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Dec-7-2005
Over 30,000 Runners and Walkers Expected in Honolulu This Weekend
by David Monti
(c) Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved
Organizers of the Honolulu Marathon are expecting some 33,000 entrants for this year's marathon and non-competitive 10-K walk.
Both events take place here on Sunday.
"The marthon will have over 27,000 entrants and the walk --which usually attracts the spouses of marathon runners-- should have over 6,000," said Pat Bigold, the event's media director.
The end-of-day tally yesterday showed 26,273 athletes registered in the marathon alone, with over 16,000 coming from Japan. Some 5,700 are from Hawaii, with another 3,200 from the U.S. mainland. The balance of the field, about 1,200, are from other countries. The race is almost evenly balanced, male to female, with 13,728 men and 12,545 women registered.
Although considered by most to be a destination race, the Honolulu Marathon has grown to be the third largest in the United States in terms of finishers, the best measure of race size. Last year's marathon had 25,671 entrants and 22,407 finishers, putting it behind only the ING New York City Marathon, the largest in the world last year with 36,562 finishers, and the LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon, with 33,082 finishers.
Interestingly, the marathon here is actually the world's largest Japanese marathon. The best known marathons in Japan --Tokyo (men and women), Fukuoka, Nagoya, etc.-- have traditionally been for elite runners only, although that is beginning to change. Honolulu reached a peak of 21,717 Japanese entrants in 1995, and has held above 15,000 the last three years.
The 2005 entries for Japanese runners are up a bit from last year. JAL, the Japanese airline which is a race sponsor, brings in the majority of the Japanese runners and their families.
Despite the huge interest from Japanese recreational runners, the race as been mostly bypassed by Japanese elites whose racing schedules are governed by their corporate team managers. In 2003, the race had its first Japanese champion, Eri Hayakawa, in the women's race. Hayakawa valiantly tried to defend her title in last year's race after taking a bad fall in the fourth mile. Cut and badly bruised, she finished second to Lyubov Morgunova who won in a course record 2:27:33.
In addition to the races here on Sunday, a 5-K fun run will be held tomorrow morning in Kapiolani Park where the marathon finishes. The Diamond Head Duet, the traditional Thursday race here which was scored by combining the times of men and women who competed as couples, has been replaced by the Legends 5-K, aptly named as running legends Frank Shorter, Cosmas Ndeti, Ian Stewart and Greg Meyer are expected to take part. This fun run is open to anyone and there is no entry fee.
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