Benner and Barnett take podium finishes in the Honolulu Marathon

Almost 9,000 runners took part in the 48th edition of the Honolulu Marathon on Sunday and the accompanying race, the Start to Park 10K. While the numbers for this year’s event were significantly lower than in previous years, it turned out to be the largest sporting event in Hawaii since COVID-19 began.

The 26.2 mile run began on Ala Moana Boulevard and ended in Kapiolani Park. The marathon and Start to Park 10K were part of a trio that started on Saturday with the Kalakaua Merrie Mile.

The Sunday marathon was expected to be largely a local event showcasing Hawaii’s best elite runners, and it certainly was. In addition to the overall winners, the Kenyan Emmanuel Saina, who won in a fast time of two hours, 14 minutes and 32 seconds, and the Canadian Olympic champion Lanni Marchant, who won the women’s race in 2:41:25, there were several runners the Big Island captured podium places.

Vulcan John Benner, who recently set a new course record in this year’s 100% Pure Kona Coffee Half Marathon and was an intern in Hawaii Volcano National Park, crossed the finish line as the second runner in a time of 2:35:24.

Benner, who ran for the University of Vermont during his NCAA career and has a personal best of 4: 05.34 in the mile, also won the Kalakaua Merrie Mile the day before in a sizzling time of 4:17.

Third overall went to another volcano resident, Billy Barnett, who achieved an amazing time of 2:36:48. It was the first time since the 1970s that local residents were in the top three. Another Big Islander who did exceptionally well was Kailua-Kona’s David Wild, who finished seventh overall in 2:50:59.

Grace Oetting from Nashville came second in the women’s race in 2:52:48, followed by Sarah Guhl from Colorado in third place in 2:56:52. Kailua-Kona’s Bree Wee ran an impressive race and finished fourth after 3:01:31.

Wee, a fourth grade teacher at Kahakai Elementary School who recently won the women’s class in the 100% Pure Kona Coffee Half Marathon, shared her goal of doing 3 hours in the marathon as part of Jonathan Lyau’s Under-3 running group was to be interrupted. Wee was very close, as was Lyau, who finished in a time of 3:03:19.

Lyau is one of Hawaii’s top long-distance runners and has competed in 32 Honolulu marathons over the course of his career. He has won the prestigious Kamaaina Prize seventeen times and was inducted into the Honolulu Marathon Hall of Fame in 2009. Lyau’s return to the starting line on Sunday has proven that even as a 57-year-old you can keep your athletic skills and fitness.

In the wheelchair competition, Tyler Byers from Greenacres, Washington, and Chelsea Stein from Tucson, Arizona, won in 1:42:59 and 2:33:02, respectively.

Congratulations to everyone who competed in the Honolulu Marathon on Sunday!