Posted: December 10, 2004

Athletics: Couples Duel At Diamond Head Duet

From David Monti

(c) 2004 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved RaceResultsWeekly.com

HONOLULU (09-Dec) -- About 290 men and women lined up at Kapiolani Park this morning to get a small taste of what the Honolulu Marathon would offer up on Sunday: warm temperatures accompanied by cool breezes and a beautiful view of the Pacific Ocean. All that, but 37.195 kilometers shorter.

The Diamond Head Duet, a low-key 5-K appetizer where runners are scored in coed teams of two, had a memorable mix local runners, Japanese tourists and international stars of both the past and present. Women and men start separately, with the ladies beginning their one and 3/4 laps of the park two and one-half minutes ahead of the men.

Lanky with his signature red hair, Canadian Olympian Kevin Sullivan waited on the starting line after the women had departed. This reporter jokingly adivised him not to go out too hard, to which he replied, "I won't." Using the race as a tempo run, Sullivan cruised to the individual title in 15 minutes and four seconds.

"I used it as a tempo run," said Sullivan as he walked back to the finish line to wait for his wife, Karen Harvey, to finish the race. Race director Jon Cross had paired Sullivan not with his wife --almost a certain winning team-- but with Toya Reavis, wife of television commentator Toni Reavis.

"I didn't ask for that, either," said Reavis, 40, feigning disdain. She ran 19:59.

The result? Sullivan and Reavis finished second to "local" couple William Ngetich (15:41), a Kenyan who runs for Hawaii Pacific University, and Nina Christiansen (18:00), who lives in Honolulu. Their combined time of 33:41 was well under the Sullivan/Reavis mark of 35:02.

"I don't train at all," said a slightly injured and embarrassed Ngetich who formerly ran for Central Methodist College back in 2002. He was 36th at the NCAA D-I Cross Country Championships that year, and in 2003 was the NAIA indoor champion at 5000m.

Harvey finished third in 18:43, while her partner, Matti Viren, the 42 year-old son of Olympic legend Lasse Viren, finished seventh in 17:38. They ended up as the fifth team.

"I haven't trained since a year ago," said Harvey a coach at the University of Illinois in Urbana.

Running legends Lasse Viren, a four-time Olympic gold medalist; Steve Jones, who won the New York City, Chicago and London Marathons; and Greg Meyer, the 1983 Boston Marathon champion, also took part. Viren, 55, ran 18:47. Jones, 49, pulled away from Meyer (who is the same age) to finish in 21:20 to Meyer's 21:55.

"Did you see me sprint down the homestraight?" Jones quipped after the race.

RESULTS:

Diamond Head Duet - Honolulu, HI, USA; Thursday, December 9

Distance: 5 km, flat two-loop course

MEN - 
 1. Kevin Sullivan, CAN, 15:04
 2. William Ngetich, KEN, 15:41

WOMEN - 
 1. Chelsea Smith, Laie, HI, 17:56
 2. Nina Christiansen, Honolulu, HI, 18:00
 3. Karen Harvey, CAN, 18:43

Teams:
 1. William Ngetich & Nina Christiansen, 33:41
 2. Kevin Sullian & Toya Reavis, 35:02