Marathon notebook: An unorthodox study break

Donn Cabral’s idea of a study break is a bit unorthodox.

Cabral, above, is working concurrently on two postgraduate degrees (law and business) at the University of Connecticut. The Princeton graduate also happens to be a world-class competitor in the steeplechase, finishing eighth in the 2012 and 2016 Olympic finals.

Cabral has a final exam for a finance class this morning at 9 a.m. in Hartford, but that didn’t keep him from competing in the Honolulu Marathon on Sunday — and doing quite well in his first attempt at the 26.2-mile distance.

Cabral ran 2:19:16, good enough to tie for fourth overall and make him the first American to finish. He was scheduled for a 4:20 p.m. flight Sunday that would get him to Newark., N.J., at 6:20 a.m. today.

“The wind was rough, and when there was no wind there was humidity,” Cabral said. “But the crowd was so enthusiastic it made it fun for my first marathon.”

Ben there

Ben Williams of Kailua was just a couple of spots behind Cabral. His time of 2:33:18 was best among Hawaii residents. This was also his first marathon.

“I’ve done a lot of Ironman triathlons,” Williams said. “I’ve done the Ironman on the Big Island, and those take so much time to prepare for and usually if I’m doing an Ironman in the fall, I’m always too tired to do this race. But this year I didn’t do any other triathlons, so it was a good time for me to do this.”

Williams said the wind was rough at times.

“I felt like I ran right on my paces, it was like a best-case scenario for me. The wind was really a factor out on the highway,” he said. “There were two miles out on (Kalanianaole) Highway where it was just a stiff headwind and it felt like a standstill and I was hardly moving. I just tried to stay relaxed and moving through that.”

Lori Nishida of Honolulu was the top kamaaina female with a time of 3:31:15. She was surprised with the distinction that came with finishing her 10th Honolulu Marathon.

“I feel like maybe I shouldn’t have run as many miles coming into it and maybe taper it a little sooner. Overall it was a pretty good year.”

Start to Park

The race within the race, The Start to Park 10k, again provided an alternative for thousands of runners, joggers and walkers. Those not fast enough for the mile or without the endurance for the marathon often find 10,000 meters to their liking as a fun run.

But there were some serious entrants, too. Evan De Hart of Hilo won in 33:41.

Survivors

Jerold Chun and Gary Dill made it 46-for-46. Both have finished every Honolulu Marathon, going back to the first one in 1973. Chun finished in 4:59:02 this year, with Dill at 7:54:39.

Dynasty continues

Masazumi Soejima continued his dominance of the wheelchair division. He led at every timing mat, and finished at 1:39:12 for his 12th victory at Honolulu and sixth in a row.

Ivy Tempo Bialowas of Ottawa won the women’s race in 7:08.

Meet the champions

Top finishers will sign autographs today at 10 a.m. at the Hawai‘i Convention Center.