Jalen completes Honolulu Marathon anew

Run Saipan’s Jalen Lucido proudly shows his finisher’s medal after completing the 2022 Honolulu Marathon last Sunday (Monday in Hawaii). (CONTRIBUTED OHOTO)

Run Saipan’s Jalen Lucido completed his second Honolulu Marathon last Sunday (Monday in Hawaii) and did it in a personal best time of 4 hours and 40 minutes.

“I joined the marathon again because I wanted to put my training to the test. I have been training all year not specifically for the marathon but just to run a faster pace in any distance. I had no plans in joining any running competition earlier in the year other than the upcoming marathon so that’s why I decided to join it.” 

The 23-year-old Marianas High School alumnus said what made his second Honolulu Marathon even better was he finally ran it with a friend.

“My friend told me she wanted to join so it gave me more encouragement to do it. I wanted to see if I could aim for a faster time as well.”

Asked what was the most challenging part of this year’s Honolulu Marathon, Lucido said it was definitely the strong headwinds he encountered throughout the 42-kilometer race. 

“The toughest part of it was the headwind climbing up Diamond Head and the long strip going to Hawaii Kai from Kahala Area. The elevation gain going up Diamond Head is already challenging and if you add strong headwind with it, that’s a combination you wish you never had to go through, plus that was around Mile 8.” 

Lucido added there’s already a long unforgiving strip in Kahala Area going to Hawaii Kai that you have to get  through and that part is already mentally challenging and the headwind just adds to it. 

“Another tough part I would say is miles 22 and 23. Last year, my legs would start cramping around those miles and it happened the same this year. But I still pulled through nonetheless despite these challenges.” 

Overall though, Lucido said his second Honolulu Marathon was easier than his first because he ran it with a friend.

“I definitely would say it was easier than last year’s one because I had someone to run with. Her name is Clarisse Cayabyab. She is the one that told me that she would love to try out the marathon too. It was her second time but first in-person marathon as she did her first one virtually in Guam. She told me her first one did not go so well because it was virtual, there was no crowd, and she did it alone. I told her about my experience last year. Despite not having anyone to run with I still had a fun time doing it because there were many people cheering you on from the side and there were other runners as well. It gets the adrenaline pumping and there is just so much happening around you. She was so stoked about it and that confirmed her decision. Plus, I am familiar with the route now and know where to conserve or push the pace, so I had the course in the back of my head.”

On becoming a two-time Honolulu Marathon finisher, Lucido said the experience was again nothing short of amazing. 

“There were so many more people that joined this year because it was the 50th anniversary so it was special. I got to see people from other countries around the world. The music they played to get people pumped up for it and  they also had someone sing the national anthem, both the United States and Hawaii one. To top it all off, the fireworks display they had running for a good 10-15 minutes was the highlight of it all.”

It also helped that Lucido actually ran faster than his Honolulu Marathon debut last year.  

“I was 5 minutes faster than last year. My official time for this year’s marathon was 4 hours and 40 minutes compared to last year’s 4 hours and 45 minutes. So that already tells me the training plans that my coach Edward Dela Cruz Jr., has laid out for me definitely paid off. I appreciate him greatly for that.”

Lucido thanked Dela Cruz, who is president of Run Saipan, for guiding him to his goal of competing in his second Honolulu Marathon.

“I talked to my coach about joining this year’s marathon and he gave me workouts for it. I told him that I was aiming for a better time and to maintain my legs for it. I would aim for about 30-34 miles a week with long runs every weekend for three weeks then a deload week. Then aim for the same distance for the next one but different speed workouts or just add more sets and reps to the original one. I would like to dedicate this marathon to God, to my family, friends, my Run Saipan family, and to my coach and brother, Edward Dela Cruz.”

Dela Cruz, for his part, said he’s proud of his padawan’s latest conquest.
“Next year we will get him sub-4 hours. I hope he rests up because once he gets to Saipan next week he’s going right into one of our island relay squads and he will compete in the 1 mile championship on Dec. 31.”