Race Recap:
2006 Honolulu Marathon
Posted December 12th, 2006 at 10:00 PM by Jenna Sumara
Section: News & Results, Marathons
In a surprising turn of events, Ambesse Tolossa of Ethiopia managed to upset defending champion Jimmy Muindi to win the 2006 Honolulu Marathon on Sunday (Dec. 10); ending the10-year winning streak of the Kenyan runners. Tolosa’s came in at 2:13:42 and Muindi, who was seeking his sixth Honolulu victory, was almost a complete minute behind at 2:14:39.
Coming in third was Kenyan Eric Wainana at 2:16:08, Araya Haregot of Ethiopia was fourth in 2:16:59, followed closely by Eric Nzoiki of Kenya in 2:17:10.
Muindi and Tolossa were close together for most of the race, but Tolosa made his move at the 23 mile mark, checking his over his shoulder until he was sure he had a comfortable lead. After the race Muindi said he was annoyed by Tolosa’s tactics, and told him several times to back off. Muindi stated:
The Ethiopian way of racing is very bad. He was trying to mess with me. It was unfair.
Muindi also said he had been suffering a cold and had he been in top shape, he easily could have pulled away from Tolosa. Both Tolossa and Muindi said they will be back next year.
On the women’s side, the race was just as exciting; Lyubov Denisova of Russia met her goal winning the Honolulu Marathon women’s title and set a new record at the same time with a personal time of 2:27:19, beating Russia’s Lyubov Morgunova’s 2004 mark of 2:27:33. Morgunova was unable to compete this year because of injury.
Alevtina Biktimirova of Russia was second in 2:29:42, followed by 2003 winner Eri Hayakawa of Japan in 2:32:31; defending champion Olesya Nurgalieva of Russia, 2:36:02; and Albina Ivanova of Russia, 2:39:44. Nurgalieva’s twin sister, Elena, was sixth in 2:41:15. Denisova said that her preparation for the marathon was not just physical. “Mental preparation was about 90 percent and physical preparation was 10 percent.”
For more information: [Honolulu Marathon]
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Tags: Ambesse Tolossa, hawaii, honolulu, honolulu marathon, Jimmy Muindi, Lyubov Denisova, Lyubov Morgunova, marathon, marathons
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