The contenders to his title hopelessly behind, Titus Ekiru had only the digital clock mounted on the pace vehicle directly ahead to challenge him in the final stages of Sunday’s Honolulu Marathon.

By the time the marathon’s defending champion completed the loop through Hawaii Kai, it was clear he had no rival on the 26.2-mile course. When he stepped across the finish line at Kapiolani Park, Ekiru stood alone in race history.

Running in virtual solitude for the last 9 miles, Ekiru finished his pursuit in a record-breaking two hours, seven minutes and 59 seconds to repeat as champion while lowering the race standard by 28 seconds.

“Last year I said I need to try my best and maybe I can run the course record,” said Ekiru, who won the 2018 race with a time of 2:09:01. “This year I trained three months and then I told my coach maybe I can run 2:07 here.”

Where Ekiru runs, records tend to fall.

>> Photo Gallery: The 47th anniversary Honolulu Marathon

Ekiru claimed a course record for the fourth time in five marathon victories since 2017, most recently a personal-best 2:04:46 in the Milano Marathon in Italy.

He made his Honolulu debut as a designated pace setter in 2017 when Lawrence Cherono set the previous record of 2:08:27. Ekiru went on to finish fourth that year and posted the second-fastest time in the event’s history in his victory last year despite rain and a headwind in East Oahu.

After an early morning call to his family in Kenya on Sunday, the field was greeted by near ideal conditions — cool bordering on chilly with no wind — for the marathon’s 47th running.

Ekiru targeted the record early as the pack set a quick pace through downtown, Waikiki and around Diamond Head. The tempo splintered the group on Kalanianaole Highway when Ekiru and pacer Reuben Kiprop Kerio made a surge in the 15th mile. After Kerio dropped out in Hawaii Kai, Ekiru continued on his track toward the record and spent the rest of his run on his own.

“When I am in my training when I run (by) myself sometimes I push the pace,” Ekiru said. “So I know how to run with pace makers, without pace makers. I can maintain my pace.”

Armed with knowledge of the course, the 6-foot-1 Ekiru’s long strides held a sub-five-minute per mile pace before hitting the final climb up Diamond Head Road.

“It’s really difficult,” said Ekiru, who won two half-marathons in his run-up to Honolulu. “At 40 (kilometers) it is not easy. I said let me try my best.”

He emptied the tank on his stretch into the park and dropped to his knees after breaking the tape as the course record fell for the third time in the last four years. The race’s top seven times have been recorded in that span.

“It’s not easy,” he said, “but I love Hawaii.”

Along with claiming the $25,000 first prize, Ekiru earned a $10,000 bonus for breaking the record.

Wilson Chebet, the 2014 champion, came in second for the fourth time in the last five years with a time of 2:13:13 despite working through cramps in his legs. He kept up with Ekiru through the outward leg into Hawaii Kai but was around 12 seconds behind by the time he returned to Kalanianaole.

“Titus was looking good from the start,” said Chebet, who added another $10,000 to his career Honolulu earnings. “He maintained the pace and he looked good and I’m proud of him.”

Edwin Kipngetich Koech placed third at 2:24:19 in his Honolulu debut.