In a race that saw many lead changes, Robert Kiprono Cheruiyot pulled away from all others in the final two miles to smash the course record at the Boston Marathon. Cheriuiyot finished the race in 2:05:52, well ahead of the 2:07:14 course record, set in 2006 by the great similarly named runner Robert Kipkoech Cheruiyot. Ryan Hall finished fourth in 2:08:41, after leading the race on and off in the first half of the race. Meb Keflezighi takes fifth in 2:09:26.
Deriba Merga had put on the perhaps the greatest challenge for the win, pushing the pace hard in the 18th mile, and trading the lead with Cheruiyot until mile 24. Near the 40KM mark, Cheruiyot finally broke away and Merga lost touch. Deriba would fade to third place as Tekeste Kebed took second place in 2:07:23.
Ryan Hall, who had pushed the pace very hard early in the race last year, took the pace easier this year but still led the race through the first 10KM. After 10KM, he fell 10 seconds out of the lead and then somehow managed to work his way back into the lead again around mile 10. He led the race through mile 13 and then finally fell back of a group of eight runners around mile 14. Although he would drop back, he would eventually work his way back up and almost catch Deriba Merga to finish in fourth place.
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