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HONOLULU (09-Dec) -- Two-time Olympic steeplechase finalist Donn Cabral made a successful marathon debut here today at the 46th Honolulu Marathon, finishing fourth in 2:19:16. The 28-year-old law and business student at the University of Connecticut was satisfied with his performance and hopes to race the distance again.

"It was just fun, this was fun," Cabral told Race Results Weekly with an American flag wrapped around his shoulders. "I had a great time and felt pretty good about a debut."

Because of his studies, Cabral could only be in Hawaii for two days. He arrived here on Friday afternoon and must fly back tonight in order to be seated for an exam on Monday morning in Hartford where he lives and attends school. He grew up in nearby Glastonbury, Connecticut.

Cabral had hoped to run in the 2:18 range, but the course was harder than he expected and there were very strong head winds in the Hawaii Kai section just past the halfway point.

"The wind was rough for many miles," Cabral lamented. "When the wind was not rough, I felt the humidity pretty strong. The course was a lot tougher than I expected. I thought it was going to be not too bad. Then, a couple of big miles and a couple of big hills."

Unfortunately, Cabral missed the 2020 USA Olympic Trials Marathon qualifying standard by 16 seconds. He has until Jan. 19, 2020 to achieve that standard (or 1:04:00 for a half-marathon). It just wasn't in the cards for today.

"The hills weren't killers, but the wind was tough," he said.