Honolulu Marathon 2007 Race Day

Honolulu Marathon Race Day
A heavy downpour at the beginning of the 2007 Honolulu Marathon was not what the massive crowd had hoped to experience. The rains quickly subsided but damage had been done. Running in wet shoes compounded the already difficult challenge.
For many, the 2007 Honolulu Marathon was a battle of conditions. Ambesse Tolosa, the eventual winner, suffered though blistered feet and leg cramping. Five time champion Jimmy Muindi was unable to keep fluids down as stomach problems plagued him. Race leaders set an extremely fast pace that was not to be maintained through the wet and humid surroundings.
Alevtina Biktimirova, winner of the women’s division, Did not seem much bothered by the environment. She charged down the final stretch of the marathon with fervor. However, her time was more than two minutes slower than her last years second place finish. Japan’s Akemi Ozaki courageously ran for the victory but Biktimirova finished with impressive power.
The senior divisions showed their determination. Many seasoned marathon veterans pushed though the elements often at the head of large groups. A most remarkable performance by Canadian Betty Jean McHugh, stopped the thoughts that they might not challenge any records. McHugh set a world record for the 80-85 age group. 80-year-old McHugh's time of 5:06:34 broke the world record by 3.07. The previous record had been set in 1985 at the Chicago Marathon. The Honolulu course is considered more difficult than the Chicago course. Japan racers dominated most of the divisions.
Japan runners won twenty-eight of the thirty-two divisions. Top five men and women Overall are not eligible as division winners. As expected, Masazumi Soejima, also from Japan, dominated the wheel chair division with a time of 01:38:17.A-special congratulation is for our Honolulu Champion Susannah Rice- Kamanu women’s wheel chair time of 3:33:57. Well done.
A small collection of Honolulu Marathon photographs is now available. Also excerpts from the race and the exposition can be viewed on video. This includes a glimpse of Ambesse Tolosa, Jimmy Muindi, and Alevtina Biktimirova approaching the finish line.
Statistics may contain some errors. Failures with the timing system made race results uncertain. Officials hope to minimize disappointment by using video to reinstate lost times.
Update: 12/14/2007
Officials at Honolulu Marathon.org wrote the following regarding inaccurate and lost data.
It is with sincere regret that we inform you that the timing company for the 2007 Honolulu Marathon - SAI Timing and Tracking - was unable to provide accurate data at the start, throughout the course and at the finish line.
The full impact of this inaccurate and lost data is not completely known.
Honolulu Marathon officials are making every effort to verify as much finisher and race timing data as possible. Fortunately, none of the finish line video was affected. That video will be used to verify individual finish times.
The Honolulu Marathon has already begun the process of reviewing finisher video in order to create an accurate finishing time for all finishers. We believe that due to the quality and redundancy of the video system that we will be able to obtain a finishing time based on the starting gun for all race finishers who wore their race number on the front of their chests.
We understand how important your finishing time is, and we apologize for any delay or inconvenience this causes you. Please check our website http://www.honolulumarathon.org/ for future updates.