Russia, Kenya in Due Course
Marla Runyan struggled with heat early in the race, with a pain in her side in the middle of the race and with the relentless Russians late in the race.
Still Runyan, the legally blind runner who grew to love distances while growing up in Camarillo, finished fifth Monday in the Boston Marathon, the best finish by U.S. woman here in a decade.
Runyan, 34, running only her second marathon, finished behind a pair of Russians -- 32-year-old Svetlana Zakharova, the Russian national record holder and Lyubov Denisova, 31, who won the 2002 Los Angeles Marathon -- as well as a pair of Kenyans, Joyce Chepchumba and defending champion Margaret Okayo.
Zakharova finished in 2 hours 25 minutes and 20 seconds, 1 minute 31 seconds ahead of Denisova. Runyan, who was leading after 11 miles, ran 2:30.28.
For the men, it seemed for a while they were holding the Kenyan nationals on Boylston Street. With about two-thirds of the 107th Boston Marathon completed, Kenyan men were in the first nine spots. They ran together, rocking back and forth, a beautiful choreography of grimaces, grunts and relentless progress.
At the end, of course, it was a Kenyan who won, the 12th Kenyan winner of the Boston Marathon in 13 years. Robert Cheruiyot, a 24-year-old farmer who trains in the Ngong hills near Nairobi and who had made his marathon debut last December in Milan as a winner, is now two for two.
Cheruiyot -- it sounds like “chariot” -- made his move at the 22-mile mark, just after he had climbed “Heartbreak Hill,” without breaking stride or even struggling to breathe. In a matter of a mile and a half, Cheruiyot opened a lead that had been only a few seconds to nearly 25 seconds. Still running strong at the finish line, he won with a time of 2 hours 10 minutes 11 seconds.
With temperatures in the 70s during much of the race and with a strong headwind during the last few miles, Cheruiyot’s winning time ranks only 57th on the all-time Boston Marathon list. Finishing second was 32-year-old Benjamin Kimutai in 2:10.34, with Martin Lel, 24, third in 2:11.11
The top non-Kenyan was Fedor Ryzhov, 43, of Russia, who was sixth overall and the winner of the men’s masters division. The top American was 42-year-old Eddy Hellebuyck, a former Belgian Olympian who gained his U.S. citizenship in 1999 and is now a high school cross-country coach in Albuquerque. Hellebuyck finished 10th and said that he found it “sad and a little disturbing that a 42-year-old coach would be the best American.” “I am proud to run for this country,” Hellebuyck said, “but I shouldn’t be the best one here.”
Cheruiyot seemed stunned by his victory.
“I was well prepared,” he said. “But with so many strong runners, I did not know. This is a marathon where you make your name known to the world.”
Runyan, who had a cyclist following her to guide her through trouble such as potholes and to help her find the water stations, had hoped to finish in the top three after making her marathon debut on last year’s New York course and finishing fourth. Her finish was the best by a U.S. woman since 1993, when Kim Jones finished second in 2:30:00.
“It was just tough conditions,” said Runyan, who was diagnosed with Stargardt’s disease when she was 9. Stargardt’s is a macular degenerative disorder. She has 20/300 vision in her left eye and 20/400 in her right. “The weather was warm, and I think I was maybe overtrained.”
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Top Male Finishers
Top 25 men in Monday’s Boston Marathon:
1. Robert Cheruiyot, Kenya...2:10:11
2. Benjamin Kimutai, Kenya...2:10:34.
3. Martin Lel, Kenya...2:11:11.
4. Timothy Cherigat, Kenya...2:11:28.
5. Christopher Cheboiboch, Kenya...2:12:45.
6. Fedor Ryzhov, Russia...2:15:29.
7. Rodgers Rop, Kenya...2:16:14.
8. David Busienei, Kenya...2:16:16.
9. Elly Rono, Kenya...2:17:00.
10. Eddy Hellebuyck, Albuquerque, N.M....2:17:18.
11. Laban Kipkemboi, Kenya...2:17:50.
12. Silvio Guerra, Ecuador... 2:18:31.
13. Karl Rasmussen, Norway...2:18:55.
14. Salvatore Bettiol, Italy...2:22:06.
15. Diego Colorado, Tampa, Fla....2:23:59.
16. Wieslaw Perszke, Albuquerque, N.M....2:29:00.
17. Guennadi Temnikov, Russia...2:29:56.
18. Ken Pliska, Littleton, Mass....2:30:12.
19. Robert Dickie III, Kailua, Hawaii...2:30:21.
20. James Lander, Clarkston, Mich....2:30:25.
21. Daniel Feldman, Pasadena....2:30:27.
22. Eric Beauchesne, Chelmsford, Mass....2:31:27.
23. Michael Danahy, Princeton, N.J....2:32:03.
24. Lowell Ladd, Lexington, Mass....2:32:34.
25. Jeffrey Day, Berea, Ohio...2:32:55.