The first finisher in Sunday’s Honolulu Marathon spent much of the race out of sight of the leader.

For more than 21 miles, an unheralded runner from Japan held a sizable lead in the 41st annual event. Saeki Makino, wearing bib number 24193, broke away from the single-digit elite runners when the 5 a.m. fireworks show exploded above Ala Moana Boulevard, and he remained ahead as dawn broke over East Oahu.

But his energy finally waned re-entering Kahala, and the pack of pursuers led by Kenyans Gilbert Chepkwony and two-time champion Nicholas Chelimo engulfed him.

From there, Chepkwony surged away from Chelimo to earn his first career victory.

"We started slowly, but … my body responded and then I performed," Chepkwony said after claiming the $40,000 first prize.

Chepkwony made his first appearance in the event in 2009 as a designated pacesetter but stayed in the race through the finish and placed fifth.

In his return to Honolulu, no one could keep pace with the 28-year-old’s push through Kahala and around Diamond Head, and he crossed the finish line in 2 hours, 18 minutes, 47 seconds as a Kenyan won for the seventh straight year and for the 17th time in the past 18 races.

Kenyans swept the top three places as Chelimo came in second at 2:19:22, followed by Solomon Bushendich at 2:19:38. Gebretsadik Abraha Adihana of Ethiopia finished fourth at 2:20:09.

The winning time was more than six minutes behind Wilson Kipsang’s showing last year and marked the fourth time in the past 30 years that the winner exceeded 2:18.

Running in the morning darkness, Makino, who finished 11th in 2011, found himself striding in the spotlight, accompanied only by the pace vehicle and motorcycles carrying the race photographers through Waikiki, into Kahala and out to Hawaii Kai.

Makino remained well ahead while making a 10-minute loop through Hawaii Kai, and it wasn’t until he passed Kalani High School for the second time that the tight pack of seven runners came into view behind him. Clearly laboring, his tempo gradually dropped to a six-minute 21st mile as the pros devoured the gap.

They finally caught him coming off Kalanianaole Highway, and Chepkwony made the decisive move running along the back of Waialae Country Club.

Chepkwony charged through the 24th mile in 4 minutes, 56 seconds to drop Chelimo, who was just a stride behind when they turned onto Kealaolu Avenue.

"It was very tough because it was very humid and very hot," Chelimo said. "So to go with him was very tough."

Chelimo, who also finished second in 2009 before winning in ’10 and ’11, was well into the race when Chepkwony looked back on his descent down Diamond Head road before running alone into Kapiolani Park and to the finish line.

Martin Lel, one of the world’s premier marathoners and the favorite entering Sunday’s race, was hampered by a tight hamstring and a lingering hip injury that knocked him out of the New York City Marathon last month. He managed to make it to the finish line and placed sixth at 2:21:16.

"It was hard for me to stride and I had to slow the pace," Lel said. "(But) I was able to maintain and finish."

Makino, who has trained with top-ranked Japanese runner Yuki Kawaguchi, finished off his spirited morning effort 2:37:12 after it began, coming in 16th overall.

The group of elite entrants lost one of its contenders prior to race day. A knee injury forced Abdi Abdirahman, a four-time U.S. Olympic team member, to pull out of the race on Saturday.

MEN’S TOP 5 BY AGE GROUP

MEN’S TOP 250