Chelimo likes to dream big

It took Nicholas Chelimo about 30 hours to complete the journey from Kenya to Honolulu and another 12 to fully recover from the trek.

His return on Tuesday marked the sixth time he’s made the trip. Enduring the 11-hour flights and lengthy layovers that leave his ankles swollen upon arrival has certainly paid off over the years.

Chelimo has twice earned the $40,000 first prize as the Honolulu Marathon champion and picked up $16,000 checks after two runner-up finishes, contributing to career winnings he’s invested into a second career as a farm owner back home.

He’s also bought land he plans to develop into a commercial property. There’s a measure of satisfaction in the life he’s established for himself, his wife and three young sons through his running exploits. Even so …

"I dream bigger," Chelimo said. "I am never finished."

Chelimo, 30, will pursue another strong finish on Sunday, when he reports to the starting line on Ala Moana Boulevard for the 42nd Honolulu Marathon.

After touching down in Hawaii, Chelimo worked off the effects of the trip with a massage and an easy run. Although for the pros "easy" translates to a sub-six-minute-per-mile pace.

Sunday’s race will be Chelimo’s third of the year and he has more experience running the 26.2-mile course than any of the other professionals in a strong men’s field. The humidity and two climbs around Diamond Head tend to elevate finishing times compared to other marathons and places an emphasis on tactics.

"It’s a good fight," said Chelimo, who finished second to fellow Kenyan Gilbert Chepkwony last year with a time of 2 hours, 19 minutes, 22 seconds.

Kenyans have won 17 of the past 18 Honolulu Marathons, including the past seven. Chepkwony and Chelimo will be joined by Wilson Chebet, a three-time winner of the Amsterdam Marathon, Julius Arile, Paul Lonyangata and Benjamin Kolum Kiptoo.

Yamane Adhane of Ethiopia, who owns the fastest personal best among this year’s entrants, could threaten the Kenyans’ reign. He ran a 2:04:48 in winning the Rotterdam Marathon in 2012 and has two wins already this year, setting a course record of 2:06:51 in the Daegu Marathon in Korea in April. Gebretsadik Abrha, also of Ethiopia, returns after finishing fourth last year.

Chepkwony’s arrival was pushed back due to Thursday’s flight delays getting out of San Francisco. He will attempt to repeat as champion, as Chelimo did in 2010 and ’11.

After Chepkwony surged ahead in Kahala last year, Chelimo answered the initial attack but expended too much energy to match another and arrived at the finish line at Kapiolani Park 26 seconds behind the winner.

In the years he won the race, it was Chelimo who made the decisive late attack, "and then he did the same thing to me," he said with a broad smile.

Chelimo lives and trains in Iten, Kenya, where three full-time employees help tend a farm that produces corn and potatoes. They also raise cows for milk, sheep and goats.

While Chelimo’s travels often take him away from his family, he might be able to bring some company along on his next trip to Hawaii.

"If I win, maybe next year they will come," Chelimo said.

GOING FOR NO. 3
Nicholas Chelimo’s finishes in the Honolulu Marathon