The Women
The 108th running of the Boston marathon added a new tradition to a race that is the synonym of the word "tradition." Twenty thousand three hundred runners, the second largest field in Boston history, were met with no wind and a starting temperature of 85 degrees.

For the first time, the women's start was 29 minutes before the open and elite men's marathon start. Elfenesh Alemu of Ethiopia took the lead at 5k, in a time of 18:01. Alemu and Catherine Ndereba of Kenya (photo left), the 2000, 2001 Boston champion, ran neck and neck through 55 minutes at 10 miles, 20 miles in 1:50:10 and they were together at 40k, in 2:16:36. At two hours, eighteen minutes, Catherine Ndereba made a definite move, and put some sixteen seconds between her and Alemu before the finish (2:24:27).

Ndereba's third win was the hardest, as she was in definite pain at the end of this race. The duel between Ndereba and Alemu made the women's start a huge success.

The Men
On the men's side, the pack hit 5k in 15:29, with former champions Rodgers Rop and Robert Kiprotich Cheriyiut leading, then hit ten miles in 49:44, breaking up the pack from 15 to seven. Rodgers Rop, Timothy Cherigat, and Robert Cheriyuit ran hard from ten miles to twenty miles, hit in 1:39:10. The hills of Newton, from miles 16-21, were the deciding factors, plus the horrible heat.

Timothy Cherigat (photo left), whose training partner, Evans Rutto, won London just yesterday, showed that a third time is a charm. Cheriyuit broke Cheborer, Rodgers Rop, and Robert Cheriyiut. Cheriyuit and Rop dropped out at 25 miles. Cherigat kept his form and pushed miles 22 to 24 and by 24 the race was his. He did not falter.

Timothy Cherigat won the marathon in 2:10:37, which was amazing considering the terrible heat. A note for running geeks--both Cherigat and Ruto are coached by Dieter Baumann, the former coach of Utta Pippig.

U.S. Finishers
The first American man was Christopher Zieman, who was 13th overall, running 2:25:45, and who has a personal best of 2:24. Christopher is from Felton, CA. He is 32 and this is his fifteenth marathon. Eric Post of Fairfax was second in 2:29:13!

Mary Ann Protz of St. Petersburg, FL was the first U.S. woman; she ran 2:57:58 and finished fifteenth. Ruxton, MD's Lee DiPietro was sixteenth overall and the second U.S. woman!

Complete Results for Local Finishers
See Local Finishers