Evan De Hart began running at age 13 in Ohio. It was 2013 before James Jones, who grew up in Manoa, ran more than a mile in a single stretch.

The duo from disparate backgrounds in the sport ended up leading the local entrants in Sunday’s Honolulu Marathon.

Jones, a Punahou graduate who works for the University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization, earned top kama‘aina honors with his finish in 2 hours, 48 minutes, 24 seconds.

Jones had little interest in sports other than surfing until he completed his undergraduate work at UH. He began training consistently in 2016, entered his third marathon this year and placed 25th overall.

“I’m really happy with what I did with the conditions,” said Jones, who is pursuing his PhD in economics at UH. “There’s so many great runners here, there’s so many fast people, it was a surprise to me.”

De Hart’s work as a project manager with Moss Construction Management brought him to Hawaii about two years ago. He ran cross country and track and field at the University of Cincinnati and ran four marathons before entering his first Honolulu race.

The 32-year-old finished 22nd overall among the men with a time of 2:49:32.

“Ever since I moved here I frequently got the question, ‘have you run a Honolulu Marathon?’” De Hart said. “I figured I might as well do it because that seems like the pinnacle race in Hawaii. I figured I hate the marathon distance but I need to try to do it at least once before I get too old and beat up.”

Carlson, Crouse lead local women

Kailua’s Polina Carlson has finished many races and marathons, but her 10th-place showing for top resident honors in 2:53:16 had one major significance. It was her first as an American citizen.

“I didn’t know at first where running was going to take me,” said Carlson (nee Babkina), who was born in Russia. “I was running in college and I had a good experience running for HPU.

“Now it means so much more to me. I can be surrounded by amazing people here in Hawaii who support me so much. It means a lot to me and especially now that I’m a U.S. citizen. It’s really special. I’m grateful for that.”

Carlson used the race to prepare for another race next month.

“I was thinking that this marathon was an amazing opportunity to be around the community that I really love and to be able to be apart of it and to prepare myself for the Houston Marathon.”

Kahului’s Malia Crouse knew she wouldn’t be fresh for the marathon after finishing fourth at the XTERRA Kualoa Ranch 21K on Dec. 3. But she followed advice from friends and finished as the top kama‘aina female in 2:58:03.

“I knew I wasn’t going to feel super fresh but a lot of friends have done both and they said be consistent, be confident and I just tried to run an even race” said Crouse, who was the 13th woman to finish Sunday.

Crouse did well here in 2015 but lived in Colorado at the time. After 10 years, she returned to the Valley Isle and started Maui Running Company, which aims to support and foster the running community. She thought of her Sunday run group during the race.

“I’m thinking of my group run right now,” Crouse. “Every Sunday we meet, all levels. I try to pull all levels in. It’s really important to me.”

Soejima, Tsuchida retain wheelchair titles

Masazumi Soejima of Japan continued his domination of the marathon’s wheelchair division with his 11th title since 2005 on Sunday. Soejima finished in 1:39:24 to win his fifth straight title.

Wakako Tsuchida of Japan also repeated as the women’s champion. She finished in 1:49:33 to win her 11th title since 2000.

Nonagenarian sets world record

Canada’s Betty Jean McHugh broke the world marathon record for 90-year-olds, crossing the finish line in 6:47:31 (15:33 mile pace). The previous record was 8:53:08.

Two years ago, she broke the world record for 88-year-olds with a time of 6:31:32 at Honolulu. She was joined again in this year’s race with her son, grandson and granddaughter.

Asada draws a crowd

Former Olympic figure skater Mao Asada of Japan completed her first marathon in 4:34:13, drawing a large group of fans back to the finish area in hopes of snapping a photo of one of Japan’s most popular athletes.

Asada won the silver medal at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver and claimed three world championships before retiring in April.

Nick Symmonds, a two-time Olympian and six-time U.S. champion at 800 meters, finished his first marathon in 3:00:35. He retired from track in June.

Perfect attendance

Former Honolulu resident Jerold Chun, now of La Jolla, Calif., finished in 5:37:37, having never missed a race in marathon history. Honolulu’s Gary Dill also kept his perfect attendance streak intact, finishing in 8:59.15.

HAWAII’S TOP 500 FINISHERS