In her first-ever marathon, Cynthia Limo remembered the words of her manager, who died two weeks ago.

“Cynthia, you are strong, you are strong. You are going to make it,” Limo recalled what her manager told her from the hospital. “Today I was memorizing what he was a telling me.”

The words of encouragement and belief in her training helped Limo win Sunday’s Honolulu Marathon, finishing the 26.2-mile race in 2 hours, 33 minutes, 1 second. The win continued the 33-year-old Kenyan’s return to racing, a comeback filled with loss and grief.

“I had to believe in myself, have to go for it and try to push and push,” Limo said of a late surge in the race that allowed her to pull away. “I’m so happy, so pleased.”

Sintatehu Getahun of Ethiopia was second in 2:35:16 and Kasu Bitew Lemeneh, also of Ethiopia, was third in 2:36:04. Japanese runners Yukari Abe and Eri Suzuki were fourth and fifth in 2:47:32 and 2:58:22.

Limo’s manager, Owen Anderson, 76 of East Lansing, Mich., died on Nov. 26 from cancer. Limo, who is not sponsored like other athletes she races against, had a busy 2023 racing season across the U.S. She competed in a dozen races ranging from 10 kilometers to half-marathons, setting course records at three of those.

But the marathon was the one distance she did not compete in until Honolulu. Honolulu’s prize of $25,000 is significantly more than the few thousand she earned at racing shorter distances.

“He was always encouraging me, and tell me ‘Cynthia, you’re going to be the best athlete in the world and you are going to run good,’” said Limo, who was based out of East Lansing during racing season. “He promised to me that ‘before the year ends, you’re going to run a marathon.’”

Limo and the two Ethiopians ran together until Lemeneh dropped back between miles 18 and 19 in Hawaii Kai. Limo and Getahun ran together on Kalanianaole Highway until Limo surged ahead on a decline headed toward Kahala Mall at mile 21.

Limo then rounded a turn onto Kealaolu Avenue in Kahala, skipped the aid station at the 22-mile mark and gradually pulled away from Getahun. The lead grew to about 200 meters climbing up Diamond Head at mile 24 and increased from there as she headed toward the finish line at Kapiolani Park.

Limo was a silver medalist at the World Half Marathon Championships in 2016, then stepped away from racing to start a family. Her first child died and Limo needed time to grieve. With two children back in Kenya, she raced in a 10K and half-marathon in November 2022 before ramping up her schedule this year.

“Running is my passion, is my career,” said Limo, who averaged a 5:50 mile on Sunday. “I can say it’s my life.”

The mix of road racing in the U.S. and longer runs back in Kenya proved to be a successful transition to marathon racing.

“This many (road) races assisted me with speedwork,” Limo said. “In Kenya I go on a lot long runs. That made me come out successful.”

AGE GROUP

FEMALE

Elite: 1. Cynthia Jerotich Limo 2:33:01. 2. Sintatehu Getahun 2:35:15. 3. Kasu Bitew Lemeneh 2:36:03.

14-younger: 1. Saki Moteki 4:54:05. 2. Kilinahe McCandless 6:21:48. 3. Aimi Shimura 6:25:57.

15-19: 1. Gabby Kics 3:36:27. 2. Ruby Lauritzen 3:48:33. 3. Evelyn Murphy 3:50:53.

20-24: 1. Cora Goodrich 3:14:04. 2. Alia Wallenstrom 3:20:26. 3. Jaelynn Cid 3:23:06.

25-29: 1. Honoka Kurosaki 3:07:18. 2. Sophia Morgan 3:16:51. 3. Camille De Guzman 3:18:28.

30-34: 1. Emily Reynolds 3:11:34. 2. Maya Heck 3:17:17. 3. Holly Strauss 3:19:26.

35-39: 1. Maki Onishi 3:03:10. 2. Alex- andria Davenport 3:11:57. 3. Erina Na- kai 3:15:13.

40-44: 1. Monika Kalbacher 3:27:10. 2. Sarah Ho 3:32:27. 3. Adrienne Cass 3:35:50.

45-49: 1. Teresa Allman 3:11:40. 2. Jacquie Cooke 3:17:10. 3. Mieko Ochsner 3:18:29.

50-54: 1. Serena Kessler 3:08:43. 2. Kazue Oka 3:11:16. 3. Jen Hoogeste- ger 3:30:33.

55-59: 1. Mina Nagaoka 3:27:53. 2. Michie Hosoki 3:28:16. 3. Shelley Oates-Wilding 3:29:35.

60-64: 1. Yuka Daimon 4:05:26. 2. Mari Takahashi 4:08:26. 3. Gabriele Holfeld-Weitlof 4:12:16.

65-69: 1. Donis Zacarias 4:28:05. 2. Mayumi Hanada 4:34:44. 3. Joyce M. Jackson 4:35:59.

70-74: 1. Shuko Yamane 4:26:25. 2. Etsuko Nakamura 4:50:11. 3. Ingrid Tsiligiannis 4:54:13.

75-79: 1. Keiko Koyama 5:24:57. 2. Maya Yamazaki 5:42:56. 3. Ursula Franke-Thurau 5:47:12.

80-84: 1. Ryoko Saito 7:46:31. 2. Akiko Ogawa 8:01:40. 3. Betsy Staller 9:43:27.