Body in Motion

Winners' Circle

A round of applause to the top finishers....

Men: Ronnie Holassie, 15:26; Josh Brashears, 16:10

Women: Bobette Stewart (pictured), 18:23; Jo shott, 19:56

Top Boston runners

  Robert Cheruiyot of Kenya won his fourth Boston Marathon on Monday, running away from the pack in a blistering official time of 2 hours, 7 minutes, 46 seconds, The Associated Press reports.
   Ethiopia's Dire Tune, above, outkicked Alevtina Biktimirova to win by 2 seconds, the closest finish in the history of the women's race. Tune's unofficial time was 2:25:25.
  Cheruiyot missed the course record he set two years ago by 33 seconds. He became the fourth man with four victories in the men's edition of the world's oldest annual 26.2-mile race.  Cheruiyot and Tune each earned $150,000.

Boston wheelchair division

  The Boston Marathon has wire-to-wire winners in the men's and women's wheelchair divisions, The Associated Press reports.
   Japan's Wakako Tsuchida won her second straight title, finishing in 1 hour, 48 minutes and 32 seconds, besting her time from last year by 5 minutes.
    On the men's side, South African Ernst Van Dyk, left, led from the start, finishing in 1:26:49 to win Boston for the seventh time. Though it was the second slowest time of his seven victories, no one was near him when he crossed the finish line on Boylston Street.

Holassie trounces competition

 

Ronnie Holassie won the Miami Mercedes-Benz Corporate run last year, with a fellow athlete hot on his trail. This year he was first in the Fort Lauderdale race, and he could have taken a nap before the second-place finisher crossed the line. His unofficial time: 15 minutes, 21 seconds.  My friend Lou was near the front of the line when the cannon went off, and he told me, "That guy started slow, then turned the corner and took off.'' By "slow," he likely meant a 5-minute mile pace, or a wee bit slower. Those of us who are not Olympians would consider that super fast.

I watched the first 100 or so athletes finish, and it was amazing. Drenched in sweat, they give it all they've got when the finish line is in view and they know the end is near. In all shapes and sizes, they run. They run to stay fit; they run to stay healthy. They run for their lives.