When Jonathan Lyau won his first Honolulu Marathon kama'aina division championship in 1993, President Bill Clinton was in his first year of office, pre-YouTube America was abuzz over the Rodney King beating, and O.J. Simpson was still known only as a great running back.

Since then, Lyau has ceded the perpetual award for fastest Hawai'i-born marathoner only once. Wailuku resident Joe Alueta broke Lyau's 12-year streak with a victory in 2005.

Yesterday, Lyau, 44, claimed his 15th kama'aina title with a 2-hour, 52-minute and 32-second finish.

Alan Ryan, 38, of Laupa-hoehoe, Hawai'i (winner of this year's Kilauea Volcano Runs marathon), placed second in 2:54:32, followed by David Stackhouse, 39, of Honolulu in 2:57:42.

Rani Tanimoto, 33, of Kealakekua, Hawai'i, defended her title as the top women's kama'aina runner, finishing in 3:19:14.

Lyau got the milestone win despite a series of nagging injuries and a lighter-than-usual training schedule this year.

"For me, it's about staying healthy and doing this event every year," Lyau said. "At this point, if I can continue to do that, I'm happy."

Lyau battled tendinitis in the knee earlier this year, and has been hampered more recently with heel and Achilles tendon problems.

He's also cut back his training schedule to allow his wife, Kelli, to devote more time to her own training. Despite a migraine at the start, Kelli Lyau finished an impressive 3:54:36.

The Lyau's have two children: Sierra, 4, and Spencer, 2.

Lyau said he'll be back again next year for No. 16.

"This year especially, I'm going to try to strengthen myself," he said. "As you get older, you have to do more to prevent injury."

SOEJIMA WINS AGAIN

Masazumi Soejima of Japan won his fourth consecutive Honolulu Marathon wheelchair division title in 1 hour, 32 minutes, 6 seconds.

Soejima, winner of the 2007 Boston Marathon, set Honolulu course records in 2005 (1:30:32) and 2006 (1:29:22).

Seven-time winner Krige Schabort, the marathon's only wheelchair Hall of Fame inductee, finished second in 1:36:28.

Honolulu's John Greer was the top Hawai'i finisher, placing fifth overall at 2:40:07.

SEA WARRIOR STRONG

Andreas Schwab, a Hawai'i Pacific University MBA student from Germany, thought it would be great to finish his first marathon in three hours.

Christian Friis, his cross country coach, knew Schwab could go faster and suggested he pick up the pace.

Schwab finished in 2:45:34 and 20th overall to become the top local men's finisher (awarded to someone who lives but was not born in Hawai'i). Schwab also became the second straight HPU cross country runner to claim top local honors. Teammate Esben Dalgaard, who's from Denmark, was the top local finisher last year.

"I'm very impressed with how steady he ran," said Friis, who met up with Schwab after the race at Kapi'olani Park. "He was steady the whole way through. It was awesome he could do that."

The Sea Warriors' season ended in November, giving Schwab about a month to really put in the longer mileage to train for the marathon.

"It's definitely a different ball game Andreas had to go into," Friis said. "He had five weeks to put in some long runs and pretty much that's what he just did. He had some longer pace runs."

Another one of Friis' runners, Genela Manuel, finished 300th overall in the women's race in 4:01:16. Two of his assistant coaches also competed.

"If they win or not, that's not the first priority," Friis said. "Being a coach, it's great to see they want to participate in the running community. We have a great community out here. Winning is an extra bonus. Having them out there, it's something that I enjoyed seeing."

HARA IS TOP LOCAL

Taking advantage of a weaker-than-usual field, Tomoko Hara, 35, grabbed the top local female title in 3:08:58 — more than 10 minutes faster than her time last year.

Each of the top three local female finishers from last year either did not compete or dropped out.

Bree Wee, the fastest Hawai'i woman last year with a 3:03:11, is in Florida this week. Rachel Ross (3:12:20 last year) dropped out after the half-way point after experiencing vertigo related to an ongoing migraine problem.

Sayuri Kusutani (3:14:58 last year) is not credited with any split times and is assumed not to have competed.

Hara finished fifth among local female runners last year in 3:19:26.

TOUGH DAY FOR GLADY

Honolulu favorite Glady Burrill's bid to set a new world record for the 90-94 age group ended a couple of miles short when she elected to call it a day after Mile 24.

Burrill, who had completed each of her four previous Honolulu Marathons, was shooting for Mavis Lingren's 11-year-old record of 8:53:08. She was on pace with a 6:02.46 at the 30-kilometer (18.6-mile) mark, but started to tire after Mile 20.

"There was nothing physically wrong with me," she said. "I just ran out of get-go."

It had been a tumultuous week for Burrill, whose husband Gene passed away on Thursday, just five days shy of their 69th wedding anniversary. Burrill dedicated the race to her husband.

"The conditions weren't so bad, but the problems at home were sort of draining," she said. "I hope everybody understands."

Burrill is not sure if she will be back for another try next year but, she said, "I keep dreaming of it."

WET SOX

Shuffling along in the middle of the rain-soaked field was Boston Red Sox reliever Hideki Okajima. And it's safe to say the 32-year-old, first-time marathoner never experienced relief like he did at the end of his 26.2-mile journey.

Okajima, who, according to the Boston Globe, ran the race much to the surprise and dismay of Red Sox management, finished in a chip time of 6:08:35, good for 6,955th place.

MEET THE WINNERS

Marathon winners Patrick Ivuti and Kiyoko Shimahara will be on hand to sign autographs today at 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in front of the Nike Tent at Kapi'olani Park. Free commemorative picture cards will be available.