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BOSTON (19-Apr) -- Robert Kipkoech Cheruiyot, the willowy Kenyan who overcame a childhood of destitution to become a three-time Boston Marathon champion and the inaugural World Marathon Majors points leader, is poised to win yet another Boston title on Monday. Can anyone stop him?
"Many people are here to win," said the smiling Cheruiyot as he chatted with reporters yesterday in a fancy ballroom at the Copley Plaza Hotel. "But I don't know what place I will be."
Cheruiyot, who won here in 2003, 2006 and 2007 and set the course record of 2:07:14 with his second victory, is a solid favorite to collect his fourth Boston title on Monday. One of his key potential rivals, compatriot Patrick Ivuti who won last year's LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon, was forced to withdraw from the race with an illness. That leaves Kenyans James Kwambai, William Kiplagat, Shadrack Kiplagat and James Mwangi Macharia; Ethiopians Gashaw Melese Asfaw and Yirefu Birhanu, and Moroccan Abderrahime Bouramdane as his chief competitors. None are are in Cheruiyot's class.
Forced to move his training camp from Nairobi to Namibia because of the post-election violence in Kenya, Cheruiyot was still able to prepare well, he said. He was shocked and saddened by the violent outbreaks.
"Myself, I like peace," he declared. "Without peace there is no life."
He no longer is an active farmer, instead collecting rents from the apartment buildings he continues to build in Nairobi. "It is easy," he said of being a landlord.
At Boston last year, Cheruiyot's victory locked up his World Marathon Majors title and a $500,000 payday he received last fall. In last year's race he was chased by James Kwambai in the final miles, but still was able to win by a comfortable 20 seconds. He said it was harder than it looked.
"You know, Boston is not easy," Cheruiyot said after last year's race. "It's very tough."
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