getting away about 35 km into the race.
“When you prepare for everything you know you are ready,” said Lonyangata after last year’s race. “And when you decide when to make the move, you have to go hard.”
Other contenders this year include Eritrean Olympians Yemane Haileselassie and Amanuel Mesel, both of whom live and train in Flagstaff, Ariz., where they are coached by James McKirdy of McKirdy Trained. Haileselassie was fifth in the 2021 Olympic steeplechase, and Mesel competed in the heats of the 5000m at the 2012 London Olympics, and was 21st in the 2016 Olympic Marathon in Rio. Two other Kenyans, Reuben Kerio and Barnabas Kiptum, are also in the race. Kiptum is the fastest man in the field with a 2:04:17 personal best.
“The 52nd Honolulu marathon has a deep field of top athletes, including both defending champions Paul Lonyangata and Cynthia Limo,” said Dr. Barahal. “They will be challenged by a top field of international athletes, all competing for the $25,000 first prize as well as a solid gold first place medal.”
The solid-gold first place medal is hand-crafted by race sponsor SGC of Japan. The Honolulu Marathon is the only marathon in the world to present winners with a solid-gold medal in addition to their prize money.
“Their dedication to excellence mirrors the spirit of our event,” said Dr. Barahal of SGC.
In addition to the mile and marathon races, the popular Start to Park 10-K will start contemporaneously with the marathon on Sunday. That race has seen explosive growth, and organizers are expecting about 9,000 runners this year (there were 6961 finishers last year).
The full elite fields for the Honolulu Marathon and Kalakaua Merrie Mile are below:
Honolulu Marathon (athletes shown with personal best times):
MEN –
Paul Lonyangata, KEN, 2:06:10, Paris, 09-Apr-2017
Yemane Haileselassie, ERI, 2:14:44, Boston, 15-Apr-2024
Amanuel Mesel, ERI, 2:08:17, Valencia, 17-Nov-2013
Reuben Kerio, KEN, 2:07:00, Eindhoven, 13-Oct-2019
Barnabas Kiptum, KEN, 2:04:17, Milan, 16-May-2021
Suguru Osako, JPN, 2:05:29, Tokyo, 01-Mar-2020
Kensuke Horio, JPN, 2:08:25, Tokyo, 06-Mar-2022
Ryo Murata, JPN, N/A, N/A
WOMEN –
Cynthia Limo, KEN, 2:25:10, Hamburg, 28-Apr-2024
Judith Jeptum Korir, KEN, 2:18:20, Eugene, 18-Jul-2022
Fantu Shugi Gelasa, ETH, 2:29:20, Lisbon, 08-Oct-2023
Eri Suzuki, JPN, 2:41:42, Tokyo, 03-Mar-2024
Kalakaua Merrie Mile (athletes shown with 1500m and mile personal best times):
MEN –
Jack Anstey, AUS, 3:35.37, 3:51.51
Vince Ciattei, USA, 3:31.78, 3:50.56
Neil Gourley, GBR, 3:30.60, 3:47.74
Oliver Hoare, AUS, 3:29.41, 3:47.48
Bryce Hoppel, USA, 3:42.62, 4:00.7 road
Hobbs Kessler, USA, 3:29.45, 3:48.66
Festus Lagat, KEN, 3:33.25, 3:52.63
Nico Young, USA, 3:34.56, 4:01.16
(Pacemaker will be Abe Alvarado, USA)
WOMEN –
Susan Ejore-Sanders, KEN, 3:56.07, 4:20.61
Nikki Hiltz, USA, 3:55.33, 4:16.35
Sinclaire Johnson, USA, 3:56.75, 4:33.80
Weini Kelati, USA, 4:10.88, 4:30.16 road
Emily Mackay, USA, 3:55.90, 4:23.79
Heather MacLean, USA, 3:58.31, 4:20.41
Sophie O’Sullivan, IRL, 4:00.23, 4:33.30
Nozomi Tanaka, JPN, 3:59.19, 4:28.94
(Pacemaker will be Amaris Tyynismaa, USA)
