Svetlana Zakharova waited and waited in the dark as her plan slowly developed, then emerged as it unfolded.

There went a 39-year-old mother with her face contorted in concentration and her jarring arm swing, off toward another victory.

The Russian's strategy was perfect yesterday morning as she put on a dazzling finish to win her third Honolulu Marathon women's title by finishing the 26.2-mile race in 2 hours, 28 minutes, 34 seconds.

Some wondered if Zakharova, who last won here in 2002, still had it in her. Under a clear sky and cool conditions, she broke away from defending champion Kiyoko Shimahara of Japan with eight miles left, then came strikingly close to the course record.

"The race went as I planned because I wanted to run in a group since the beginning, a little bit conservative, and around the 30k (kilometer) mark, I thought I can speed up a little bit and make a breakaway," Zakharova said through a translator. "And I did that and it was successful."

Zakharova won $40,000, earned an extra $2,000 as a time incentive for going under 2:29:00, and came close to the record of 2:27:19. She ran here from 1996 to 2002, winning in 1997 and 2002 and placing second the other years.

"It's been seven years since I ran here," Zakharova said. "The last time I won this race in 2002 and I'm very happy to be here again and to see all the spectators, runners, and organizers, so I want to thank you, everybody."

Shimahara came in second in 2:29:53 and Kenyan Pamela Chepchumba third in 2:32:41 at the Kapi'olani Park finish. Kaori Yoshida, last year's runner-up from Japan, placed fourth in 2:35:46.

"From the (halfway point), I was trying to pick it up, being aware of how Svetlana might run at the end of the race," Shimahara, 32, said through a translator.

While most marathon drama happens late in the race, this one developed early in the dark. Yuko Manabe, the Japanese pacesetter, winced and grabbed her sides, and dropped out three miles into the race that started at 5 a.m. Manabe, who led the pack of five female runners, was to set the pace for Shimahara. Her premature departure forced Shimahara to temporarily lead the pack, but a group of male runners took turns running with the group and set the pace for them. Ironically, the pace increased after Manabe dropped out, and Shimahara said she was able to key off the men.

"She fell off so quickly at 5k, (I) had to then switch over and just run (my) own pace rather than that of a pacemaker," Shimahara said.

Yoshida fell behind after the halfway point in 'Äina Haina. As sunlight started to break in Hawai'i Kai, Chepchumba, 30, slightly fell off the pack at 16 miles, then rejoined the group at 17. By mile 18 (about 30k) on Kalaniana'ole Highway, the group of men separated from the women, and then Zakharova started to split from Chepchumba and Shimahara. At first, the gap was a few strides.

By mile 19 in Niu Valley, Zakharova's lead started to increase. She ran a 5:30 split from miles 19 to 20, one of the fastest splits of the race. The group had been averaging mile splits of around 5:40 for the last few miles.

Shimahara said she knew Zakharova's move at 30k was coming, but couldn't go with her. Coming into the race, the biggest question surrounding Shimahara was her condition. Yesterday was her fourth marathon of the year and third since August. She said she was not fatigued from all the racing, but just wasn't strong enough to move with Zakharova.

"I just had a marathon one month ago and this felt more like it was going to be a challenge," Shimahara said. "I did come here aiming to win the race, but I consider it more of a challenge. It's the shortest gap I've ever had between two marathons."

Zakharova continued to push alongside Yasukazu Miyazato of Japan, one of the male runners who had been running with the women's group earlier. By the time she was running through Kähala in mile 22, her lead over Shimahara increased to about 200 meters.

Zakharova had 5:40 splits for the next few miles, running alongside Miyazato. He even offered her a sponge at the 24th-mile water station.

Miyazato also finished in 2:28:34.

Zakharova had a minor knee problem during her training leading up to the race. Yesterday, she stuck on some Salonpas patches and didn't really feel the pain.

"(I) felt confident and never experienced trouble throughout the race," Zakharova said.