Cheruiyot wins fourth Boston Marathon

Boston -- Kenyan Robert Cheruiyot, leaving the field well behind, won his third consecutive Boston Marathon Monday in a time of 2 hours, 7 minutes and 45 seconds.

It was Cheruiyot's fourth Boston title overall, tying him with Bill Rodgers, Clarence DeMar and Gerard Cote for most wins in the race. Cheruiyot's 2008 time was the sixth-fastest in the 112 years the Boston Marathon has been contested and 31 seconds off his own course record set in 2006. He also won in 2003 and 2007.

Abderrahime Bouramdane was second in 2:09:04, while Khalid El Boumlili was third at 2:10:35. Both runners are from Morocco.

Cheruiyot broke out of a four-man pack of leaders at about the 18-mile mark and was ahead by 30 seconds at the 23-mile mark.

His pace slowed some in the last third of the race -- about 90 minutes into the race officials said he was on a pace that would have knocked about 2 minutes off his record -- but even when he began to slow, Cheruiyot's lead was insurmountable and he won easily.

Copyright 2008 by United Press International.