Kenyan tames hill to claim Boston

By Howard Ulman
Associated Press

BOSTON — His name sounds like "chariot," and he certainly rolled through the streets of Boston, from Hopkinton to Heartbreak Hill.

Robert Cheruiyot became the 12th Kenyan in 13 years to win the Boston Marathon yesterday, and his countrymen took the next four spots in the 107th running of the race.

With the top three finishers running for the first time in Boston, Kenyans seem poised to keep their grasp on the race.

"I was well-prepared," said the 24-year-old Cheruiyot (pronounced cheh-REE-yot). "It is a marathon to make your name known in the world."

Svetlana Zakharova of Russia — the 2002 Honolulu Marathon winner — won the women's race to prevent a second straight Kenyan sweep. Marla Runyan, who is legally blind, was fifth, the best finish for a U.S. runner since 1993.

The men's and women's winners in the field of 20,260 each won $80,000.

Cheruiyot pulled away from Timothy Cherigat at the 22-mile mark, led by 16 seconds with 1 1/2 miles left and won by 23 seconds in a time of 2 hours, 10 minutes, 11 seconds.

"I like the way people make encouragement along the way," Cheruiyot said.

Cheruiyot won his only other marathon, last December in Milan.

Zakharova ended Kenya's three-year winning streak as Russians took the top two women's spots and four of the top seven.

"It's a difficult course," said Zakharova, whose time of 2:25:20 beat runner-up Lyu-bov Denisova of Russia by 1 minute, 31 seconds. "Russian women like to go through certain difficulties. Maybe that's the reason."