Abdalah, Mooney speed to Great Aloha Run titles
By Casey McGuire-Turcotte
Special to The Advertiser
For Kalid Abdalah, fast and steady wins the race.
The 23-year-old Abdalah, of Oakland, Calif., ran the fastest Great Aloha Run in more than a decade to win yesterday's 19th annual event from Aloha Tower to Aloha Stadium.
Abdalah averaged 4 minutes and 53 seconds per mile over the 8.15-mile course to finish in 39:49, only 41 seconds off the record set by Rex Wilson of New Zealand in 1987.
In the women's race, Cori Mooney of Boise, Idaho, finished in 45:52 to claim the top spot.
Four-time winner Malcolm Campbell of Georgia outkicked Hawai'i Pacific cross country standout Christian Madsen to finish second among the men in 40:23. Madsen was third in 40:24.
"I'd been hearing all week that the rest of the field had a strong kick, so I set a good pace from the start," Abdalah said. "I worked hard from the beginning, and it worked out well for me."
Quickly after the 7 a.m. start, a lead pack of Abdalah, Campbell, Madsen, FILA Hawai'i runner Bob Dickie and Abdeslam Naji formed.
By the second mile, the group had dwindled to three, with Abdalah, Madsen and Campbell working stride for stride out in front.
At the entrance to Nimitz Highway a mile later, Abdalah opened a slight lead and continued to pull away over the next four miles, increasing his lead to 35 seconds at the finish.
In the battle for second, Madsen appeared a shoo-in for second with a 25-yard lead on Campbell through the seventh mile. But with less than a quarter mile to go, Madsen nearly collapsed and Campbell made his move.
"I saw (Madsen's) legs kind of buckle, and that was that," Campbell said. "You see something like that and it's like an animal going in for the kill."
The two praised each other after the race.
"It gave me a lot of confidence just to be with (Campbell) at 3 1/2 miles," Madsen said. "I had no expectations coming into the race, so to finish third is great."
Abdalah, who won last year's Maui Marathon, hopes to be back for next year's race.
"You can't beat the people and the conditions," he said.
In the women's race, Sayuri Kusutani was second in 46:00. Because of a timing glitch, the third-place finisher is under debate.
Mooney, who was selected to run in the race after competing in the Great Aloha Run's sister event in Boise, was excited to race in Hawai'i.
"It's great to do anything outdoors here," Mooney said. "I'm used to putting on at least three layers before a run — gloves, hat, tights. Here you just throw on your socks and shoes and go."
Kusutani, who finished second in the Las Vegas Marathon last month, was disappointed with her second-place finish here, but happy about her time.
"It would have been nice to win, but my time was three minutes faster than last year, and improvement is always a good thing," she said.
This is the first year the Great Aloha Run has offered prize money to the topthree elite and military male and female finishers.
Abdalah and Mooney each won $1,000. The second- and third-place finishers won $500 and $250, respectively.
There were 18,471 participants in the race and 16,776 people finished the run, organizers said.
Correction: Organizers for the Great Aloha Run say there were 18,471 participants in the race and 16,776 people finished the run. A lower number was used in a previous version of this story.
