ATHENS, Greece — Kenya's Nicholas Paul Lekuraa set a course record to win the Athens Classic Marathon on Sunday, outsprinting Julius Seurei Kiprotich in a race tracing the ancient course.

The 25-year-old Kiprotich crossed the finish line at the marble Panathenian stadium in 2 hours, 12 minutes, 42 seconds, with the 33-year-old Kiprotich of Kenya clocking the same time.

Another Kenyan, Paul Kogo, was third in 2:12:49.

Mai Tagami of Japan was the fastest woman in 2:36:58, with Elena Tikhonova of Russia second in 2:40:45.

The race ended at the stadium where the first modern Olympics took place in 1896.

The challenging course follows the route said to have been taken by an Athenian military courier in 490 BC to announce the city's victory over Persian invaders at the Battle of Marathon.