Delaying, but no denying

Weather delays made for a late arrival in Hawaii for Wilson Chebet.

The Kenyan then weathered wind and rain in East Oahu on Sunday before making a late surge to win the 42nd Honolulu Marathon.

Chebet was delayed in Zurich, which caused him to miss his connection in San Francisco on his way from Kenya, and didn’t get into Honolulu until Friday.

Once on the course, he stayed tucked in with a pack of runners who battled blustery conditions on their down-and-back stretch along Kalanianaole Highway.

Chebet and fellow Kenyan Paul Lonyangata dropped the pack along the back of Waialae Country Club and Chebet made the decisive push on Diamond Head Road to continue Kenya’s reign in the race.

"I felt my body was responding and I made the move," Chebet said.

Chebet crossed the finish line at Kapiolani Park 2 hours, 15 minutes, and 35 seconds after the 5 a.m. fireworks show above Ala Moana Beach Park sent the 22,068 runners who showed up for the start on their 26.2-mile run.

Although Chebet said the weather was "terrible," the rain did little to dampen his spirits after winning in his Honolulu debut.

Kenyans have won each of the past eight Honolulu Marathons and 18 of the past 19, and Chebet held his country’s flag aloft while he high-fived spectators along the barrier after breaking the tape as Lonyangata and third-place finisher Geb Abraha of Ethiopia approached the finish line.

Lonyangata, also making his first attempt in Honolulu, finished at the 2:16:04 mark, with Abraha 23 seconds behind. Defending champion Gilbert Chepkwony fell off the lead pack before they reached Hawaii Kai and did not finish.

Chebet, 29, enjoyed success in Europe in capturing three consecutive Amsterdam Marathon titles from 2011 to 2013 and also won the Rotterdam Marathon in 2011.

He lined up for his first Honolulu Marathon with a light rain misting on the crowd on Ala Moana Boulevard. The rain picked up intensity in Aina Haina and persisted as they made the loop through Hawaii Kai.

"I waited all the way through because I knew these conditions for me was not really good," Chebet said.

For the second straight year, Saeki Makino of Japan bolted off the starting line and stayed in front before the pack of five Kenyans and two Ethiopians passed him near Kuliouou.

The group of seven held its shape through Hawaii Kai and back toward Kahala with Lonyangata, Chebet and Abraha separating from the pack on Kealaolu Avenue.

"I decided to push from there because I saw the weather was not bad like before," Lonyangata said of his attack coming off Kalanianaole Highway.

Abraha gradually fell out of reach of the leaders and Lonyangata stayed stride for stride with Chebet on their approach to Diamond Head. But he couldn’t keep pace when Chebet surged up the slope.

Chebet had all but put the race away by the time he reached the lookouts at the top of the climb and made the descent into Kapiolani Park alone.

Chebet’s winning time was 3 minutes, 12 seconds faster than Chepkwony’s victory last year, but still well off the record pace of 2:11:12 set by Jimmy Muindi in 2004.

Benjamin Kolum came in fourth and Ethiopia’s Yemane Adhane, considered a threat to the Kenyan domination, placed fifth at 2:17:54. Two-time winner Nicholas Chelimo finished sixth at 2:17:59.