Robert Cheruiyot

The 2007 Boston Marathon was a contest with the elements as much as it was a competition between some of the world's foremost contenders. Although the snowstorms forecast earlier in the week did not materialize, sheets of rain lashed the course in the 24 hours leading up to the start, and blustery winds reaching 50 mph hampered runners as the event got underway at the new starting time of 10 a.m.

The weather notwithstanding, much of the pre-race speculation focused on the well-being of defending champion, Robert K. Cheruiyot. Cheruiyot had first won this race in 2003, then endured a couple of indifferent years before storming back in 2006 and winning in both Boston and Chicago - the only man to have accomplished that feat in the same year. Significantly, that also placed Cheruiyot firmly at the head of the nascent World Marathon Majors table and in line for a $500,000 bonus were he able to maintain his form into 2007 and the second stage of the WMM.

All that was thrown into jeopardy at the conclusion of The LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon in October, when Cheruiyot slipped as he crossed the finish line, cracking his head on the asphalt and incurring some internal bleeding in his skull. Even prior to Boston, Cheruiyot stated that he was unsure if he would be in top form. Those doubts were placed firmly to rest when he injected a late race surge that devastated his sole remaining contender, James Kwambai, and brought the 28-year-old a victory that was as gratifying as it was courageous.

In addition to highlighting his competitive resolve, though, the outcome of this event illustrated that Cheruiyot is also a man of remarkable tactical awareness. The early miles passed at a pace that was literally dawdling. The unheralded Josephat Ongeri and Jared Nyambok charged to the forefront, passing the first mile in 4:49 and four miles in 19:31. Though the conditions indicated that so brisk a pace was folly - rain had slowed to a drizzle, but a blustery headwind persisted - a large pack comprised of all the main contenders opted for a pace that was hardly more than a jog. At that four mile point, the chasing group was 1:39 in arrears, a margin that had stretched to over two minutes by the time they reached 11 miles.

Ordinarily, one might safely assume that so large a gap in a race of this caliber would impact the outcome significantly. On this occasion, though, the universal - and accurate - consensus was that Ongeri and Nyambok were running on borrowed time, and the real running would only begin once the Newton Hills presented themselves.

Indeed, as the leaders began to pay the price for their impetuous running, the pack - including Cheruiyot, Kwambai, last year's second placer Ben Maiyo, Stephen Kiogora, as well as Americans Peter Gilmore and Jason Lehmkuhle - began to re-focus and set about the real business of the day.

It was between 17 and 18 miles that Ongeri and Nyambok were swallowed whole, essentially the signal that the race was about to begin. Stephen Biwott took a turn at the front as the group passed 19 (1:39:00, an uphill split of 5:15), then allowed Philip Manyim to inch ahead. But the group remained a cohesive unit. It was only with the hills fully behind them that things began to change.

At 20 miles, the clock read 1:44:11 (5:11) and at 21 the figures were 1:49:13 (5:02), by which time Cheruiyot and Kwambai had drifted to the forefront, the first indication that the face of the race was about to change. At 35K (1:52:36), the group had slimmed to Cheruiyot, Kwambai, James Koskei, Ben Maiyo, Kiogora and Teferi Wodajo.

A 4:45 split to mile 23 (1:58:40) pruned that pack still further, with Wodajo and Maiyo falling adrift and Kiogora appearing to weaken. The bell was tolling and, quickly, a pedestrian competition evolved into a mano-a-mano nail-biter.

The defending champion and the novice pretender raced shoulder to shoulder from 23 to almost 25 (24 mile split of 2:03:19 - 4:37), at which point Cheruiyot upped the ante to a level that Kwambai could not reach. It was a question of commitment and reserves and strength and courage; and Cheruiyot held all of those attributes in abundance.

Once the move was made - and it was dramatic - there was never any question as to whom the winner would be. The defending champ opened daylight with every stride and never had cause to look back. At the line - which one might have assumed he approached with trepidation, given his fall in Chicago - his time of 2:14:13 gave him a 20 second advantage over Kwambai. Kiogora held on for third in 2:14:47. Respective prize money was $100,000, $40,000 and $22,500.

"Boston is not so easy," Cheruiyot stated. "It is very tough. It was very cold." Asked about the headaches from which he had been suffering, he explained, "There was a little pain, but it was just something small."

As he received the celebrated Boston laurel wreath with the Kenyan National Anthem playing, Cheruiyot was clearly moved. "Our National Anthem reminds me of a lot of things," he stated. "It reminds me of missing my home and that there are a lot of people - my family - looking at me. And it makes you feel like crying."

Peter Gilmore's 8th place finish was one lower than that of 2006, and his time of 2:16:41 was almost four minutes slower; but, there was still much cause for gratification. "This is the 10th marathon that I've finished," he explained. "I've never had a race in which I felt so in control with regard to breathing and heart-rate, but my legs just wouldn't respond. I think it was just the cold. The cold got to my legs. But it was good. I wasn't going to drop out, and I wasn't going to stop running hard."

The post-event analyses of this race will show it to have been one of affirmation that a thrilling race can evolve from one in which the times become a virtual irrelevance. Additionally, it affirmed that Robert K. Cheruiyot is a man who can overcome adverse conditions, troublesome tactics and personal ailments and prove, without question, that he is, at present, the finest marathoner in the world.


TOP FINISHERS 111 BOSTON MARATHON

Runners: Men

Place

Bib

Name

Official Time

State

Country

Ctz

1

1

Cheruiyot, Robert K

2:14:13

 

KEN

 

2

11

Kwambai, James

2:14:33

 

KEN

 

3

7

Kiogora, Stephen

2:14:47

 

KEN

 

4

16

Koskei, James

2:15:05

 

KEN

 

5

5

Wodajo, Teferi

2:15:06

 

ETH

 

6

2

Maiyo, Benjamin

2:16:04

 

KEN

 

7

8

Pertile, Ruggero

2:16:08

 

ITA

 

8

20

Gilmore, Peter M.

2:16:41

CA

USA

 

9

15

Ndereba, Samuel

2:17:04

 

KEN

 

10

3

Cheboror, Robert

2:18:07

 

KEN

 

11

12

Biwott, Stephen

2:19:04

 

KEN

 

12

24

Steidl, Ulrich

2:19:54

WA

USA

GER

13

10

Rotich, Hosea Kiprop

2:20:04

 

KEN

 

14

29

Tanaka, Hiroki

2:20:10

 

JPN

 

15

23

Nuci, Miguel A.

2:20:18

CA

USA

MEX

 
Runners: Women

Place

Bib

Name

Official Time

State

Country

Ctz

1

F6

Grigoryeva, Lidiya

2:29:18

 

RUS

 

2

F2

Prokopcuka, Jelena

2:29:58

 

LAT

 

3

F4

Perez, Madai

2:30:16

 

MEX

 

4

F1

Jeptoo, Rita

2:33:08

 

KEN

 

5

F3

Kastor, Deena

2:35:09

CA

USA

 

6

F5

Guta, Robe Tola

2:36:29

 

ETH

 

7

F7

Denisova, Lyubov

2:38:00

 

RUS

 

8

F8

Chelangat, Alice

2:38:07

 

KEN

 

9

F72

Alyanak, Ann M.

2:38:55

OH

USA

 

10

F65

Price, Kristin M.

2:38:57

NC

USA

 

11

F50

Akor, Mary A.

2:41:01

CA

USA

 

12

F61

Lundy, Christine H.

2:41:14

CA

USA

 

13

F59

Kraus, Janelle E.

2:41:24

RI

USA

 

14

F51

Gomez, Zoila

2:41:36

CO

USA

 

15

F54

White, Melissa A.

2:42:56

MI

USA

 


Top of Page

USA Women's Marathon Championship

Place

Bib

Name

Official Time

City

State

1

F3

Kastor, Deena

2:35:09

Mammoth Lakes

CA

2

F72

Alyanak, Ann M.

2:38:55

Bellbrook

OH

3

F65

Price, Kristin M.

2:38:57

Raleigh

NC

4

F50

Akor, Mary A.

2:41:01

Gardena

CA

5

F61

Lundy, Christine H.

2:41:14

Sausalito

CA

6

F59

Kraus, Janelle E.

2:41:24

Pawtucket

RI

7

F51

Gomez, Zoila

2:41:36

Alamosa

CO

8

F54

White, Melissa A.

2:42:56

Rochester Hills

MI

9

F90

Flathers, Kelly

2:43:25

Huntington Beach

CA

10

F62

McMahan, Dot

2:43:56

Rochester Hills

MI


Top of Page

Wheelchairs: Men

Place

Bib

Name

Official Time

State

Country

Ctz

1

W3

Soejima, Masazumi

1:29:16

 

JPN

 

2

W5

Schabort, Krige

1:36:27

GA

USA

RSA

3

W1

Van Dyk, Ernst

1:37:10

 

RSA

 

4

W2

Yasuoka, Choke

1:42:47

 

JPN

THA

5

W4

Hamerlak, Tomasz

1:45:47

 

POL

 


Wheelchairs: Women

Place

Bib

Name

Official Time

State

Country

1

W108

Tsuchida, Wakako

1:53:30

 

JPN

2

W103

McGrory, Amanda M.

1:58:01

IL

USA

3

W102

Graf, Sandra F.

2:02:30

 

SUI

4

W101

Roy, Diane

2:04:13

PQ

CAN

5

W105

Reilly, Shirley

2:14:49

AZ

USA


Top of Page

Handcycles: Men

Place

Bib

Name

Official Time

State

Country

Ctz

1

25492

Philpott, Todd

1:23:52

NY

USA

 

2

25491

Skrzypinski, Arkadiusz

1:25:09

 

POL

 

3

25495

Robinson, Rodger

1:49:55

CA

USA

 

4

25496

Traum, Richard

2:26:04

NY

USA

 

5

25493

Beaulieu, Jack E.

2:27:36

NY

USA

 


Handcycles: Women

Place

Bib

Name

Official Time

State

Country

Ctz

1

25494

Hines, Helene A.

2:05:03

NY

USA

 


Top of Page

Open 18-39: Men

Place

Bib

Name

Official Time

State

Country

Ctz

1

1

Cheruiyot, Robert K

2:14:13

 

KEN

 

2

11

Kwambai, James

2:14:33

 

KEN

 

3

7

Kiogora, Stephen

2:14:47

 

KEN

 

4

16

Koskei, James

2:15:05

 

KEN

 

5

5

Wodajo, Teferi

2:15:06

 

ETH

 

6

2

Maiyo, Benjamin

2:16:04

 

KEN

 

7

8

Pertile, Ruggero

2:16:08

 

ITA

 

8

20

Gilmore, Peter M.

2:16:41

CA

USA

 

9

15

Ndereba, Samuel

2:17:04

 

KEN

 

10

3

Cheboror, Robert

2:18:07

 

KEN

 

11

12

Biwott, Stephen

2:19:04

 

KEN

 

12

24

Steidl, Ulrich

2:19:54

WA

USA

GER

13

10

Rotich, Hosea Kiprop

2:20:04

 

KEN

 

14

29

Tanaka, Hiroki

2:20:10

 

JPN

 

15

23

Nuci, Miguel A.

2:20:18

CA

USA

MEX


Open 18-39: Women

Place

Bib

Name

Official Time

State

Country

Ctz

1

F6

Grigoryeva, Lidiya

2:29:18

 

RUS

 

2

F2

Prokopcuka, Jelena

2:29:58

 

LAT

 

3

F4

Perez, Madai

2:30:16

 

MEX

 

4

F1

Jeptoo, Rita

2:33:08

 

KEN

 

5

F3

Kastor, Deena

2:35:09

CA

USA

 

6

F5

Guta, Robe Tola

2:36:29

 

ETH

 

7

F7

Denisova, Lyubov

2:38:00

 

RUS

 

8

F8

Chelangat, Alice

2:38:07

 

KEN

 

9

F72

Alyanak, Ann M.

2:38:55

OH

USA

 

10

F65

Price, Kristin M.

2:38:57

NC

USA

 

11

F50

Akor, Mary A.

2:41:01

CA

USA

 

12

F61

Lundy, Christine H.

2:41:14

CA

USA

 

13

F59

Kraus, Janelle E.

2:41:24

RI

USA

 

14

F51

Gomez, Zoila

2:41:36

CO

USA

 

15

F54

White, Melissa A.

2:42:56

MI

USA

 


Masters 40-49: Men

Place

Bib

Name

Official Time

State

Country

Ctz

1

503

Strijakov, Oleg

2:28:55

FL

USA

RUS

2

510

Weiner, Robert A.

2:31:20

CO

USA

 

3

504

Aufdemberge, Paul W.

2:33:04

MI

USA

 

4

1342

Pliska, Ken J.

2:33:26

CO

USA

 

5

512

Garnier, Louis-Philippe

2:33:33

PQ

CAN

 

6

505

Nyangincha, Sammy

2:34:21

 

KEN

 

7

511

Decker, Byrne J.

2:35:35

ME

USA

 

8

1038

Sarnicki, Janusz

2:36:50

 

POL

 

9

1307

Cross, Roger K.

2:38:41

OR

USA

 

10

1117

Ambos, Jeff

2:38:49

CA

USA

 

11

1256

Clark, John E.

2:39:31

AK

USA

 

12

1136

Beltrami, Marino

2:40:18

 

ITA

 

13

1036

Quadros, Jim

2:41:00

MA

USA

 

14

1091

Cucuzzella, Mark

2:41:15

WV

USA

 

15

1227

Meyer, David R. M.D.

2:41:34

VA

USA

 


Masters 40-49: Women

Place

Bib

Name

Official Time

State

Country

Ctz

1

F160

Lozano, Heidy F.

2:56:03

TX

USA

 

2

3780

Goldsmith, Lisa M.

2:59:38

CO

USA

 

3

F168

Mason, Sheila

3:02:42

MA

USA

 

4

F161

Jurasek, Esther

3:03:06

AK

USA

 

5

F151

Ferraro, Angie

3:05:17

ON

CAN

 

6

6586

Desmeules, Lynda

3:05:57

PQ

CAN

 

7

6552

Peck, Nancy E.

3:05:59

NH

USA

 

8

3453

Barry, Debbie L.

3:06:07

MA

USA

 

9

F169

Tolley, Lisa

3:06:19

SC

USA

 

10

5500

Grisbrook, Shelley L.

3:07:04

HI

USA

CAN

11

4591

Campbell, Polly

3:07:56

FL

USA

 

12

3918

Baker, Carol J.

3:08:18

IA

USA

 

13

F166

Morrissey, Bronwyn D.

3:08:59

CO

USA

 

14

3346

Parsiegla, Karsta

3:09:28

 

GER

 

15

6752

Eddy, Amy L.

3:11:13

WV

USA

 


Veterans 50-59: Men

Place

Bib

Name

Official Time

State

Country

Ctz

1

501

Setegne, Ayele

2:35:58

 

ISR

 

2

1193

Walters, Dave

2:37:58

IL

USA

 

3

1146

Ruben, Alan S.

2:41:40

NY

USA

 

4

1679

Stirrat, Reno

2:44:46

MA

USA

 

5

1703

Oliver, David E.

2:47:37

MA

USA

GBR

6

1301

Beasley, Steve G.

2:48:11

ON

CAN

 

7

9190

Cali, Tom

2:54:53

PA

USA

 

8

1835

Laptev, Yuri

2:55:12

 

RUS

 

9

1469

Allen, Gary

2:55:16

ME

USA

 

10

3196

Townsend, Austin E. Jr.

2:55:57

ME

USA

 

11

2184

Demetropoulos, John N. D.D.S.

2:56:36

WI

USA

 

12

1950

Oman, Alan

2:56:51

NY

USA

 

13

1981

Raabe, Bill

2:56:56

DC

USA

 

14

3756

Moore, Andrew J.

2:57:01

NY

USA

 

15

1807

Bachtel, Thomas E.

2:57:14

OH

USA

 


Veterans 50-59: Women

Place

Bib

Name

Official Time

State

Country

Ctz

1

F152

Voghel, Louise

3:07:45

PQ

CAN

 

2

5567

Von Knobloch, Ursula

3:16:20

 

GER

 

3

1033

Kobayashi, Lynn N.

3:17:54

ON

CAN

 

4

5831

Silver, Adrienne

3:20:27

FL

USA

 

5

6415

Yamauchi, Chihiro

3:25:32

NJ

USA

JPN

6

9134

DeGrazia, Martha C.

3:27:37

NY

USA

 

7

9467

White, Pamela L.

3:28:25

 

GBR

 

8

10221

Secrest, Charmella

3:28:40

CA

USA

 

9

7192

Wickham, Marie

3:30:06

NY

USA

 

10

13471

Riconda, Emma

3:30:49

NY

USA

 

11

11257

Vucich, Blondie

3:31:44

CO

USA

 

12

9340

Hanley, Mary F.

3:32:11

ON

CAN

 

13

11170

Parrish, Linda K.

3:32:34

NH

USA

 

14

11422

Muhaw, Susan A.

3:32:46

NJ

USA

 

15

12749

Ryan, Laurie L.

3:32:52

CO

USA

 


Seniors 60-69: Men

Place

Bib

Name

Official Time

State

Country

Ctz

1

5887

Edwards, Richard L.

3:08:40

NY

USA

 

2

24626

Fukuda, Mitsunobu

3:11:13

 

JPN

 

3

2929

Goforth, Hal W. Jr.

3:14:55

CA

USA

 

4

7719

Lacasse, Gilles

3:15:11

PQ

CAN

 

5

8500

Buzinsky, Charles F.

3:16:38

CT

USA

 

6

4336

Ruona, Franklin D.

3:17:48

CA

USA

 

7

5793

Burgasser, Joseph M.

3:24:11

FL

USA

 

8

6937

Smith, Carleton J.

3:25:14

LA

USA

 

9

9509

Joyce, William B.

3:25:25

VA

USA

 

10

4364

Fiene, Michael J.

3:25:47

MA

USA

 

11

9882

Johnson, David J.

3:25:48

ON

CAN

 

12

6624

Schoene, Michael

3:26:56

 

GER

 

13

15196

Abram, Len G.

3:27:36

MA

USA

 

14

9737

Seamon, Walter

3:27:45

WV

USA

 

15

5037

Ichida, Susumu

3:27:50

 

JPN

 


Seniors 60-69: Women

Place

Bib

Name

Official Time

State

Country

Ctz

1

9246

Rollins, Nancy H.

3:32:23

IL

USA

 

2

12308

Hampton, Joy

3:33:16

NJ

USA

JPN

3

11763

Prejean, Nancy

3:38:12

TX

USA

 

4

17939

Tripp, Judith M.

3:51:30

NY

USA

 

5

15096

Manning, Susie L.

3:54:54

MA

USA

CAN

6

18333

McCarthy, Nancy E.

3:55:11

MA

USA

 

7

19077

Bovio, Nina C.

3:55:37

MI

USA

 

8

17131

Wintemute, Jane M.

3:56:29

BC

CAN

 

9

18401

Sall, Barbara U.

3:59:46

FL

USA

 

10

18188

Otonari, Masako

4:00:45

 

JPN

 

11

17814

Lister, Julie

4:01:14

CA

USA

 

12

16073

Kane, Carol A.

4:03:02

CT

USA

 

13

19329

Cantarella-Fox, Ingrid M.

4:03:28

PA

USA

 

14

18382

Craun, Chris A.

4:03:47

MD

USA

 

15

19101

Overstreet, Sandra J.

4:05:30

OR

USA

 


70 & Over: Men

Place

Bib

Name

Official Time

State

Country

Ctz

1

17599

Armijos, Bolivar Sr.

3:38:49

 

ECU

 

2

18259

Balding, Martin R.

3:44:08

CA

USA

 

3

14153

Shimojo, Michiharu

3:44:18

 

JPN

 

4

15695

Lougee, Duane

3:48:24

VA

USA

 

5

14095

Wilson, Harold W.

3:50:53

TX

USA

 

6

17973

Motoyama, Hironobu

3:53:17

 

JPN

 

7

19379

Miller, Gerald W. PhD.

3:54:38

AB

CAN

 

8

19222

Borglund, Robert E.

3:54:43

FL

USA

 

9

15815

Dodson, Bill R.

3:55:04

CA

USA

 

10

18351

Hasegawa, Hirosi

3:59:00

 

JPN

 

11

19655

Hata, Iwao

4:02:16

 

JPN

 

12

19543

Cardoso, John

4:04:24

PA

USA

 

13

11377

Schleisman, Jim T.

4:06:51

IA

USA

 

14

18613

Schaller, Walter

4:10:06

OH

USA

 

15

17501

Williams, Richard L.

4:12:21

VA

USA

 


70 & Over: Women

Place

Bib

Name

Official Time

State

Country

Ctz

1

19586

Killeen, Marie T.

4:39:25

NY

USA

 

2

19252

Duke, Carolyn V.

4:39:38

NJ

USA

 

3

19588

Tolley-Beeson, Elfriede K.

4:46:21

SC

USA

 

4

19620

Weiler, Janet E.

4:56:06

MI

USA

 

5

19623

Lancaster, Liz M.

4:58:44

MI

USA

 

6

23335

Brenner, Judy J.

5:04:50

NH

USA

 

7

19613

Kambur, Jo Anne

5:11:05

CA

USA

 

8

19598

Kenniston, Polly W.

5:15:53

ME

USA

 

9

19612

Dyson, Imme

5:24:44

NJ

USA

GER

10

23475

Luedtke, Bergliot M.

5:25:49

WI

USA

 

11

19611

Holappa, Karen G.

5:36:29

MI

USA

 

12

19625

Frank, Charlotte T.

5:40:04

UT

USA

 

13

19628

Weber, Edith M.

6:07:24

SD

USA

 

14

19615

Arakawa, Naoe

6:09:37

 

JPN

 

15

19624

Savarino, Sarah L.

6:12:14

MI

USA

 


Top of Page

Visually Impaired Division: Men

1

2059

Broca, Adrian

3:00:12

CA

USA

 

2

15457

Miles, Richard C.

3:45:57

MI

USA

 

3

12114

Manser, Erich

3:48:27

MA

USA

 

4

9124

Clark, Kenneth J.

3:57:08

TN

USA

 

5

13490

Wilkinson, Dave

4:24:52

AR

USA

 

6

15720

Deardorff, Clifford V. II

4:40:27

WA

USA

 

7

19562

Ovens, Michael W.

4:47:58

ON

CAN

 

8

19621

Milligan, Donald F.

5:26:48

UT

USA

 


Visually Impaired Division: Women

1

13711

Mosquera, Ivonne M.

3:26:43

NY

USA

 

2

9036

Herring, Jennifer

3:31:38

PA

USA

 

3

19045

Earl, Crista L.

4:16:51

NY

USA

 

4

19617

Ament, Kristina L.

4:34:51

VA

USA

 


Top of Page

Mobility Impaired Division

1

16982

Martin, Paul

3:35:13

MA

USA

 

2

3362

Palmiero-Winters, Amy

3:44:18

PA

USA

 

3

19629

Scott, W. David K.

5:10:21

NY

USA

 

4

19622

Honney, John M.

5:22:49

 

GBR

 

5

19626

Grossi, Anthony L.

5:24:36

TN

USA

 

6

19627

Skypeck, Tanya J.

5:35:45

MA

USA

 

7

19616

Counihan, Kevin D.

5:50:29

MA

USA

 

8

19632

Luckett, Kelly M.

6:48:55

GA

USA

 

9

20862

Brandy, Mycle

7:06:58

CA

USA

 



Voltar
____Adiante
 


Todos os direitos reservados à Ricardo Dubeux & KNOWLEDGE © - 2004