Russian wins Cleveland race

CLEVELAND (AP) -- Alexander Belavin of Russia won the Cleveland Marathon by more than a minute Sunday, while Yolanda Mercado of Puerto Rico took the women's division.
Belavin won in 2 hours, 24 minutes, 2 seconds on the redesigned course that for the first time was entirely within city limits. Second and third place went to Ohioans Scott Fry of Tiffin (2:25:07) and Karoly Bozan of Northfield (2:28:26). Last year's winner, Richard Roberts of Mansfield, dropped out with an injury.
Mercado finished in 2:53:28, while Nadeshda Sandrkina of Russia (2:57:31) was second and Laura Fuduric of Middleburg Heights, (3:00:01) placed third.
Kenyans swept the top six positions in the men's 10-kilometer race. In a sprint to the finish, Patrick Nthiwa won in 29:00, beating Reuben Chebi by one second and John Itati by four seconds.
In the women's 10K, Galina Alexandrova of Russia won in 33:07. Teammate Olga Romanova finished 33 seconds later and Naomi Wangui of Kenya (33:51) was third.
About 6,000 runners participated in both races in windy and wet conditions with temperatures in the 50s.