A blend of experienced champions with talented newcomers could make for a dynamic — and unpredictable — mix when the Honolulu Marathon hits the streets Sunday morning.

The elite men’s field for the marathon’s 39th running shapes up to be particularly difficult to call, with three former winners and an accomplished group of first-time entrants competing.

"We don’t have maybe as many runners as sometimes we have in the men’s field," race director Jon Cross said, "but they’re all better."

David Monti, editor of Race Results Weekly and coordinator of the elite field for the New York City Marathon, concurred in dubbing this year’s collection of Honolulu contenders "the best field they’ve had here that I can recall."

Cross has worked with president Jim Barahal in assembling the marathon’s roster of elite runners since 1984, relying on their relationships with trusted agents to craft a field with a budget well below those of major races such as the New York City, Boston, Chicago, Berlin and London marathons.

"It’s not as broad as New York or some of the other races, but the guys we have are good," Cross said. "We’re very selective with who we bring in."

Kenya will again be well represented in the men’s race, as defending champion Nicholas Chelimo’s reign will be challenged by countryman Patrick Ivuti, who claimed the title in 2008 and ’09 but missed last year’s race due to an injury. Seven-time champion Jimmy Muindi, who owns the race record of 2 hours, 11 minutes, 12 seconds, is back for his 19th race and three-time winner Mbarak Hussein will serve as a pacesetter.

The intrigue comes with the addition of newcomers such as Benjamin Kiptoo Kolum, Ivuti’s training partner. Kolum won the Paris Marathon in April with a personal best of 2:06:31.

Tekeste Kebede of Ethiopia finished second in last year’s Boston Marathon and Monti pointed to Kenyans Nicholas Manza and Kiplimo Kimutai as possible "wild cards."

Course knowledge tends to give experienced runners the edge, given the specific challenges Honolulu presents to first-timers.

"The baseball analogy is that people come to the plate and swing for the fences and a lot of them strike out," said Monti, who is attending his ninth Honolulu Marathon. "That’s what happens in Honolulu, especially for people who’ve never run the race before.

"It doesn’t feel like it’s that hot and humid when you’re on the starting line. …Always that first run over Diamond Head, the pack is cut down pretty significantly and people find the second half to be incredibly difficult coming back through Kahala to get to Kapiolani Park. Judgment in this race is critical.

"It could be another fantastic battle up Diamond Head on the way home. In my judgment, that’s what’s made this race so great."

Belainesh Gebre returns to defend her women’s title and is the favorite in the field. She will again be pushed by Russia’s Svetlana Zakharova, who has won the race three times and finished no lower than second in nine appearances.

"The question in my mind is how much was taken out of (Gebre) by running three marathons (this year)," Monti said.

Misiker Mekonnin Demissie of Ethiopia and Japan’s Eri Okubo also posted personal bests earlier this year. Demissie finished in 2:25:20 in the San Diego Marathon in June and finished 11th in the New York City Marathon on Nov. 6. Okubo placed ninth in the Berlin Marathon in 2:28:49 in September.

While the elite runners compete for the $40,000 first prizes and time incentives, they’ll be followed by more than 21,000 entrants who could push Honolulu into the top four among the nation’s largest races.

According to Monti’s figures, Honolulu would move into fourth if it can surpass the Marine Corps Marathon’s total of 20,895 finishers. The top three are New York City (46,795), Chicago (35,671) and Boston (23,879).