Sunshine arrives in time for the Great Aloha Run

Lightning, thunder and torrential rain all stayed away Monday morning as about 18,000 elite and amateur runners — some in costumes, some carrying flags or pushing baby strollers — made the 8.15-mile run from Aloha Tower to Aloha Stadium for the 34th Annual Hawaii Pacific Health Great Aloha Run.

Despite Sunday’s spectacular storm that drenched Windward Oahu and parts of the neighbor islands, runners faced only cool early-morning temperatures and a few puffy white clouds Monday morning before the race began at 7 a.m.

“It was gorgeous,” said race spokeswoman Donna Fouts.

Elite runners, in particular, enjoyed the racing conditions because “it was cool and not too humid,” Fouts said.

And that made it easier for everyone who typically is greeted by bright sun and sometimes humid conditions during the last mile or two heading toward Aloha Stadium.

But the cool weather wasn’t enough to enable University of Hawaii spokesman Dan Meisenzahl to break the 59-minute mark. According to his watch, Meisenzahl crossed the finish line at 59:01 — well short of his Great Aloha Run personal best of 57:29.

“I got passed by a banana,” a sweaty Meisenzahl said. “That was discouraging. But I wasn’t the only one. He was fast.”

Danson Honda, 21, blew by Meisenzahl in his bright yellow “Banana Man” suit and crossed the finish line with an unofficial time of 56:11, according to Honda’s watch.

“My name is Banana Man,” Honda said, then added for clarification: “I’m a banana.”

Honda may not have won the Great Aloha Run, but he still claimed his place in the history books of the 34th annual race.

“I believe I was the first costume to cross the finish line,” he said.

It was Honda’s sixth time running the Great Aloha Run, the third year in a row that he busted out his banana suit and the second time he registered as “Banana Man.”

Kids, especially, like taking pictures with Banana Man, Honda said.

“It puts a smile on people’s faces,” he said, as he held an actual banana that he was given by a volunteer.

Honda, of Pearl City, is a UH junior studying business who also works as a salesman at the Running Room. He had the suit from his days at Pearl City High School, where a group of student leaders were divided into teams and Honda’s group was named “the bananas.”

There was also a running ninja in all black whose real identity is Hong Dinh, 30, a downtown massage therapist.

“It brings some fun to the Great Aloha Run,” said Dinh, who embraced his alter ego for the third time.

Goku — the character from “Dragon Ball” anime and manga fame — showed up to run for the second year in a row and was greeted by cheers of “Go Super Saiyan” from fans acknowledging Goku’s status elevation in the “Dragon Ball” universe.

The man beneath the costume is much more mysterious than Goku.

He’s a 36-year-old Army soldier who would identify himself only as “Jeff” from Mililani because he said he’s awaiting top secret security clearance.

Even though he did not want to reveal much personal information, Jeff gladly posed for pictures before, after and even during the race.

Keeghan Wright, a 17-year-old junior in Kapolei High School’s Marine Corps Junior ROTC program, led a contingent of 68 cadets and three instructors and carried the program’s guidon, or flag, over the entire 8.15-mile course.

“It was an honor,” Wright said. “It was motivation. I was representing our unit. I was representing Kapolei.”

As Wright and his fellow cadets ran the route, people along the way offered further encouragement, shouting, “Go, Devil Dogs. Oorah!”

Army Master Sgt. Mike Keith, 37, and Army Sgt. 1st Class Jeremy Small, 32, wore civilian running clothes but took turns carrying a U.S. flag during their runs.

“A lot of people thanked me, thanked us for carrying the flag and representing America,” Keith said. “We were glad to do it.”

But people along the race route openly joked with Alexis Paz, 27, and her husband, Giancarlo Paz, 37, of Kailua, who took turns pushing their 2-year-old son, Kainoa, in his stroller.

“They asked for a ride,” Alexis Paz said.