The elite women - who started 29 minutes ahead of the men - heeded the weather as a lead pack of about 10 covered the first 5K in a relatively slow 18 minutes. At 10K only 15 seconds separated the top 10 who were still assessing the conditions and determining strategy with Elfenesh Alemu and Olivera Jevtic holding a 4 second lead over favorite and 2000-01 Boston champion Ndereba. By 8 miles, reached in 44:50, only ten meters separated the trio as they were well clear of the rest of the field.

At the 10 miles in 55:38, Ndereba had overtaken Jevtic and was 6 seconds behind Alemu, the wife of Gezahenge Abera the 2001 World and 2000 Olympic marathon champion.

Approaching 11 miles Alemu had picked up the pace and had 20 meters on Ndereba who had a similar lead on Jevtic. The race continued unchanged for the next few miles as Alemu ran through Wellesley past the half-marathon mark in 1:11:45. Ndereba caught Alemu with a 15th mile in 5:15 and settled in on her shoulder. The two ran side-by-side for the next 7 miles increasing the advantage over Jevtic to more than 2 minutes.

At the 25th mile, Ndereba, the 2003 World champion, started to surge. At first Alemu responded each time trailing by no more than a meter. Even at this late stage in the blistering heat both looked strong and smooth. Then with just over a mile to go Ndereba began to pull away from Alemu and this time the Ethiopian had no answer as Ndereba seemed to have no difficulty increasing the pace. In the final 300 meters the gap appeared to close slightly but the result was never in doubt. As Ndereba won her third Boston Marathon, the Kenyan appeared to be in distress. The time 2:24:27 - impressive under the conditions and 11th fastest all-time at Boston - could well have been sub-2:20 on a cool Boston day. After bravely setting the pace for most of the race Alemu's time of 2:24:43 would probably have beaten almost anyone else (except perhaps Paula Radcliffe) in the world.

Ndereba - who showed why she is called "Catherine the Great" - commented later, "It was a tough day out there but God took care of me and I want to thank him for all his help. I started feeling cramps when I pushed the pace. I moved comfortably for a kilometer or two but at the finish I was really hurting."

When asked about the heat she explained, "By experiencing the course before I knew what to expect but the heat was definitely hard."

Respecting the heat, the men's race also began slowly during the first downhill miles.

The 5K split was 15:39 and the 10K time was 31:07. Steven Kiogora and 43-year-old Jackson Kipng'ok of Kenya were about 30 meters ahead of the chase pack. By mile 9 the gap closed as defending men's champion Robert Cheruiyot took over the lead with Rodgers Rop alongside followed by countrymen Cherigat, Martin Lel and Robert Cheboror.

The half-marathon split was 1:05:30, and then the next 2 miles run in 9:43 reduced the pack to four. A 4:51 17th mile and severe racing by Rop, Cherigat and Lel opened a 10 meter gap on Cheboror in 4th. Up the second of the four hills, Cheboror managed to rejoin the leading three. On Heartbreak Hill in the 20th mile, Cherigat opened at ten-meter gap on Cheboror and even more on Lel, a tactic that had failed him in a previous year. Not so this year. The famous hill seemed to have little effect on his pace but it did seem to end the chances of Rop and Lel. Then as he descended the hills back into Boston, Cherigat produced a 4:42 mile at 21 to surge away from Cheboror. Cherigat reached 24 miles in 1:59:19 with a lead of about 220 meters. Unchallenged he broke the tape in 2:10:37. An obviously tired Robert Cheboror finished 1:12 later. No one else was in sight and for almost 2 minutes.

Cherigat's winning time of 2:10:37 was the fastest of his three Boston Marathons and worth a cool $80,000 on a hot day. The champion said, "The weather was not all that good today because it slowed us down a lot. That's why I kept pouring water over my head to keep cool."

When asked about whether he concerned about his ability to hold the pace after his bold move, he said, "No, I trained for this move, so I knew that if I made it, it would drive me to the finish line. I moved without much trouble."

The 2004 Boston Marathon was the second largest in race history with 20,404 entrants, 7697 of whom were women. Only the 100th Boston Marathon in 1996 - the largest marathon ever - with 38,708 entrants and 35,868 finishers was larger.

108th B.A.A. Boston Marathon
Boston, MA, Monday, April 19, 2004

MEN
1. Timothy Cherigat (KEN)        2:10:37
2. Robert Cheboror (KEN)         2:11:49
3. Martin Lel (KEN)              2:13:38
4. Stephen Kiogora (KEN)         2:14:34
5. Hailu Negussie (ETH)          2:17:30
6. Benjamin Kosgei Kimutai (KEN) 2:17:45
7. Joshua Kipkemboi, 45, (KEN)   2:18:23*
8. Andrew Letherby (AUS)         2:19:31
9. Fedor Ryzhov, 43, (RUS)       2:21:24
10. Elly Rono (KEN)              2:22:45
*also first master (40+)

Top American
13. Christopher Zieman (CA)      2:25:45

WOMEN
1. Catherine Ndereba (KEN)       2:24:27
2. Elfenesh Alemu (ETH)          2:24:43
3. Olivera Jevtic (SCG)          2:27:34
4. Jelena Prokopcuka (LAT)       2:30:16
5. Nuta Olaru (ROM)              2:30:44
6. Lyubov Denisova (RUS)         2:31:17
7. Malgorzata Sobanska (POL)     2:32:23
8. Victoria Klimina (RUS)        2:33:20
9. Ramilia Burangulova, 42, (RUS) 2:34:08*
10. Ai Yamamoto (JPN)            2:34:32
*also first master (40+)

Top American
16. Julie Spencer (WI)               2:56:39

For more results and information, go to:
http://www.bostonmarathon.org