Nicholas Chelimo ran to glory Sunday in the Honolulu Marathon. It was a thrilling finish, as Chelimo crossed the finish line just three seconds ahead of two-time winner Patrick Ivuti.

The win meant that Chelimo not only beat Ivuti on the day, but he joined him in the record books. This was Chelimo's second straight Honolulu Marathon victory.

Mensmarathonwin-300x197_original Chelimo in2010 Photo courtesy Alohaupdate.com

This was the 39th running of this grand event. Runners wrapped around the island on one of the most difficult tracks in the marathon circuit, until 26.2 miles later they ended on Ala Moana Boulevard.

Woynishet Girma took the women's crown in another exciting finish. Just 12 seconds separated the top three women's finishers.

Boston20marathon_sher5_original_crop_340x234 Woynishet Girma following the Boston Marathon. Photo courtesy palmsclub.pl

Runners had to deal with wind slowing them down on Sunday. That is typical of this course, and it's just one of the factors that makes this one of the most daunting marathons on the planet. And while that makes for a brutal race, runners are rewarded with being in Honolulu when the race concludes. Check out the results below.

 

Men's 2011 Results

Place
 Runner
 Time
 1
Nicholas Chelimo
2:14:55
 2 Patrick Ivuti
 2:14:58
 3 Joshphat Boit
 2:15:40


Women's 2011 Results

Place
 Runner
 Time
 1 Woynishet Girma
 2:31:41
 2 Misiker Mekonnindemissie
2:31:53
 3 Valentina Galimova
 2:31:55