Monday, April 20, 2009

They're off! at the Boston Marathon


The wheelchair racers are off at the Boston Marathon, leaving Hopkinton for the 26.2-mile trip to Copley Square.

Ernst Van Dyk is trying to win the men's wheelchair race a record eight times and match Jean Driscoll's women's record. Clarence De Mar won the main race seven times in the 1920s.

A field of 25,000 was scheduled to leave the start at 10 a.m. Defending champions Robert Cheruiyot (CHEH-ree-yot) of Kenya and Dire Tune (DEER-ay TOO-nay) of Ethiopia are trying to repeat as champions. Americans Ryan Hall and Kara Goucher could give the United States its first victory in the race in decades.

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