Ethiopia’s Kiros eyes repeat

It’s been 13 years since a woman has successfully defended her title at the Honolulu Marathon. Defending champion Ehitu Kiros believes she can win again.

"I will try for winning because I know the course and I like the course also," Kiros said through translator Yamane Adhane, who is in the marathon’s men’s field.

Lyubov Morgunova of Russia won back-to-back titles in 2000 and 2001.

Kiros, a 26-year-old from Ethiopia, returns after an illness took her out of training for several months in 2014. She was unable to finish May’s Ottawa Marathon in Canada because of a stomach illness that stemmed from bacteria that is sometimes found in drinking water back home. It took three to four months to recover and return to training full-time.

Kiros made a late push to win last year’s marathon in 2 hours, 36 minutes, 2 seconds. She’s appreciative the race invited her back this year.

"Hawaii is very nice," Kiros said. "My feeling is good. I’m very happy to be invited (back)."

From 2011 to 2013, Kiros’ marathon time dropped by 14 minutes. She has been focusing on speed workouts in recent weeks and will need those bursts to pull away from one of the toughest fields Honolulu has ever seen.

Former race champions Valentina Galimova of Russia (2012) and Woynishet Girma of Ethiopia (2011) are back. Girma finished second last year and Galimova was third. All three are familiar with the course and the possible weather conditions. Kiros said she’s trained in conditions that allow her to adapt to Hawaii’s climate.

Joyce Chepkirui of Kenya is one of the top road racers in the world and could be the dark horse. Chepkirui found success on the track this year, winning the 10,000-meter gold at the Commonwealth Games and African Championships.

Honolulu will be the fourth marathon of the year for Diane Nukuri and third in a span of three-and-a-half months. Nukuri, who is from Burundi but now lives in Arizona, is coming off a second-place finish in Mexico City and third in Amsterdam. She also won the 4.748-mile Manchester Road Race in Connecticut on Thanksgiving.

Croatia’s Lisa Stublic-Nemec finished fourth in the marathon at the European Championships. Born in Connecticut, she was an All-American at Columbia. After her collegiate career, she moved to Croatia to study musicology and continued running there. Her success caught the attention of Croatian Olympic officials and she represented that country at the 2012 Olympics (her father was born in Croatia).

Isabella Ochichi of Kenya will run her second race of the year here. She ran in April’s Hapalua Half Marathon, finishing in 1:10:24. Kenya’s Sarah Kiptoo won this year’s Cleveland Marathon in 2:34:58. Japan’s Eri Okubo won a 20-kilometer race in Tokyo this year and was sixth at the 2011 Honolulu Marathon. Canada’s Nicole Sifuentes rounds out the field of professional runners.