2003 Boston Marathon

Kenyan dominance was the story of the day in the men’s race, with Robert Kipkoech Cheruiyot emerging as the winner in 2:10:11. All except one of the top 10 men were from Kenya, and defending champion Rodgers Rop was seventh. The winner in the 40-and-older division was Russia’s 43-year-old Fedor Ryzhov, who was sixth overall in a time of 2:15:29, which was the highest place by an over-40 runner since New Zealand’s John Campbell finished fourth in 1990 with a time of 2:11:04. Svetlana Zakharova, the 32-year-old Russian national record-holder, survived an early cat-and-mouse game with Kenyan Margaret Okayo, the Boston Marathon course record-holder, to pull away in the Newton hills, winning in 2:25:20. Three American women finished in the top 10 here for the first time since 1993, and were led by Marla Runyan of Oregon (fifth; 2:30:28). The commemoration of Patriots’ Day was visible throughout race day and along the route, including a fly-over of two F-15s prior to the race start; a patriotic, red-white-and-blue design of the start and finish lines; large American flags on display throughout the start area, on the course, and at the finish; and a display of U.S. Armed Forces flags at the finish line. For the first time since 1990 (13 years), the B.A.A. adjusted the qualifying standards, which affected runners 45 years of age and older and reflected a desire and an ability to accommodate more participants.