HawaiiNewsNow: Nicholas Chelimo edges out Patrick Ivuti by 3 seconds to win »

Through 24 miles, Nicholas Chelimo had shed every contender to his Honolulu Marathon title — except one.

Chelimo and two-time champion Patrick Ivuti ran through Kahala and up Diamond Head Road shoulder-to-shoulder at some points and one just a stride ahead at others.

They made the descent into Kapiolani Park in a virtual tie before Chelimo out-sprinted his fellow Kenyan down Kalakaua Avenue to cross the finish line 3 seconds ahead of Ivuti and retain the title in one of the tightest finishes in the race’s 39-year history.

"It was very competitive," Chelimo said after completing the 26.2-mile course in 2 hours, 14 minutes and 55 seconds. "I knew anything could happen."

Chelimo trimmed 23 seconds off his winning time in last year’s race as the dramatic finish pushed both runners to tap into a skill they’d generally prefer to keep in reserve.

"I don’t want to be forced to sprint," Chelimo conceded.

But he summoned enough energy out of his legs to claim the $40,000 first prize plus $2,000 in time bonuses while denying Ivuti a third Honolulu crown.

Ivuti won the race in his previous two visits, holding off Chelimo in 2009 for his second straight win. He didn’t enter last year due to an injury and Chelimo ran away with the win.

"It was two guys who could feel like they were the defending champion," marathon president Jim Barahal said.

The win provided a gratifying end to the year for Chelimo, who finished sixth in the Vienna Marathon and didn’t finish the Eindhoven Marathon in October.

"I’m very happy, Chelimo said. "I was well prepared."

While the state was under a flash flood watch, the rain held off during the race and Chelimo and Ivuti were part of a lead pack that began with 10 runners and thinned to seven as they approached Hawaii Kai.

Kenyan Nicholas Manza made a few strong moves early in his first Honolulu Marathon, but the group bunched together again as the pace ebbed throughout the run out to East Oahu.

"It wasn’t too cozy, so it created a race where they weren’t sure what the others were going to do," said Barahal, who followed the action from the pace truck.

Manza fell back as the pace dropped under 5 minutes per mile while the leaders made the loop through Hawaii Kai, leaving Chelimo and Ivuti running with two newcomers in Josephat Boit and Kiplimo Kimutai, one of the designated pacesetters.

Chelimo made his move as they turned off Kalanianaole Highway onto Kealaolu Road alongside Waialae Country Club. Ivuti was the only one to answer the challenge and they traded the lead up the climb on Diamond Head Road.

The descent left Ivuti at a disadvantage going into the final stretch.

"I couldn’t sprint because when I came downhill I felt something in my right leg," Ivuti said. "Something pulled."

Chelimo then pulled ahead and reached the finish line a few strides ahead of Ivuti, as a Kenyan won the race for the 18th time in the past 21 years.

Barahal, in his 25th year overseeing the race, recalled a similarly tight race in the mid-1990s, but "as far as a match race, this was probably the best one."

Boit came in third at 2:15:40 and Kimutai was fourth at 2:18:12.