Simbu grab second place in Boston Marathon (2:05:04) today.
The men’s race played out quite differently in the latter stages. A large lead pack of about 20 men ran together through the first 10km in 28:52, putting them on course for a sub-2:02 finish. Defending champion Sisay Lemma was part of that group, along with Korir, two-time world 5000m champion Muktar Edris, Kenya’s Cybrian Kotut, USA’s Conner Mantz, Tanzania’s Alphonce Simbu and Australia’s Patrick Tiernan.The pack had been reduced slightly to 16 men by the half-way stage, reached in 1:01:52 with the predicted finishing time having now slipped some way outside the course record pace.About four miles later, Lemma – the fourth-fastest man in history and one of the big pre-race favourites – stopped and withdrew from the race. Mantz, meanwhile, continued to lead a 13-man pack through 30km in 1:28:39.Little more than a mile later, Korir made his presence known and started to force the pace. Within the space of a few minutes, he had blown apart the lead pack and forged a lead of almost 20 seconds, reaching 21 miles in 1:39:40.With about five kilometres to go, Korir was out in front with victory in his sights while Kotut, Edris, Simbu and Mantz followed about 40 seconds behind. Edris, who was making his marathon debut, drifted off the chase pack in the closing stages, leaving Kotut, Mantz and Simbu to battle it out for second and third place.Korir, however, could not be caught and he charged through the finish line in 2:04:45, emulating his older brother Wesley who won in Boston 13 years prior. Simbu came through to take second place in 2:05:04, just ahead of Kotut, who was given the same time in third place. Mantz finished fourth in 2:05:08 while Edris held on for fifth in 2:05:59.“I was aiming to win Boston and I had promised my brother that I was going to win,” said Korir.With five inside 2:06, nine inside 2:08 and 12 inside 2:09, it was the deepest men’s race in Boston Marathon history.
