Catherine Ndereba wins the women's race at the 108th Boston Marathon (© Getty Images)
Boston, USAKenyans Timothy Cherigat and Catherine Ndereba both arrived triumphantly to the finish line on Boylston Street, continuing Kenyan dominance of the Boston Marathon, in this its 108th edition.
With the Athens Olympics clearly in sight – and the unusually hot conditions In Boston sweeping everyone by surprise – the depth of the finishing times was some what lacklustre, especially on the men’s side, where only top six finishers managed a sub-2:18 effort, yet both races provided plenty of drama.
1:55 pm EST marked the first time in the illustrious history of the event that a woman broke the finish tape before any men. This was of course deliberately orchestrated by the organisers who planned the elite women’s start for 11:31 in the morning, some 29 minutes ahead of the men’s elite and the rest of the participants.
Women’s Race – Ndereba gives assured display in the heat
World champion Catherine Ndereba of Kenya, the second-fastest marathon runner in history (2:18:47) appeared to have her own plan for the race and executed it perfectly.
Respectful of the weather conditions - measured at 85 degrees Fahrenheit (29.4 Celsius) at the finish line - the pack started out with a modest 5:51 opening mile.
By the 8-mile mark, Ndereba was coasting comfortably eight seconds behind the two leaders, Elfenesh Alemu of Ethiopia and Olivera Jevtic of Serbia and Montenegro.
Later, hurting from exhaustion, but visibly pleased with her victory, Catherine would remark to the press: “I did not go as fast as Elfenesh in the beginning, I went with my own pace.”
The strategy paid off, as Ndereba finally pulled even with Alemu near the 15-mile mark. By that point, Jevtic had dropped back but still appeared secure in her position, as the challengers – Jelena Prokopcuka of Latvia, Nuta Olaru of Romania and Lyubov Denisova of Russia were in no position to offer a threat.
The two leaders went for another ten miles side by side, enjoying a slight boost from the tail-wind.
Finally, with both the Kenyan and the Ethiopian visibly fatigued, the more experienced Ndereba – who was going for her Boston hat trick (to add to the victories of 2000 and 2001) – put in a strong and decisive move.
The essence of the effort was brilliantly and succinctly summarised by Ndereba herself, who quipped: “you need to have the will to win”, in her post-race commentary.
And ‘will’ she certainly did show. Quickly opening a gap between herself and the challenger that eventually ensured her victory in 2:24:27.
Alemu never gave up and finished 16 seconds behind in 2:24:43, which was very respectable for conditions.
Despite spending a fair portion of the race in ‘no-woman’s land’, the 2003 Rotterdam Marathon champion Olivera Jevtic never left the fate of the last available spot on the podium in doubt, finishing in a solid 2:27:34.
Men’s Race – overlooked Cherigat takes confident win
The men started out conservatively, much like the women. The opening 5:02 mile did not do much to thin out the field, and many a runner tried on the proverbial yellow jersey over the miles to come. The field stretched as wide as the streets would allow, as runners’ attempted to take advantage of the tailwind, that was especially noticeable in the initial stages of the competition.
Things started taking shape after the half-way mark, which the lead runners passed in 1:05:30. A formidable group of Kenyans moved to the front of the group, including the defending champion Robert Kipkoech Cheruiyot, 2002 champion Rodgers Rop, and 2003 bronze medallist Benjamin Kumutai.
In this well-respected company, it was easy to overlook the 27-year-old Timothy Cherigat – that is, if you had not followed his successful 2003 campaign.
In the most improbable of all places – Heartbreak Hill – Cherigat inserted a powerful surge that took him through the 20-mile mark in 1:39:29 and made a strong statement about the outcome of the race - at least to his competitors, as the eventual winner himself had to look over his shoulder a few times to make sure he had deterred any would-be challengers.
Despite his glances and being profusely sick just after he had crossed the finish, Cherigat appeared confident in his solo finish of 2:10:37.
“I trained for this move. I knew that if I made it, it would drive me to the finish line. I moved without much trouble. Maybe I could have run faster, but I can’t speak of that because that’s what the weather was.”
Meanwhile, with the defending champ Robert Kipkoech Cheruiyot dropping out of the contest, two other Kenyans, Robert Cheboror (2:11:49) and Martin Lel (2:13:38) made up the podium.
Notably, the top woman and the one-two male finishers in the 40+ category were able to double-dip on this sultry New England afternoon. Ramilya Burangulova of Russia added the earnings of the 9th overall place (2:34:08) to her master’s laurel wreath, while on the men’s side the 45-year-old Joshua Kipkemboi of Kenya (2:18:23) was able to climb as high as 7th in the open list, as he outlasted the 2003 master’s winner Fyodor Ryzhov of Russia
(2:21:45), who finished behind Kipkemboi in his division and 9th overall.
Men
1. Timothy Cherigat (Kenya) 2:10:37
2. Robert Cheboror (Kenya) 2:11:49
3. Martin Lel (Kenya) 2:13:38
4. Stephen Kiogora (Kenya) 2:14:34
5. Hailu Negussie (Ethiopia) 2:17:30
6. Benjamin Kosgei Kimutai (Kenya) 2:17:45
7. Joshua Kipkemboi (Kenya) 2:18:23
8. Andrew Letherby (Australia) 2:19:31
9. Fedor Ryzhov (Russia) 2:21:24
10. Elly Rono (Kenya) 2:22:45
Women
1. Catherine Ndereba (Kenya) 2:24:27
2. Elfenesh Alemu (Ethiopia) 2:24:43
3. Olivera Jevtic (Serbia & Montenegro) 2:27:34
4. Jelena Prokopcuka (Latvia) 2:30:16
5. Nuta Olaru (Romania) 2:30:44
6. Lyubov Denisova (Russia) 2:31:17
7. Malgorzata Sobanska (Poland) 2:32:23
8. Victoria Klimina (Russia) 2:33:20
9. Ramilia Burangulova (Russia) 2:34:08
10. Ai Yamamoto (Japan) 2:34:32
