Boston Marathon 2005 - As It Happens

Refresh this page every few minutes to see the latest updates. We'll have all of the updates for all races on this one page - trying to make it as easy as possible for our readers to see what's happening.

Note, as you read these reports, they will appear in reverse chronological order. Newest updates will be at the top of each section.

The races are over - and, as always, what a day. There were some expected finishes and some unexpected - we'll have our summary and wrapup soon. Meanwhile, enjoy the writeups below...

Men's Race | Women's Race | Wheelchair Races

What a beautiful day... for both runners and spectators. 63 degrees at the start, with an estimate of 68 degrees for the finish. Yes, many will argue that 60s is warmer than the optimal running temperature, but it's quite, quite comfortable especially after last year's 80 degree temperatures - and the fans on the course should love it! Ooops, that was the original thought - instead the temperature was 70 degrees straight throughout the race - that is a bit warm...

Men's Race back to top

Finish (2:11:44). Haile Negussie, 25 of Ethiopia, has won the 2005 Boston Marathon, becoming the first Ethiopian man to win since 1989. Wilson Onsare of Kenya finished in second place in 2:12:21, Benson Cherono (Kenya) finished in third place in 2:12:48. Alan Culpepper continued to run strong to take the fourth position in 2:13:39, the best place for an American since 1987. Peter Gilmore of the USA came in tenth place in 2:17:32 - and not since 1992 have two Americans finished in the top ten at Boston.

25 miles (2:05:20). Negussie has this race...

22 miles (1:50:33), 23 miles (1:55:20), 24 miles (2:00:12). Negussie has extended his lead and it looks like this will be his race.

21 miles (1:46:04), 35K (1:49:20). Negussie leads with Cheruiyot just behind. Wilson Onsare is holding onto third place, ten seconds behind with Benson Cherono just behind him. Alan Culpepper, as top American, has moved into 6th place.

19 miles (1:35:41), 20 miles (1:40:42). Hailu Negussie has broken away from the pack and is opening up a lead. Robert Kipkoech Cheruiyot is following in second place.

16 miles (1:20:39), 17 miles (1:25:41), 30K (1:34:01). Word has just come back that Kiogora is now walking. The pack is down to 6 runners. Negussie, Cherigat, Cherono, Cheruiyot, Kipchumba and Onsare. Alan Culpepper, the top American is running six seconds behind this group, alone in 7th place.

14 miles (1:10:42), 15 miles (1:15:55), 25K (1:18:29). The pack has come together. Kiogora and El Boumlili have been consumed by the pack which now consists of 10 runners: Kiogora, Hailu Neguissie (Eth), Timothy Cherigat (Ken), El Boumlili, Benjamin Kipchumba (Kenya), Thomas OMwenga (Ken), Robert Kipkoech Cheruiyot (Ken), Wilson Onsare (Ken), Benson Cherono (Ken). Alan Culpepper and Ryan Shay are just behind.

Half-Marathon (1:06:13). Stephen Kiogora and Khalid El Boumlili are 18 seconds ahead of the pack which is now down to about 14 runners.

10 miles (50:19), 11 miles (55:28), 12 miles (60:31), 20K (62:45). Still the same race...

15K (46:52), Kiogora and El Boumlili continue to run in front of the pack and are 25 seconds ahead. Robert Kipkoech Cheruiyot has just separated himself from the pack and is moving forward, but is just a couple of seconds forward of the pack. For Americans, Culpepper and Shay remain in the main pack.

5 miles (25:14), 6 miles (30:14), 10K (31:18), Stephen Kiogora continues to lead, but he has been joined by Khalid El Boumlili. They are running about 50 meters ahead of the following pack which consists of about 30 runners.

4 miles (20:16), Stephen Kiogora has made a move to the front and leads by a few seconds. In the following pack are still two Americans, Alan Culpepper and Ryan Shay.

3 Miles (15:25), 5K (15:54). The pack is still huge...

1 Mile (5:10) 2 miles (10:22). There are at least thirty men in the lead pack which looks more like a mob at this point.

The men have started!

Women's Race back to top

Finish (2:25:13). Catherine Ndereba proved again that she has earned her nickname of "Catherine the Great." Ndereaba has now become the only woman to ever win the Boston Marathon four times. After leading for much of the race, Elfenesh Alemu has held on to finish in second place in 2:27:03. Running a very smart race, Bruna Genovese (Italy) continued to move forward and finished in third place in 2:29:51.

40K (2:17:38). Catherine Ndereba is now more than a minute ahead of Alemu. For Ndereba this will be a safe run to the finish. Alemu remains comfortably in second place

22 miles (2:02:17), 23 miles (2:07:40). Catherine Ndereba has broken away from Alemu and has opened up a sizeable gap. Barring any catastrophes, this will be her race - a record fourth win.

21 miles (1:56:53). Catherine Ndereba has just caught Alemu at the 21 mile mark and at first looked to try to surge past, but Alemu is staying with Ndereba. It almost looks as if Alemu knew that she was going to be caught and chose to conserve some energy over the last mile - she looks to have no trouble holding onto Ndereba. This is a great two woman race.

19 miles (1:45:19), 20 miles (1:50:59). Elfanesh Alemu continues to lead, but Ndereba is within 15 seconds of catching the leader. The Newton Hills are just beginning and it looks like Ndereba will take the lead on the hills.

30K (1:43:19). Alemu leads, but Ndereba is now just 28 seconds behind at 1:43:47. Gete Wami is in third place at 1:44:25 and looks strong having passed the previous leaders.

16 miles (1:28:40), 17 miles (1:34:06). Alemu still leads, but she knows that Ndereba is behind somewhere (and now in second place). Every now and then Alemu glances back - and that can't be a good sign...

25K (1:26:00). Now the race is beginning to take new shape. Olaru looks like she is fading a bit and Alemu now holds the lead alone, four seconds ahead of Olaru. Morgunova remains in third place in 1:26:35. But the interesting part is that Ndereba is beginning to move. She has broken apart the following pack and is moving up. Gete Wami is with her and these two are now 50 seconds behind Alemu.

11 miles (1:00:40), 12 miles (1:06:03). Half-Marathon (1:12:11). Alemu and Olaru continue to pull away a few seconds are added to their lead each mile. Morgunova continues in third place, now twenty seconds back. The pack of five is now 1:20 behind the leaders.

10 miles (55:04). Olaru and Alemu have pushed their lead to 1:15 over Ndereba and the main group.

8 miles (43:55), 9 miles (49:29), 15K (51:16). The story remains the same. Nuta Olaru (Romania) and Elfenesh Alemu (Ethiopia) lead and continue to pull away. Morgunova is now nine seconds behind. The rest of the women (now down to five) is 1:11 behind the leaders. The large pack consists of Catherine Ndereba (Kenya), Zhor El Kamch (Morocco), Shitaye Gamechu (Ethiopia), Gete Wami (Ethiopia) and Svetlana Zakharova (Russia)

7 miles (38:22). We've just noticed that the time at four miles was actually ahead of course record time - so can Alemu and Olaru continue this pace. Regardless of whether they can sustain this for 26.2 miles, they're not letting up on their pace.

10Km (34:05). Elfanesh Alemu and Nuta Olaru continue together. Lyubov Morgunova continues alone in third place, now a dozen seconds behind. A full minute behind the leaders is the main pack of 7 women with Catherine Ndereba in the front of that group. Most of the runners are using Ndereba as their pacer (and she looks very comfortable), but is it smart to already be a minute behind at this point?

5 miles (27:30). Elfanesh Alemu and Nuta Olaru continue to extend their lead.

4 miles (22:00). Alemu and Olaru, still together have passed Morgunova who is slowing considerably.

3 miles (16:38), 5K (17:13). Morgunova continues to lead, maintaining her gap of 10 seconds over Alemu and Olaru who are running together. The main pack, including Catherine Ndereba, Gete Wami and others are a dozen seconds behind.

The race has begun and Lyubov Morgunova moves to the lead and runs alone in the front. She passes the first mile in 5:52 and the second mile in 11:14. Behind her, about ten seconds back, are three women, Elfanesh Alemu, Nuta Olaru and Firaya Sultanova-Zhdanova. Another pack of about 8 women is another fifteen seconds back.

For the second year in a row, the women's elite race begins 29 minutes before the general race, creating a women's-only marathon. There are 55 women in the elite field and it will be at least a couple of miles until the field begins to separate meaningfully.

Wheelchair Race back to top

11:25AM, the wheelchair division has started. The elite wheelchair field has been shrinking and there will be fewer participants - 9 men elite athletes and 5 female elite athletes. Ernst Van Dyk will go for his fifth consecutive marathon win and we will see what he will accomplish following his course and world record in Boston last year.

The Wheelchair Men:

Ernst Van Dyk is the champion of the 2005 Boston Marathon wheelchair race - his fifth consecutive victory. The time, 1:24:11, is well behind is world record of last year, but still comfortable. When asked what his plans were for the future, Van Dyk replied that he would just like to continue to win this race for as long as he could and that at 32 years old, he knew that he had many years ahead of him.

Half-Marathon (40:27). Van Dyk is more than three minutes ahead of any other wheeler. Nietlspach at 43:44 is in second place. Only ten seconds behind Nietlspach are Krige Schabort, Alan Bergman and Michael Filteau all working together.

10K (18:09), 15K (28:24). Van Dyk has continued to move away from the other wheelers and by the 15K mark is nearly two minutes ahead of Franz Nietlspach who is alone in second place. One minute behind Nietlspach is the rest of the elite field of wheelers, all together.

Going through 5K, Ernst Van Dyk is moving at a blistering pace: 9:01. Franz Nietlspach is second in 9:24 and Krige Schabort is third in 9:49. This section of the course is downhill, so the wheelchairs can be a bit spread out - there is less benefit to drafting. But it's clear that Van Dyk is trying to move away before the flatter sections of the course.

Ernst Van Dyk immediately jumps to the front of the race, passing the first mile in 3:00 and two miles in 6:17.

The Wheelchair Women:

Cheri Blauwet is the women's winner in 1:47:45. Diane Roy has finished second in 1:50:53, Sandra Graf is third in 1:51:46.

Half-Marathon (51:08). Diane Roy leads Cheri Blauwet as the pair moves through the half-marathon mark. Sandra Graf is just behind in 51:17.

10K for the women (23:13). Three wheelers are together: Diane Roy leading, Cheri Blauwet just behind and Sandra Graf following. The race will consist of these three women.

The women at 5K are working together, with all five competitors in a line. Cheri Blauwet leads, followed in order, by Sandra Graf, Diane Roy, Miriam Nibley and Shirley Reilly.

More Boston News:

Men's Race - Blow by Blow
Women's Race and Commentary
Wheelchair Division
Articles From the General Press...

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