Whether it be marathons or long-distance ultramarathons, Olesya Nurgalieva can be tough to beat.

The cool and confident Russian overwhelmed the women's field to win the 33rd Honolulu Marathon in her first attempt yesterday.

"I actually believe more in myself now," Nurgalieva said. "Not only can I run an ultramarathon, but I can also do a regular one here in Honolulu."

Nurgalieva, 29, finished the 26.2-mile race in 2 hours, 30 minutes, 24 seconds, more than two minutes ahead of Japan's Eri Hayakawa. With the victory, Nurgalieva earned $17,000.

Hayakawa, the 2003 Honolulu Marathon champion, clocked in at 2:32:59 followed by Russians Alevtina Ivanova at 2:38:17, Elena Nurgalieva at 2:38:50 and last year's record-setting champion Lyubov Morgunova at 2:40:47. Olesya and Elena Nurgalieva are twins.

Olesya Nurgalieva took control early yesterday, and ran unchallenged for the final half of the race.

"When I was running alone, it was just great," said Nurgalieva, who averaged a 5:44 pace for the race. "It helped me a lot."

A closer race was expected, but contenders Hayakawa, 24, and Morgunova, 35, were were not in top form. Hayakawa was ill, and Morgunova suffered jet-lag and stress after arriving late Friday night.

Morgunova set her goal to be the first runner, "but she overstressed too much, and was under too much pressure," interpreter Oleg Valiev said.

Hayakawa had a fever on Friday, and as a result, did not train on Saturday and was slow to start yesterday, her translator Kimiko Quan said.

"She is not happy," Quan said. "This is the worst record she's ever had."

The 4-foot-10, 86-pound Hayakawa said she passed Elena Nurgalieva, 29, at the halfway point, then chased down Morgunova at 18 miles, and got past Ivanova at 22 miles.

However, the Japanese star could not catch Olesya Nurgalieva, who has built a reputation as a tough distance runner.

In March, Olesya Nurgalieva finished second to her sister in the 56-kilometer (about 35 miles) Two Oceans Marathon in Capetown, South Africa, in 3:38:24. In June, Olesya Nurgalieva took second in the 89-kilometer (more than 55 miles) Comrades Marathon in Durban, South Africa, in 6:10:39. Her sister finished third.

Olesya Nurgalieva is also a talented marathoner, winning the 2004 Eurocity Frankfurt Marathon in 2:29:48, one second ahead of her sister.

Nurgalieva called the Honolulu Marathon "about two times as easy" as an ultramarathon in South Africa.

"When you usually run an ultramarathon, you feel like you're actually in hell," Nurgalieva said. "You really have to have endurance at the very end to finish it."

Yesterday, Nurgalieva hit the halfway point at 1:15:11. Pacesetter Tatyana Chulakh of Russia, who was running just steps ahead of Nurgalieva, planned on running half the race, and dropped out at that point. That left Nurgalieva running alone with a group of men. Ivanova and Morgunova were about 50 yards behind.

"I knew Olesya would win," Chulakh said. "She looked very confident, and she was not decreasing in pace."

Nurgalieva increased her lead to about 120 yards over Ivanova at the 15-mile marker near the Hawai'i Kai Towne Center, and averaged 5:47 per mile at the 20-mile marker.

In the final two miles, Nurgalieva's only challenger was persistent Japanese runner Junichi Kawabata who was determined not to let the Russian star beat him. At the finish line, Kawabata rammed through the finishing tape ahead of Nurgalieva, who raised her arms in triumph.

Course commentator Greg Meyer said Nurgalieva "put herself in a position to win" with her aggressive, blue-collar performance.

"She made the others try to work hard to catch her," said Meyer, who was the last American to win the Boston Marathon in 1983 with a 2:09:00 time. "Because she is an ultramarathoner, you knew she was going to be able to hold together and finish.

"She did nothing fancy," Meyer said. "She just ran. ... Nothing pretty about it. No big move. It was, 'I'm just going to work this thing to death.' "

Nurgalieva said she will likely return for her title defense next year.

"If the Honolulu Marathon invites me back, I'll be here," she said.

Reach Brandon Masuoka at bmasuoka@honoluluadvertiser.com.