1990

For 26 miles, it was the closest race in Honolulu Marathon history.

In a sizzling sibling rivalry, 24-year-old Simon Robert Naali and his 21-year-old brother, Thomas Robert, waged a relentless duel yesterday that began at Honolulu Harbor before daybreak and endured through some of the most punishing winds the race has ever seen.

Simon Robert, a police sergeant no criminal would escape from on foot, survived an intense challenge from his younger brother by surging dramatically in the last 500 yards to win the race for the second year in a row, in two hours, 17 minutes, 29 seconds.

The Naali brothers, from Tanzania, finished 34 seconds apart in their third 1-2 finish of the year in an international race. Meanwhile, an unknown 24-year-old accounting firm employee from Kyoto, Masaki Oya, came in third (2:20:22) to become the first Japanese man to win prize money in the Honolulu Marathon.

Holland's Carla Beurskens became the first runner to win five Honolulu Marathons yesterday when she overcame battering winds and a surprisingly strong Japanese opponent in 2:33:34.

It was the closest of all the 38-year-old Beursken's Honolulu victories as she fended off Japan's Misako Miyahara, 10 years her junior, by one minute and 19 seconds. The finishes by Beurskens and Miyahara (2:34:51) were the fourth and fifth fastest on record for the women's division here.

It was a wonder that the Naali brothers managed to complete their odyssey in under 2:20:00. The pair charged from an opening swarm of 13,000 starters at Aloha Tower into the teeth of a head wind that seemed to grow more vicious with every stride they took toward Waikiki. It was hard to tell the temperatures were in the low 70s.