Lawrence Cherono and Wilson Chebet return to the Honolulu Marathon as the two fastest runners in the race’s 44-year history.

They’ll be joined Sunday by the owner of the lowest 26.2-mile finishing time — period.

Cherono and Chebet covered the course under the previous Honolulu Marathon record in their 1-2 finish last year and are again part of the pack of pros entered in the event’s 45th running, a group headlined by world-record holder Dennis Kimetto.

“It motivates me because if you run with the record holder and if you cross the finishing line with him, you feel proud,” Chebet, the 2014 Honolulu champion, said Friday.

Eight elite men’s runners — all from Kenya — will lead a throng of close to 28,000 entrants onto the course with the 5 a.m. fireworks show along Ala Moana Boulevard on Sunday. For the first time since the Honolulu Marathon’s inception in 1973, the field can boast the current world-record holder in its number.

Kimetto set course records in winning the Tokyo and Chicago marathons in 2013, and set the world record of 2 hours, 2 minutes, 57 seconds while winning the Berlin Marathon in 2014.

Injuries have slowed him since he became the first man to run under 2:03 on a record-accredited course and he’ll make his Honolulu debut on something of a comeback trail after not finishing the Chicago Marathon in October.

“Now I’m feeling good. The training was going well, everything is OK,” Kimetto said under the midday sun in Waikiki. “I see the humidity is there, but I’ll try to run well.”

Running in Honolulu’s humidity, even with a relatively cool morning forecast for Sunday, will be new to Kimetto, who may choose to follow the experience of Cherono and Chebet.

Last year, Cherono pulled away from Chebet before making the climb toward Diamond Head and crossed the finish line at Kapiolani Park in 2:09:38, smashing Jimmy Muindi’s 2004 winning time of 2:11:12.

The win earned Cherono a $15,000 bonus along with the $40,000 winner’s share and provided a boost into the new year.

“This race was a turning point in my life,” Cherono said. “The first thing, it gave me courage to enter major marathons. Secondly, it made a turning point in my life, economically, socially. I can say it made me better in life.”

Cherono set a personal best in winning the Amsterdam Marathon in 2:05:09 in October, and the shorter training period before Sunday’s race adds to the challenge of further lowering the course record.

Chebet placed second in the two years following his win in the rain in 2014. He also came in under Muindi’s record with his 2:10:49 finish last year, but couldn’t match Cherono’s surge through Kahala. He is also looking for a strong finish to the year after falling short in Amsterdam in October.

“The course is tough, but one good thing is we’re starting early in the morning,” Chebet said.

“This one is more advantageous because if you start early in the morning the humidity, you can’t feel too much compared to other races that’s hot and you start late. So this one is better.”

The marathon weekend begins this morning with the Kalakaua Merrie Mile. The race starts at 7 a.m. with the field running down Kalakaua Avenue and back toward the Honolulu Zoo.

The marathon expo at the Hawaii Convention Center runs through 5 p.m. today, leading into Sunday’s marathon and the new Start-to-Park 10K.

Traffic advisory

Traffic closures along the marathon route will start Sunday at 12:30 a.m. Areas of downtown, Kakaako, Ala Moana, Waikiki, Diamond Head, Kahala and east Honolulu will be affected. There will be lane closures, tow-away zones and rerouting of TheBus.

The route runs at Ala Moana and heads to Kakaako and downtown and continues through Ala Moana, Waikiki, Diamond Head, Kahala and into East Honolulu. Runners turn around in Hawaii Kai and head back to the finish line at Kapiolani Park.

Traffic questions can be directed to 792-6630 or 808ne.ws/2B111Tu.