Cheserek is king of mile after beating Bett, weather

Talk about your waterfall starts.

A little bit — and, at times, a lot — of rain struck Waikiki early Saturday morning. But it did nothing to dampen the general mood of merriment at the Kalakaua Merrie Mile, the footrace on the boulevard named for King David Kalakaua, aka “The Merrie Monarch.”

And it could not stop another royal, Edward “King” Cheserek, from running the fastest mile recorded in Hawaii.

The opening act for today’s Honolulu Marathon also produced one of the closest finishes even avid running observers had seen in a road-race mile.

Cheserek out-kicked Leonard Bett – barely. After viewing three videos and three photos, race officials could not determine which of the natives of Kenya crossed first. The timing chips in the runners’ bibs, however, put Cheserek at 3 minutes and 54.83 seconds and Bett at 3:54.89.

Graham Hood ran 3:55.56 here in 1997, for the fastest on Hawaii soil until Saturday. That was the last year of the Waikiki Mile, a previous incarnation of this event, also loaded with world-class talent, affiliated with the marathon, and held the day before (also on Kalakaua, but a few blocks Ewa).

Miriam Cherop, also from Kenya, crossed about a second after them and repeated from last year as the first female finisher. Her time of 4:22.54 is the fastest recorded mile for a woman in Hawaii. (In the professional race, the women are given a 26-second head start, and whoever crosses the finish line first of either gender is the overall winner.)

The at-times heavy rain took a break during the elite race, and there was no wind. The wet road was less than ideal, though.

“Conditions don’t bother me, but I was sliding a lot,” Cheserek said. “The one turn was bad.”

Bett is a steeplechase champion, so puddles and soggy shoes don’t faze him.

Honolulu Marathon spokesman David Monti put the performance in perspective.

“A sub-4 (minute) mile is hard enough. Sub-3:55 is really fast. Never mind that the course is wet, and it has a complete U-turn. Then add the complication of judging the gender factor,” said Monti, who is also publisher of Race Results Weekly.

The professionals ran after nearly 2,000 runners and walkers of all ages, shapes and sizes completed the same course. James Hansen finished first among them in 4:14.

It was a family event for many.

“Your father would be so proud,” Dondi Dawson told her grandsons, Hazyn and Xaenon Botelho. Hazyn, 10, ran his mile in 6:45. Xaenon, who turns 9 today, ran 8:06. They are the sons of Joel Botelho, who was 27 when he died in 2011, and had been a star quarterback at Castle High School.

Three other family members, aunties of the boys, also ran the Merrie Mile. Twins Coreena Olivas (Alaska) and Doreena Brun-Olivas (Kauai) came from off-island to run with their ohana.

“It was the first time running a mile race for all six of us,” said Violet Carrillo, who is a member of Healani Canoe Club and is hoping to finish her first marathon in six hours today. “I know I can paddle 26 miles. Now I want to see if I can run 26 miles.”