Betsy Saina and Margaret Wanguri Muriuki carried their friendship to the racing course at Sunday’s Honolulu Marathon.
Saina told Muriuki to stay with her during the 26.2-mile race. The two Kenyans ran together from the start until Muriuki pulled away in the final half-mile for her first marathon victory. Muriuki completed the course in two hours, 31 minutes, 10 seconds to become the sixth consecutive Kenyan to win the race while earning $25,000 in prize money.
“I was telling God when we were running together, ‘help us to finish this race together,’ ” Muriuki, 33, said. “Running together, it encourages each other. You get energy, I get energy.”
Friends since 2012, both women started their careers running 10-kilometer and half-marathon races before transitioning up to the marathon distance. Saina, the more experienced marathon runner of the two, approached Muriuki earlier in the week with racing advice.
“Betsy told me a couple of days before, ‘Margaret, I have experience in marathon so don’t make a move because I want you to run good and finish the race,” Muriuki explained. “So she said, ‘stay with me and I’ll try to help you.’ She helped me.”
Saina, a three-time NCAA champion at Iowa State University, finished second in 2:31:51. Renee Metivier of Oregon was third in 2:43:17 and Japan’s Miharu Shimokado placed fourth in 2:45:22.
“We could race together because she’s tough,” said Saina, who currently resides in Oregon. “It was really fair because she took most of the lead and she worked. We ran side by side so it was a fair event. It was fun racing with her.”
The two Kenyans and Shimokado led the women’s field early on, going at a slow six-minute mile pace. Shimokado fell back after the ninth mile near Diamond Head and the two picked up the pace.
“When (we passed) the Japanese runner, she was the one who told me let’s make a move,” Muriuki said.
Muriuki ran in front for most of the race with Saina tucked right behind. They were side by side coming down Diamond Head Road and into Kapiolani Park. With the finish line about a half-mile away, Muriuki took off. She opened her stride and increased her lead within seconds.
“I could’ve made a move but to be honest with you, I didn’t do anything,” said Saina, who earned $10,000. “I just let her go.”
“She’s one of my best of friends,” Saina said. “I wanted to help her race better. She has a 2:35 (marathon time). She wanted to run a 2:30. I was so happy to race with her.”
Saina missed her nutrition bottle at several aid stations set up for the professional runners. After taking some gulps from her own bottle, Muriuki passed it to Saina with both runners running and fueling up without breaking their strides.
“I (missed) my bottle at some stations so I when I missed, I could ask her,” Saina said.
Metivier, 37, bounced back from two surgeries on her right leg in the last two years to achieve a qualifying time of sub 2:45 for February’s U.S. Olympic marathon trials. The former NCAA champion at Colorado finally felt pain free and was able to train in the last six weeks, all while working full-time as the owner of a sports performance and rehabilitation center in Bend, Ore.
Metivier was never in the lead pack but knew smart running would help her achieve the qualifying time. She passed Shimokado at mile 16.
“When you come back from injuries, you know ego can get you in trouble,” said Metivier, who earned $5,000. “This is my slowest marathon ever. I have two months until the trials. I didn’t want to beat myself up. I wanted to get the job done, make sure I was healthy, didn’t get hurt and got it done.
“It’s really hard to go into a race with all the energy and keep your brain on the goal. I had to keep reading my mantra before we started, no ego and no doubt.”
