Against the backdrop of a dazzling sunrise, Filex Kiprotich maintained a rhythmic stride around Diamond Head heading toward the finish of a brilliant performance.

By then only drama remaining was whether the 27-year-old Kenyan had enough time and energy to threaten the Honolulu Marathon’s 11-year-old course record.

Cheered on by runners still on the outward leg, Kiprotich made the approach to Kapiolani Park within sight of the mark but needing a strong kick to reach the record.

In the end, Jimmy Muindi’s mark survived another year when Kiprotich crossed the finish line 2 hours, 11 minutes, 43 seconds after the 5 a.m. start Sunday — 31 seconds over the record but tied for the second-fastest time in the marathon’s 43-year history.

In near ideal conditions, Kiprotich broke away in the 20th mile and ran alone — other than cameramen aboard motorcycles and a police escort — the rest of the way to win in his Honolulu debut.

“When I was at 30 (kilometers) I planned to break (the) course record, so I decided to go,” Kiprotich said.

Kiprotich claimed the $40,000 first prize and would have added a $15,000 bonus had he broken the course mark.

As it was, he earned $10,000 for a sub-2:12:00 finish and his time matched Ibrahim Hussein’s winning mark in 1986, which stood as the race standard until Muindi’s 2:11:12 in 2004.

Hussein was the first Kenyan to win the race and Kiprotich continued the country’s domination of the event on Sunday. Kenyans have won the last nine straight and 19 of the last 20. They swept the top five places on a clear and cool morning with nearly no wind.

Defending champion Wilson Chebet finished second, 1:03 after Kiprotich but nearly three minutes faster than his winning time last year when the runners contended with rain and a stiff wind through the East Oahu loop.

Daniel Limo came in third at 2:13:24 followed by Robert Kwambai (2:15:27) and Kenneth Mungara (2:18:36), the 42-year-old masters world record holder.

“I’m happy with the results. I feel so great,” Chebet said. “The weather was really good from last year, because last year was raining and today there was no wind. So I think today was good for us to run.”

The pack of elite runners followed the lead of pacesetter Samuel Ndungu. The group reached the halfway point in 1:06:58 and dropped under five-minute mile pace through Hawaii Kai.

“(Ndungu) was really strong and maintaining the pace well,” Chebet said. “I was thinking that maybe we would run 2:10. But along the way humidity came so that made us run 2:11, 2:12.”

Shortly after Ndungu left the group in the 19th mile, his task complete, Kiprotich made his surge on Kalanianaole Highway and had dropped the other contenders when he made the turn onto Kealaolu Avenue behind Waialae Country Club.

But one more test awaited for Kiprotich, who entered the race without a scouting report on the course.

“The weather was not bad, but … I thought course was difficult. It has a lot of hills,” Kiprotich said.

The Diamond Head climb slowed Kiprotich’s pace a bit and he entered Kapiolani Park just over the 2:08:20 mark. The final straightaway to the finish line kept the record out of reach, but Kiprotich — who set a personal best of 2:06:39 in a second-place finish in the Seoul Marathon in March — had ample cushion to add a Honolulu victory to his win in the Rennes Marathon in France last year.

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