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2004 CHAMPIONS
Men's Open:
Timothy Cherigat (Kenya), 2:10:37
Women's Open:
Catherine Ndereba (Kenya), 2:24:27
Men's Masters:
Joshua Kipkemboi (Kenya), 2:18:23
Women's Masters:
Ramillia Burangulova (Russia), 2:34:08
Men's Wheelchair:
Ernst Van Dyk (RSA), 1:18:27
Women's Wheelchair:
Cheri Blauwet (USA), 1:39:53
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Welcome to The Boston Marathon 2004 |
Hot conditions was the order of the day for the running of
Boston 2004.
The Women
The Women set-off 30 minutes ahead of the men. Ethiopian athlete,
Elfenesh Alemu, was only too keen to make her presence felt
at the front of the field, whereas Catherine Ndereba of Kenya,
the Paris 2003 World Champion, was willing to sit back out
of immediate contention in the early stages.
Such was Ndereba's composure, that she was off the lead as
much as 14 seconds. However, it is possible the warm conditions
were a determining factor over a course which would punish
the 'foolhardy' runners in the latter miles.
Elemu was closely tracked by Olivera Jevtic of Serbia and
Montenegro, before Jetvic faded under the warm conditions,
allowing the Kenyan to move into 2nd place. Ndereba was content
to stalk her opponent from afar until the right moment. Once
in Newton and the climb towards Heartbreak Hill approached
she moved alongside for the first time.
Into the 21st mile and CN moved into the front, applying
pressure from a leaders position. Utlising similar tactics
witnessed in Paris, she began to make the most of her strength
on the downhills to the good effect.
On the remaining uphills, Alemu would edge to the fore only
for Ndereba to slide ahead on the ever so slight decents.
Catherine was not looking so Great, however she is indeed
a gritty customer, as well as a former World Record holder
over the distance, so she could never be discounted.
Going into the last mile, Ndereba again used the slight decent
to edge ahead. On this occasion she bowled away from Alemu
who was suddenly no longer there, she had put up a gallant
effort and would be rewarded with 2nd, Ndereba went on to
win quite comfortably, by 16 seconds, in the end. However,
she may pay for this win come the Athens Olympic marathon
later in the year. To say she was tired, would be a major
understatement. Only time will tell whether she is able to
recover from grueling race of Monday the 19th April 2004.
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Ndereba and
Alemu in action
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Click for large image
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The Men's coverage follows.
The Men
The Men were set-off just under 30 minutes after the women
and their scamper to Boston was led by a yellow vested man
clad in a 'speedo' swim costume. Roll on summer, the weather
was more a beach day than a day to pit yourself against 26.2
miles [42.2Km's] of hot tarmac.
But duel they did. No! the 'beefcake' was no longer there
after the first mile, so he was not going to be an unexpected
winner on this occasion.
Once the lead pace began to settle, the 2 Roger Rabbit representatives
bolted away to lead the field by a good 20 to 30 metres. By
mile 10, the front 2 were engulfed by their pursuers. However,
only 8 athletes were left upfront, the acceleration undoubted
no matter how subtle it may have been.
Approaching Newton and mving towards Heartbreak Hill, there
was plenty of activity upfront, with plenty of moving around
amongst the group. What was going to be interesting was whether
Martin Lel, winner in New
York 2003, was going to cope with the hills.
[He didn't, Berlin
would almost certainly suit his style and speed ]
Rodgers Rop 2nd in Boston
and New
York in 2003, after capturing both titles in 2002, was
looking his normal perky self on the undulating section. Within
the space of a mile Rop and Timothy Cherigat, both of Kenya,
had determined who would win the title, with Lel hanging on
in 3rd. These 3 would be joined by Robert Cheboror, also of
Kenya.
Rop realising the danger of the lurking Lel, having lost
to him in New York in 2003, took up the pace to rid them of
their compatriot, however Lel is not an easy customer to get
rid of. And the attempts by Rop would lead to his own undoing
eventually, leading to a DNF. With 1:30 on the clock there
were still 4 athletes vying for the Boston title and it was
not until Mile 20 that athlete No4, Cherigat, decided to determine
the destiny of the wreath, when blasted away from the group
in his familiar powerful but bouncy style.
This was the killer blow for Rop, which also led to the downfall
of Lel. Rop had earlier been assisted by Cherigat to apply
pressure to the group when it numbered 8, however on this
occasion the little man with the distinct hand and arm action
on top of bouncy legs, was doing it for himself.
Mile 23, is a long slight decent and if his opponents were
to have any say in the destiny of the title, they would have
had to be in contention by then. It was not to be. Cherigat
romped to a deserved victory after being the main protagonist
in the delivering of the measured punches before delivering
the killer blow. A well fought victory and a deserved winner
of Boston 2004.
Results 2004
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