Runners end with aloha

They streamed into Kapiolani Park for hours, some limping, some straining, and many smiling. Many agreed Sunday’s windy and rainy weather made the 42nd annual Honolulu Marathon more comfortable.

"It was awesome," said Christophe Jackson, 32, of Kaneohe, who finished the 26.2-mile course in less than four hours without training. "It’s 100 percent mental."

Jackson was among 22,068 people who crossed the starting line at Ala Moana Beach Park about 5 a.m. Sunday, making the marathon the fourth largest in the U.S. behind those in New York, Chicago and Boston, said Honolulu Marathon spokesman David Monti. The New York City marathon has about 50,000 participants.

This year, 30,434 people registered for the marathon, which stretches to Hawaii Kai and ends at Kapiolani Park. Only 134 more people registered in 2013.

Monti said race entries went up a few years ago after organizers began offering Hawaii residents a $26.20 early-bird entry, but the record remains at 33,682 entries in 1997.

Japanese citizens made up the largest contingent, with 13,454 registrants.

Monti said the Honolulu Marathon is the only large marathon with no time limit.

"People can take as long as they need," he said. "We’ll wait until the last person and that last person gets the same greeting as the top finishers. It’s part of the aloha spirit of the Honolulu Marathon."

Jerry Ogata, 88, didn’t need the open time limit despite being the oldest competitor from Hawaii and the second oldest in the race (the oldest was an 89-year-old Japanese man).

When reached by phone, the Waikiki resident said he didn’t know he was Hawaii’s most senior resident in the event.

"I thought there were more older guys than me because they looked pretty old," he said. "When I see an older person, I try so he doesn’t beat me."

He starting running marathons at the age of 62 to keep himself busy after retiring from his job as an insurance salesman.

He’s run about 20 Honolulu Marathons and walks and runs about six miles a day, six days a week. He finished in 8:46 on Sunday.

"It was nice because we didn’t have any sun," he said. "It was cloudy all the way from the beginning to the end. It was the first time I’ve run a marathon without the sun."

He said he hadn’t trained very hard and that the race was tough.

"My foot really hurt," he said. "But I pulled through and finished."

Some ran for a cause, such as Rachel Elizalde-Powell of Seattle, who ran in memory of her brother, Sgt. 1st Class Adrian Elizalde, an Army Special Forces member killed by an improvised explosive device in Iraq in 2007.

Elizalde-Powell, 40, ran with a group called "wear blue: run to remember," whose members run in honor of U.S. military members’ service and sacrifice.

She wore a blue shirt adorned with the group’s name and a photo of her brother on the back. About 20 group members ran the race.

Elizalde-Powell said that in honor of her brother, who pushed himself to do better, she wanted to improve her first marathon’s run time, which was the Honolulu Marathon in 2010. She shaved 44 minutes off her time, coming in at 5:17.

"When I get out and I run, it gives me a chance to be a living memorial for him," she said.

Jim Barahal, president and CEO of the Honolulu Marathon, said the wet and windy weather reduced heat-related problems, but slowed down the professional runners. No records were set Sunday, although it was the first time the winners of both the men’s and women’s categories were Kenyans.

"We’re very happy with the overall race," Barahal said. "For many people … finishing a marathon is the greatest athletic accomplishment they’re ever going to have."

Many runners, he said, use the event as a health barometer, comparing their performance with that of their younger selves.

One of those running for his health was Valeriy Tarasov of Moscow, who kissed his wife and "personal trainer" on the cheek after crossing the finish line of his first marathon in 3:41.

"In simple words: age test," said Tarasov, who turned 46 on Saturday, of the event. "Perfect race. Everything is very nice."

CORRECTION: Japanese citizens made up the largest contingent in the marathon. An earlier version of this story and the story in the print edition said Hawaii residents were the largest contingent.

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