Kenyan wins 4th Boston Marathon

Ethiopian takes closest women's victory in race history

Robert Cheruiyot, left, is offered a drink by a spectator, right, as he leads Kasime Adillo, second from left, and Abderrahime Bouramdane in the Boston Marathon. Cheruiyot won the race Monday with a time of 2:07.46.

? Robert Cheruiyot is well-versed in the Boston Marathon course, with four victories in five trips from Hopkinton to the Back Bay.

Abderrahime Bouramdane visited for the first time Monday, learning what thousands before him have come to understand as they reached Heartbreak Hill, 20 miles in.

“Up,” he said, “is the problem.”

Cheruiyot pulled away from Bouramdane as they entered the Newton Hills, reaching the crest of Heartbreak Hill with a 27-second lead and coasting to the sixth-fastest time in Boston Marathon history.

Dire Tune outkicked Alevtina Biktimirova after a back-and-forth last mile to win by two seconds in the closest finish in the history of the women’s race. Cheruiyot, of Kenya, and Tune, of Ethiopia, each earned a recently enhanced prize of $150,000 – the biggest in major marathon history.

Cheruiyot won in 2 hours, 7 minutes, 46 seconds to become the fourth man to win the race four times. After crossing the finish line, he dropped to his knees to kiss the ground before standing up and counting off his four victories with an upraised arm.

“This was the hardest,” Cheruiyot said. “Boston is not a very easy course, it’s very difficult. (But) I enjoy running the hills.”

Although he repeatedly checked his watch as he ran alone for the last miles, Cheruiyot did not challenge the course record of 2:07:14 he set two years ago.

His problem: no one to race with.

“It’s very difficult when you’re running alone here in Boston,” he said. “You need company.”

Tune, who finished in 2:25:25, was the first Ethiopian woman to win since Fatuma Roba won three straight from 1997-99.