Apr 17, 2007 3 min read

BOSTON (AP) – The runners were soaked, the pavement slippery, and Robert Cheruiyot knew exactly where trouble was waiting along the Boston Marathon route. So 48 hours before the start of Monday’s race, after his more traditional training was complete, the defending champion headed to the course to test the traction of the finish line. It was at the end of the Chicago race, 26 miles and 384 yards in, that he slipped – nearly costing himself a race, if not a career.

“I don’t want myself to think about falling down in Chicago,” Cheruiyot said after overcoming from a concussion from that slip and the remnants of a nor’easter to win his third Boston title. “It is like telling someone something very bad. … It is not good.”

Cheruiyot, who also won in 2003, earned his third Boston title standing up. He outkicked countryman James Kwambai on the way into Kenmore Square to win in 2 hours, 14 minutes, 13 seconds – slower than the course record of 2:07:14 he set last year but enough to win by 20 seconds.

“When the lion is chasing the antelope, he doesn’t look back. He has to eat,” Cheruiyot said. “So when I run, I don’t stare at my time.”

Kenya took the top four spots in the men’s race and its 15th victory in 17 years. The top American man was Peter Gilmore, in eighth place.

Russia’s Lidiya Grigoryeva captured the women’s crown in 2:29:18, winning by 20 seconds and sending Latvia’s Jelena Prokocuka to her second consecutive second-place finish. Grigoryeva, who set the course record in Los Angeles last year, veered to the stands to grab a Russian flag just before crossing the finish line.

Top American hope Deena Kastor fell back after stomach problems diverted her from the course for a minute near the midpoint. Kastor, the defending London champion, American record-holder and Olympic bronze medalist, still finished first in the U.S. national championships, a race within a race that carried a $25,000 bonus.

“It’s hard to deal with a disappointing performance when you’ve prepared for so much better than you did out there,” she said.

Cheruiyot spent two nights in a Chicago hospital in October after slipping on the finish line as he raised his arms to celebrate his victory. He couldn’t sleep for more than a month, had trouble with his back, along with headaches that persisted until six weeks ago.

“I thought maybe it was the end of my career,” Cheruiyot said after arriving in Boston.

On Saturday, as he prepared to defend his title, he accompanied a TV crew to the finish line, bending over to touch the gritty, nonskid surface. By the time he came that way again Monday, the skies had cleared, the winds had settled and he passed over it with ease, holding his arms to the side and blowing a kiss to the crowd.

With the victory, Cheruiyot earned $100,000 and all but clinched the race for a $500,000 bonus in the World Marathon Majors points race.