BOSTON Marathon monopoly for Kenya comes separately
The women's finish matched the closest in the division.
BOSTON (AP) -- Catherine Ndereba ran shoulder-to-shoulder with the men when she won the Boston Marathon twice before. This time, Ndereba led thousands to the finish line.
"It is so great. We have all the road to run wherever you feel like," said Ndereba, who won the marathon Monday by finishing in 2 hours, 24 minutes, 27 seconds.
It was the first time in the marathon's 108-year history that the women's elite field started separate from the men. With the stage to themselves, they didn't disappoint.
Sixteen seconds apart
Ndereba, of Kenya, outsprinted Ethiopian Elfenesh Alemu in the last mile to win by 16 seconds, matching the closest finish in the women's division.
Alemu developed back pain late in the race that she blamed on a tail wind that might have been deflected by a more crowded field.
"I would have preferred if I went with the men, so I wouldn't have been alone," she said.
In near-record heat, Timothy Cherigat won the men's race in 2:10:37 to complete a Kenyan sweep. He broke away from Robert Cheboror right before Heartbreak Hill to win by 1:12 as Kenyan men took the first four spots, and six of the first seven.
It was Cherigat's third time running Boston, and he learned from the experience.
"This time, I came to Heartbreak Hill strong, so I could move faster to the finish," he said.
A Kenyan man has won 13 of the last 14 Boston Marathons, and the nation is so deep at the distance that Cherigat isn't even on the Olympic team, despite winning the world's oldest and most prestigious annual marathon.
"I will wait for my time, and it will come," he said.
Temperature
It was 83 degrees in Hopkinton when the elite female contenders began at 11:31 a.m., leaving the traditional noon start for the men and the recreational field. By the midpoint in Wellesley, the temperature was 85 -- far above the average high of 57 for April 19.
Ndereba at the halfway point was about eight seconds behind Alemu. She pulled even a couple miles later, and the two ran side-by-side and alone together for the next 10 miles before reaching Kenmore Square -- with 1 mile to go. That's when Ndereba sprinted into the lead.
Alemu did not have the energy to respond.
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