COURTESY HONOLULU MARATHON
Edward Cheserek won his third Kalakaua Merrie Mile on Saturday.
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Edward Cheserek remained undefeated in all three Kalakaua Merrie Miles, winning Saturday’s race in an event record time of 3 minutes, 53.3 seconds.
Cheserek, who won 17 NCAA titles in cross country, indoor track and outdoor track while at Oregon, took home $4,000 in prize money from the mile race held the day before the
Honolulu Marathon. The 27-year-old Kenyan who trains in Arizona overtook the group of female professional runners who started 28 seconds before the men’s pro group on
Kalakaua Avenue.
Brimin Kiprono was second in 3:56.3, followed by Patrick Joseph and Craig Huffer. The three men caught Elinor Purrier, the lead female runner, about 20 meters from the finish line to claim prize money of $3,000, $2,000 and $1,000. The race awards prize money to the top four finishers of the entire race.
Purrier, 24, was the top female finisher in 4:25.0. Purrier, who lives in Boston, was the 2018 NCAA indoor mile champion at the University of New Hampshire.
About 2,200 runners finished the race, a 26 percent increase from last year.