Jim Barahal’s philosophy in operating the Honolulu Marathon follows the advice of a coach who told him, “the race is in front of you.”

This year’s event, though, warrants a look back while continuing to push forward.

The marathon will celebrate its 50th anniversary when the fireworks show booms over Ala Moana Boulevard on Sunday morning and sends the field — again led by a pack of pros — onto the 26.2-mile course.

“It’s going to be a joyous celebration when the gun goes off for the 50th anniversary,” Barahal said. “Only a handful of marathons have lasted that long and it’s a tribute to the community that has supported the event and I think it’s going to be a very exciting, emotional moment.”

A year after a limited return, the Honolulu Marathon continues building back to pre-pandemic levels and welcomes a bolstered group of elite competitors for its anniversary weekend.

With an estimated 21,000 runners and walkers expected to participate, Barahal said the Honolulu Marathon remains the fourth largest in the U.S., trailing only Boston, New York and Chicago.

With the onset of COVID-19 a non-competitive virtual marathon was held in 2020 and last year’s in-person return included just four professionals, two male and two female.

With a deeper elite field set to run on Sunday, “it’s big step forward from where we were last year,” Barahal said,

“The Honolulu Marathon does have a great tradition of great champions and great records. It was very important for us to do what we could to bring in top runners for the 50th anniversary.”

Three years after Titus Ekiru won the second of his back-to-back titles with a record time of 2 hours, 7 minutes, 59 seconds, a first-time champion will likely cross the finish line at Kapiolani Park. Asefa Mengstu of Ethiopia (who has a personal best of 2:04:06) and countryman Shifera Tamru (2:05:18) are contenders to break Kenya’s 14-year grip on the Honolulu title.

Emmanuel Saina crossed the finish line at Kapiolani Park in 2:14:32 seconds to win last year’s event.

Lanni Marchant of Canada won the women’s race in 2:41:25 and will return Sunday as the defending champion in a field that includes Ethiopia’s Abebech Afework (2:23:33) and Bere Ayalew (2:22:52) an Japan’s Mai Ito (2:24:42).

The women’s record stands at 2:22:15, set in 2017 by Brigid Kosgei, who is now the world record holder.

The weekend’s competitions start Saturday morning with the return of a professional field for the Kalakaua Merrie Mile. The 7:30 a.m. race along Kalakaua Ave., features six Olympians, including Matthew Centrowitz, the 2016 gold medalist in the 1,500 meters.

“As of 2019, the Kalakaua Merrie Mile was arguably the second biggest mile in the world,” Barahal said. “We decided to bring the pros in and it’s an incredible field.”

Sunday’s race will also include the Start to Park 10K, which starts at the same time as the marathon and ends on the course’s first pass along Kapiolani Park.

While the weekend’s festivities have expanded over the years, a couple of aspects have endured over the marathon’s five decades — the finish line remains in the same spot as the inaugural event in 1973 and there remains no time limit for finishers.

“Healthy outdoor activity is the best remedy for so many things and the fact that we have no time limit encourages people to start living a healthy active lifestyle and the Honolulu Marathon is a great goal because you can shoot for something,” said Barahal, whose personal connection with marathons also hits 50 this year.

“It gets you out of bed every morning and walk or jog and you do the best you can and no one’s going to pull you off the course.”

Expo opens today

The Honolulu Marathon Expo opens today at the Hawaii Convention Center and runs through Saturday. All participants must pick up their own race bibs at the expo.

The expo hours are 10 a.m.-6 p.m. today, 9 a.m.-7 p.m. on Friday and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday. Late entries will be accepted until the close of the expo on Saturday.

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Honolulu Marathon

>> When: Sunday, 5 a.m.

>> Where: Race starts at Ala Moana, heads westbound into downtown, turns back to Ala Moana and continues into Waikiki, Diamond Head, Kahala and East Honolulu. Runners turn around in Hawaii Kai and finish at Kapiolani Park.

>> Registration: Late registration is accepted through 5 p.m. Saturday at the Hawaii Convention Center. Each participant must pick up their own race bib at the Honolulu Marathon expo.

>> Traffic: Lane closures, detours and tow-away zones along the marathon course will be in effect this weekend. Road closures start at 12:30 a.m. Sunday.

>> Info: honolulumarathon.org