ADIDAS PARTNERS WITH HONOLULU MARATHON
By David Monti
(c) 2011 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved. Used with permission.

The German shoe and apparel company adidas has partnered with the Honolulu Marathon as the race's official supporting sponsor for sportswear and shoes, Honolulu Marathon president Dr. Jim Barahal announced on Thursday in Honolulu.

Although the financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, race organizers said adidas will furnish all marathon finisher and walk shirts, as well as all official race merchandise.  The previous apparel and merchandise sponsor for the Honolulu Marathon was Nike, but that relationship ended in 2009.  Japan Airlines remains the Honolulu Marathon's primary sponsor.

The Honolulu Marathon was the fifth-largest in the United States in 2010 in terms of finishers (20,411), and has delivered a $100 million economic impact to the state of Hawaii without using any taxpayer funds for each of the last six years.  In addition to being a very inclusive "people's race" (officials do not close the finish line until everyone who wants to finish has done so), the event also has a strong elite component, paying the male and female winners $40,000 in prize money last year.  Race champions include Jimmy Muindi of Kenya (six times), Svetlana Zakharova- of Russia (three times), Benson Masya of Kenya (three times), and the Netherlands' Carla Beurskens (8 times).

The 2011 Honolulu Marathon takes place on Sunday, December 11.  More information, including race registration details, can be found at http://www.honolulumarathon.com

PHOTO: Patrick Ivuti winning the 2009 Honolulu Marathon (photo by Ronen Zilber for the Honolulu Marathon; used with permission).