Ever since 1988, when Kenya’s Ibrahim Hussein outkicked Tanzanian Juma Ikangaa by one second at the Boylston Street finish tape, the Boston Marathon forever would be transformed from a purely 26-mile, 385-yard survival event into a 25-mile warm-up followed by a one-mile track race.
Lawrence Cherono, a product of Eldoret in Kenya’s storied Rift Valley who was born in 1988, carried on that storied tradition Monday by winning a sprint duel with two-time Hub winner Lelisa Desisa of Ethiopia on the stretch run, clocking a victorious 2:07:57. Desisa was two seconds back.
An indication of the scorching finish: The duo passed the mile-to-go sign in 2:03.2, which meant unofficially they covered the last mile in a scintillating 4:28.
This year’s finish tied for the third-closest time between the top two men in in race history, matching the 1978 (Bill Rodgers and Jeff Wells) and 1982 “Duel in the Sun” (Wayland’s Alberto Salazar and Dick Beardsley) events. The win gained Cherono, who held both index fingers aloft cresting the tape, the traditional laurel wreath, plus a first-place prize of $150,000 from the total prize structure of $871,000 provided by principal race sponsor John Hancock.
“My race was so fantastic. This was my third time running in the U.S. I am so grateful,” said Cherono, a two-time winner of the Honolulu Marathon and the fastest man in Monday’s field after his 2:04:06 course record at Amsterdam last year.
“Talking about my race today, it was amazing because we didn’t really start until 30K (18.6 miles along Route 30 in Newton). We kept the pace until we started to break the group. We went that way until 38-to-40K and we were two or three people,” said Cherono, who wasn’t sure his closing kick would suffice. “Not really, because personally I am poor in finishing. But today I did my fantastic job. It was nice for me.”
Ethiopia’s Desisa believed it was his race to win.
“In the race, I am afraid of the guy (Kenya’s Geoffrey Kirui) who won two years ago, after he dropped off, I decided to go for it,” Desisa said. “After 40K, I decided to sprint, but I fell back at the last meters and saw Cherono suddenly leading. Then, I can’t control the pace in my mind. Because of that, I am No. 2.”
A 67-degree temperature and steady rain before the start brought fears of a repeat of last year, well-regarded as the worst weather conditions in the 123-year history of the race. However, it cleared in time to conduct a fly-over by F-16 jets from the 104th Fighter Squadron and send four waves of 27,353 participants hurtling out of Hopkinton. Going immediately to the front was the Japanese duo of Hiroto Inoue (12th, 2:11:53) and last year’s champion, Yuki Kawauchi (2:15:29).
A series of sub-five minute miles (4:50, 4;55, 4:55, 4:49, 5:02, and 4:49) had the lead pack of 25 runners reaching the 10K mark in 30:20 with top Americans Scott Fauble (seventh, 2:09:09), and U.S. Olympic team member Jared Ward (eighth, 2:09:25) taking turns moving to the front to urge an honest pace and avoid any “cat-and-mouse” tactics. Both Americans wound up setting personal-best times.
It was a positive breakthrough for Fauble, a former University of Portland runner, who just missed making the U.S. Olympic team at 10,000 meters (fourth place) in 2016.
“When I was leading, I was thinking “holy (expletive). I’m leading the (expletive) Boston Marathon. It was a surreal experience to be leading a race that I grew up watching on TV. I kind of idolized the race and the experience, and I just tried to soak in the moment of being in the front of the pack,” Fauble said. “I didn’t go to the front to feel that, but when I was in front, I definitely, made a point to be like, ‘this is pretty amazing’.”
Ward, a former Brigham Young University standout, backed up his Rio Olympic team resume.
“I felt good today. And the pace felt good and I had a goal to run sub-2:10 for a long time and I thought this might be the day. I don’t want to throw a few miles away at 5:10,” Ward said. “You know, I just wanted to keep the pace but I don’t regret it for a second. That was fun to lead the race and to be leading through Wellesley and hear the screams out there, a really, really cool experience.”
An incredible pack of eight contested for the front going up fabled Heartbreak Hill, the most since 1991 when four athletes — winner Hussein, Irish duo Andy Ronan and John Treacy, and Ethiopian Abebe Mekonen — ran side by side past St. Ignatius Church near Boston College.
Cherono and Desisa did the rest with a little help from the third-place finisher, Kenyan Kenneth Kipkemoi (2:08:07), who stopped between Hopkinton and Ashland to put his right foot up on a roadside guard rail to re-tie his shoe, briefly losing contact with the pack.
“I was feeling like I did not put it on well, so I wanted to fix it. No, no, no, I was not worried about losing (100 meters), I knew it was early,” Kipkemoi said.
It was his countryman, Cherono, who had his laces tied up best Monday.
