WAIKOLOA — Andreas Wenger flew to Hawaii to meet some friends for a vacation. A Kona Marathon title was never really in his plans. ADVERTISING WAIKOLOA — Andreas Wenger flew to Hawaii to meet some friends for a vacation. A
WAIKOLOA — Andreas Wenger flew to Hawaii to meet some friends for a vacation. A Kona Marathon title was never really in his plans.
The Switzerland native, who now lives in Singapore, won the 22nd edition of the marathon in 2 hours, 54 minutes and 55 seconds at Waikoloa Beach Resort on Sunday.
“I didn’t expect this to happen,” said Wenger.
Wenger wasn’t just being modest. Proof to that statement can likely be found by tracing his itinerary.
“I was looking for things to do while I was here, saw the Kona Marathon and signed up. Then I found out I was going to the wrong island,” said Wenger, who had originally tabbed Oahu as his vacation destination. “But we came over here and had a great time seeing the sites — volcano and the black sand beach. And, of course, this was a terrific race.”
Honolulu’s Yuko Nakai repeated as the women’s champion, completing the 26.2-mile course in 3:24:30. Nakai ran alone for most of the day. She reached the Queen’s Bowl finish line more than 15 minutes ahead of the next closest finisher.
“It was hot — much hotter than last year,”Nakai said. “I give a lot of credit to the aid stations. They always had something cold for us to drink. They helped me out a ton and gave great encouragement.”
The duo both set course records, but that was because Sunday’s race was the first time the event was being in Waikoloa. The previous route ran out and back in Kailua-Kona.
Athletes were greeted with nearly perfect weather at the new venue and reviews came back positive of the picturesque course. However, there were some tough stretches. The most unanimous selection was the grueling out and back on the black asphalt of Queen Kaahumanu Highway.
“Once you get to the turnaround it gets pretty tough. You get there and realize you have to run all the way back,”Wenger laughed. “The legs started to go a little bit but I was able to make it through to the end.
Defending male champion Thomas Sands finished third overall. He held a slight lead at about the midway stage of the race, but was hit with massive fatigue after Mile 15 and then things went sideways. Sands said he had a hard time keeping liquid down and started to get bad cramps.
“It was a lot tougher than last year. The hills and heat really played a factor,” Sands said. “I managed to slog through the last few miles, and I was happy to make the podium. Next year I will hopefully balance my training a bit better.”
Sandwiched by Wegner and Sands, Naokatsu Miura, of Japan, finished second overall.
For the women, Kiyomi Shimizu, of Aiea, took second in 3:40:40 and Canadian runner Diana Butler rounded out the women’s podium, stopping the clock at 3:42:36.
Wenger was unsure of his return to the event, but Nakai assured that she will be back and hopes to make it a three-peat in 2016. She also has a personal goal for the coming years.
“I want to introduce more Japanese athletes to this race,” she said. “I think they should come here and experience the aloha of the event.”
