Honolulu Marathon men: Often running alone, Emmanuel Saina energized by crowd in the end

Emmanuel Saina found strength in solitude.

Less than four miles into the Honolulu Marathon, Saina found himself running alone into Waikiki in the dark of Sunday morning.

With no one else around to drive the pace, Saina nevertheless maintained a brisk stride through the next 22 miles or so on his way to a victory in the marathon’s return from a year’s absence.

“It was a very lonely run,” Saina said after crossing the finish line at Kapiolani Park.

“I was expecting to push with my friend. But the first kilometers I saw it was too slow and I tried my best to move along.”

Saina covered the 26.2-mile course in 2 hours, 14 minutes, 30 seconds, well off the record times of recent races yet an admirable effort considering he spent most of the morning on his own.

Prior to last year’s cancellation due to the pandemic, the marathon annually featured a field of six to eight professional runners to lead the field through the course winding through downtown Honolulu into Waikiki and out to East Oahu before looping back to Kapiolani Park.

This year’s race drew less than half its usual numbers with close to 9,000 reporting to the starting line on Ala Moana Boulevard for either the marathon or the Start-to-Park 10K.

>> RELATED: Lanni Marchant wins women’s marathon

>> RELATED: Marathon notes: Lyau just misses sub 3-hour milestone

>> RELATED: Honolulu Marathon was a win for all involved

>> PHOTOS: Thousands return to streets for 2021 Honolulu Marathon

The elite field was also scaled down to two for the marathon’s comeback with Saina making his debut in the United States alongside fellow Kenyan Reuben Kiprop Kerio, who was making his fourth start in Honolulu.

Kerio placed second in 2018 and served as a pace-setter in 2019 when Titus Ekiru set the course record of 2:07:59.

This time, Kerio showed signs of struggle even before circling back toward Waikiki and dropped out with a stomach ailment. That left Saina with only the clock as his primary competition for the remainder of the race.

“I was trying to use my watch to keep the pace,” Saina said. “If there was a place where I could see I was going slow I tried to push.”

Saina earned a victory in his debut in the distance when he won the Buenos Aires Marathon in 2018 with a time of 2:05:21 and found challenging conditions throughout his Honolulu debut and seventh start of his career.

“It is my first time running such a difficult course,” said Saina, who entered the race with a target of finishing in under 2:15.

“It was not uniform. There were some places that were very humid, some places the wind pushed me and some places I was running against the wind, which is very difficult.”

Saina kept close to a five-minute pace per mile while encountering headwinds and a bit of rain on the outward leg on Kalanianaole Highway through Niu Valley.

He finally had some company on the road after coming out of the loop through Hawaii Kai as runners still heading out toward East Oahu cheered him on, with a couple exchanging high fives with the leader.

Although the crowds were considerably thinner than past years, the joggers and walkers still making the initial Diamond Head climb provided a lift on Saina’s descent toward Kapiolani Park.

“The cheering gives you a lot of morale, energy to move,” Saina said. “Some places I was running alone, going slow. But close to the finish line (there was) a lot of cheering along the road. It was fantastic.”

Less than four days after making a more than 30-hour trek from his home in Eldoret, Kenya, to Honolulu, Saina finished off his second career win to give his family another reason to celebrate during the Christmas season.

“I think this is the best reward I can give them,” said Saina, who was already looking forward to returning to defend the title next year.

“Before I came out of the hotel we talked. There it was already late. I think they are very happy.”

John Benner also enjoyed a joyous finish, placing second in his first marathon and earning top Hawaii resident honors.

Benner moved to Hawaii Island from Massachusetts in May to take a job at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. The University of Vermont’s record holder in the indoor mile and indoor and outdoor 3,000 meters, Benner won the Kalakaua Merrie Mile on Saturday and made his marathon debut on Sunday.

Aiming to finish under 2:40, he crossed the finish line with arms outstretched at 2:35:24.

“I was trying to decide between doing the mile and the marathon and my girlfriend was like, ‘why not do both?’” Benner said. “I just signed up for both the last day I could.

“I felt good today. The mile didn’t take too much out of me. It’s a really special day. I’ll remember this forever. This is awesome.”