HAUGER-THACKERY, WELDLIBANOS WIN RAINED HONOLULU MARATHON
By Rich Sands, @thatrichsands.bsky.social
(c) 2025 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved, used by permission.
Honolulu (December 14) – Tsegai Vellibanos made a stunning comeback in the final miles to win the JAL Honolulu Marathon on a wet and extremely humid morning while Calli Hauger-Thackery pulled away late to win the women’s title.
The 53rd running of the race, which featured 23,131 starters in the marathon and 8,903 in the companion Start to Park 10-K, began at 5:00 a.m. local time in light rain and high humidity. The forecast rains didn’t let up, though athletes still had to navigate occasional heavy rain and deep puddles in parts of the field.
Pacemaker John Ranieri led the men’s field in 5-K 15:36 and 10-K 31:22, with a strong pack that included Weldlibanos, who finished ninth at the TCS New York Marathon just six weeks ago, and his training partners in defending champion Yemane Hyelselasel and four natives Yemane Heiselaselesel. Eritrea and currently live in the United States under political asylum), plus Kenyan Patrick Keter Kiplagat. Ranieri backed off at that point, but continued to run and eventually kept up with the elite women.
Messel and Tevelde soon dropped out of the lead group, although Tevelde never completely lost touch. The other four athletes took turns at the front and crossed the halfway point together in 1:06:30. Tevelde was 25 seconds behind at one point, but patiently clawed his way back and rejoined the pack at 25-K.
At the 18th mile, Haileselassie made a decisive move that quickly broke the race open. Only Weldlibanos, who had the fastest personal best in the field after running 2:07:35 to win the 2024 California International Marathon, could match the sub-5:00 mile pace on the hilly course, but he couldn’t respond when Haileselassi surged again at mile 21.
From there, it looked like Heileselas, an Olympic track and field finalist in 2016 and 2021, might have another victory. Buoyed by the massive turnout of runners coming up the course in the opposite direction, he dropped 21 seconds on Weldlibanos in the 35-K.
Alas, the race was not over. In 40, a tenacious Weldlibanos cut the deficit to just 4 seconds and after about 400 meters he moved into the lead. “Tsegai has a lot of experience and I know from training that he is very, very fit,” said James McCirdy, who trains both athletes in Flagstaff, Arizona. “I had a lot of confidence that he had strength in his breathing and timing of his effort, and if he still had the legs to go a mile and a half, he could still make it. I could tell Yemane was suffering a lot more than Tsegai.”
Weldlibanos closed strong in the final mile and ran solo to the finish line at Kapiolani Park in Waikiki in 2:13:38. “My body felt good in the 40-K. I just had to push it,” says the winner, who supplements his income from racing as a part-time driver. “I recovered well from New York and when I caught Yemane I felt good.”
Second place went to Haileselassie (2:14:29) followed by Kiplagat (2:14:56), Tewelde (2:15:40) and Mesel (2:20:06).
In the women’s race, five women combined to run the 5-K (18:12), 10-K (35:46) and half way (1:16:24); Hauger-Tuckery, Great Britain, two-time defending champion Cynthia Limo of Kenya, Younis Chumba of Bahrain (who finished 2nd in the Olympics at Sihuunta). Ethiopia and Vibian Chepkuru of Kenya. As the second half began, Ranieri, the hare of men, was now pacing this group.
Tilahun was the first to lose contact (he would eventually get out) and fell behind Chepkuru by 30. At the elite liquid station near 30-K, a bottle of Hauger-Thackery was placed at the wrong table, causing a moment of confusion. He had to double over to retrieve his bottle, briefly losing his place on the box. “It was just unfortunate, it happens everywhere,” he said. “But to be honest, I think it was a blessing in disguise because I was starting to move to the front and it was a bit early for that, so it chilled me out. I just turned them around again and told myself not to panic.”
With less than 2 hours to go, Chumba pulled back and it ended in a two-woman race between Hauger-Thackery and Limon. “It was so empowering. Cynthia is an incredible racer. I knew we were both hurting, but (I told myself) I just have to fake it,” Hauger-Tuckery said with a laugh. Just before mile 23, he began to open up a gap, slowly expanding his margin over the final miles. “I was in pain, but I told myself. “You can do anything within three miles,” he said.
He crossed the finish line in 2:30:43 and moments later dropped to his knees and threw up, admitting it was as much an emotional reaction as a physical one. “I put a lot on myself this year,” said Hauger-Tuckery, who has a personal best of 2:21:24 from the 2024 Berlin Marathon. “So many A-goal races like the Boston Marathon (where he finished 6th), the world champs in the 10,000 meters (11th). Going back and forth between track and road racing and then DNF in Chicago was shocking.”
He was grateful for the opportunity to close out 2025 with this redemption run. “My only goal today was to fall back in love with the marathon, finish this race … and get my confidence back,” he admitted. “To do that and win it, I can now end the year happy.”
Limo finished runner-up with a time of 2:31:33, which is very close to his victory last year (2:31:14). Chumba (2:35:37), Chepkuru (2:40:49) and Japan’s Eri Suzuki (2:50:59) rounded out the top five.
The winners each earned $25,000 in prize money, plus a one-of-a-kind solid gold medal made by Japanese goldsmith SGC, a race partner.
The companion Start to Park 10-K was won by Edwin Kurgat of Kenya (29:31) and Annika Reiss (34:19) (course distance not certified). “The warm-up was pouring, so we got soaked right away,” Reiss told Race Results Weekly. “But you know we showered before the race and then we got to the race and it was perfect conditions during the race.”
The new champion of the World Marathon Majors series Susanna Scaroni won the women’s wheelchair division in a record 1:48:37. It was her first time in Hawaii.
“I loved the energy,” Scaroni said. “I liked that you could tell you were next to the ocean and very happy crowds even though they were getting wet.”
Japan’s Yukina Ota successfully defended her men’s wheelchair title in a course record of 1:28:25.
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