BOSTON, April 17 -- Catherine Ndereba's dramatic 16-second victory in last year's Boston Marathon, coupled with Timothy Cherigat's more commanding win in the men's race, gave Kenyans a Boston sweep for the third time in five years.
For the Kenyans to rule Boston again in Monday's 109th running of the marathon -- which will be shown live on the Outdoor Life Network -- Ndereba will almost certainly have to become the race's first four-time women's champion.
The Olympic silver medalist and former world record holder is the only serious women's competitor from Kenya. She will face a former winner -- 2003 champion Svetlana Zakharova of Russia -- and a pair of top-flight Ethiopians. Elfenesh Alemu led for 16 miles last year before losing touch with Ndereba in the final mile and finishing second, and Gete Wami won the Amsterdam Marathon in 2002 before briefly leaving the sport in 2003 to give birth to a daughter, Eva.
Romanian Nuta Olaru, who won the Cherry Blossom Ten Mile Run in 52 minutes 1 second earlier this month, could also challenge.
Cherigat's resistance likely will come from his countrymen, who have won Boston 13 times in 14 years, although Cherigat's task was made a bit easier when last year's runner-up Robert Cheboror withdrew because of problems obtaining travel documents.
The leading Kenyans include 2003 champion Robert Cheruiyot and 2003 runner-up Benjamin Kimutai. Ethiopian Hailu Negussie, a 25-year-old former cricket player, was fifth last year and could be primed for a breakout.
America's faint hopes lie with 32-year-old Alan Culpepper, who will make his Boston debut after finishing 12th in the Athens Olympics. Centreville's Eric Post, the second American last year, and Arlington's Michael Wardian (third) should be among the top domestic finishers. Terry Shea, a Boston area runner who was second in the 2004 Marine Corps Marathon, and Jacob Frey, 23, an Oakton High graduate currently training with the Hansons-Brooks Distance Project in Michigan, could also compete for that distinction.
Monday's forecast calls for sunny skies and temperatures in the mid-to-upper 60s, warm but far better than last year's debilitating 85-degree heat.
