Kenyan wins 30th Honolulu Marathon

	Even ten hours into the race, exhausted but proud runners cross the finish line.

Mbarak Hussein, 37, sprinted through the tape this morning at Kapiolani Park in Waikiki to his third victory in the Honolulu Marathon. More than 25,000 runners participated in the marathon this year, which marked its 30th year, and organizers say the turnout makes it the fourth largest marathon in the world.

Hussein, originally from Kenya but living in Albuquerque, New Mexico, was up against fellow Kenyan Jimmy Muindi (with whom he ran side-by-side in the closing miles of the race) as well as the record of his brother, Ibrahim, who also has three Honolulu Marathon wins under his belt. He crossed the finish line with a time of 2:12:29. Hussein takes the medal here only a month after winning the Seoul International Marathon.

In the women’s race, Russian Svetlana Zakharova overtook longtime race leader Albina Ivanova to finish at 2:29:08. Zakharova, who set the Russian national record twice this year en route to Hawaii, won the Honolulu marathon once before in 1997. Albina Ivanova and Alevtina Ivanova (no relation) came in second and third.

The first Hawaii resident to cross the finish line was veteran local runner Jonathan Lyau, 38, with a time of 2:36:56.

Sadly, this year’s race was marred by tragedy with the death of runner and Hawaii resident Grant Hirohata Goto, 33. He finished with a time of nearly five hours, but collapsed and was taken to Queen’s Medical Center.