By Dr. Richard Kelley
The 37th running of the Honolulu Marathon will kick off at 5 a.m. tomorrow, Sunday, at the Ala Moana Park starting line, just outside Waikiki. The event always amazes me. Considering Honolulu’s small population, our marathon’s popularity is phenomenal. According to the Honolulu Advertiser, it is Hawaii’s largest sporting event.
Registrations for the race are up a bit this year, to about 24,000, compared to approximately 23,000 in 2008. For the three years before that, however, they were typically around 28,000.
According to Honolulu Marathon President Dr. Jim Barahal, some 15,000 of the runners will be from Japan. “This is remarkable in these tough economic times,” said Dr. Barahal.
There are several reasons for Japan’s support of and interest in the event. Japan Airlines is the major sponsor, returning for the 25th year! Other well-known Japanese sponsors, providing both financial and promotional assistance, include MUFG Card, NTT DoCoMo, SATOHAP, and Subaru.
Another factor is that the yen has strengthened substantially in the past year. It was recently pegged at 88 to the dollar, compared to 93 in 2008 and 111 in 2007. By my math, costs for food, lodging, and shopping for Japanese visitors to Hawaii are currently a whopping 21 percent less than just two years ago!
The strong turnout from Japan also reflects the fact that in recent years, several Japanese women have been strong contenders, going head-to-head against the world’s elite runners, many of whom come from Kenya and Russia.
2008 Honolulu Marathon winner, Kiyoko Shimhara from Japan, won the women’s division with a time of 2:32:36
For example, Eri Hayakawa of Tokyo took first place in the women’s division in 2003, Kyoko Shimahara won the 2008 race, with a time of 2:32:36, and Kaori Yoshida was right behind her, claiming second place at 2:34:35. Both Shimahara and Yoshida are scheduled to be running again this year, along with Akemi Ishige, who came in second in 2007 at 2:34:11.
In addition, it is predicted that 90 percent of the 4,000 participants in the race day walk will be from Japan.
There is always a great deal of interest in the male elite runners. This year, six-time winner, Kenyan Jimmy Muindi, will be back for his 15th run for the Honolulu Marathon gold. Muindi holds the Honolulu course record at 2:11:12.
Patrick Ivuti, a fellow Kenyan and last year’s winner at 2:14:35, will have the honor of wearing Bib #1. He is coming off a strong year of training and competition. He won the Prague Marathon in May, setting a course record of 2:07:48.
Ivuti will be hard pressed by a strong field of runners from his native country. Eight other elite Kenyan runners are registered, several of whom have run other marathons with times of less than 2:10:00, so plan on an exciting race that any number of strong contenders could win.
There are many other race-week activities. From Wednesday through today, there has been an exposition at the Hawaii Convention Center. Many years ago, we hosted the expo at the Outrigger Reef, but as the Marathon grew, we ran out of space. Usually some 50,000 to 60,000 people attend and visit the Nike store to buy all sorts of sportswear, clothing, equipment, and Honolulu Marathon logo souvenirs.
Tonight, there will be a carbo-loading luau and concert for over 5,000 people at the Waikiki Shell. Ukulele virtuoso Jake Shimabukuro and Hawaii entertainment legends Cecilio & Kapono will perform.
Outrigger and OHANA Hotels & Resorts are the official hotels of the Honolulu Marathon. We provide complimentary and/or deeply discounted accommodations for many of the elite runners brought in by the organizers.
Our Waikiki properties will run high occupancies all week, and we expect to be nearly sold out Saturday night! This is quite a contrast to the typical pre-holiday slump experienced at our neighbor island properties.
The Honolulu Marathon has a huge economic impact on the entire state and in particular, on Waikiki.
Hawaii Pacific University students of economics have studied the Honolulu Marathon for several years. They found that runners and their traveling companions spend much of the month in Waikiki’s shops and restaurants. They estimated that in 2008, the Marathon brought a record $104 million in visitor spending to Hawaii and generated approximately $3 million in taxes.
Those numbers do not include spending by local participants.
With the yen currently at a 15-year high, many expect an increased amount of spending by Japanese marathoners and their companions this year.
The economic impact spreads throughout Hawaii as some 20 percent of out-of-state registrants plan to visit neighbor islands too.
Dr. Barahal, speaking to a KITV reporter, recently said, “With the economy being rough, tourism struggling a little, I think more than ever, the Honolulu Marathon is a welcome thing at a great time for Hawaii.”
At the finish line, only a handful of competitors are listed as winners, but in reality, everybody in Hawaii wins when the Honolulu Marathon races into town.
