Kenya's Ivuti wins scorching Chicago Marathon; race shut down because of heat

Kenya's Patrick Ivuti won the Chicago Marathon by a fraction of a second Sunday, with organizers shutting down the course four hours after the start because of 88-degree heat and sweltering humidity.

Ivuti leaned at the finish line to edge Jaouad Gharib of Morocco by 0.05 seconds, the fifth straight Kenyan to win the race. Ethiopia's Berhane Adere rallied to successfully defend her women's title.

The race was run in record temperatures, topping the mark of 84 degrees in 1979, and 250 people were taken to area hospitals because of heat-related ailments.

Runners were diverted to the starting area, where they were provided with medical attention and cooling misters. Shortages of water and energy drinks were reported along the 26.2-mile route.

"We're seeing a lot of our participants slowing," race director Carey Pinkowski said. "It was a contingency plan we had in place and we decided to implement as a precautionary measure."

At first, organizers hoped those who passed the halfway mark could complete the run. But eventually even those recreational runners were told to turn back.

Still, some runners persevered, although organizers said they didn't know how many completed the course. Helicopters hovered over the race course while police officers shouted through a bullhorn and warned runners to slow down and walk.

Almost 10,000 of the 45,000 registered runners chose to not race in the heat despite more mist stations, cooling buses and water-soaked sponges.

Ivuti, competing in only his second major marathon, was timed in 2 hours, 11 minutes, 11 seconds in the closest finish in the race's history.

"I had never seen a marathon finish up close that was like that," head referee Pat Savage said. "This was really close, but at the same time you could see that one man was ahead of the other."

Adere was timed in 2:33:49 after passing a surprised Adriana Pirtea, who had a comfortable 30-second lead after 24.8 miles.

Ivuti and Gharib surged ahead of defending champion Robert Cheruiyot and Daniel Njenga at the 22-mile mark to make it a two-man race. Gharib led for much of the final 4 miles before Ivuti made a push on the final mile.

"One thing I had in my mind was that everybody is going to face the same heat," Ivuti said. "I had no problem with that because everybody was going through the same thing as me."

The duo traded leads on the stretch run down Columbus Avenue before Ivuti's final push at the line. The race was so close that it took organizers several minutes to determine the winner.

Njenga finished third and Cheruiyot fourth. Cheruiyot was in position to contend but stomach craps forced him to drop back after 22 miles. Cheruiyot, who last year slipped on the finish line and banged his head on the pavement as he raised his hands to celebrate, finished in 2:16:13.

Pirtea waved to the crowd as she listlessly approached the finish line. But a final push on the last mile by Adere caught the Romanian in the final stretch.

"At 40 (kilometers), I could see she was going slowly," Adere said. "I knew if I started working from that point on, there was a possibility to catch her."

Pirtea tried to sprint toward the finish line, but finished three seconds behind.

"I had tears," Pirtea said.

American Kate O'Neill finished third and Liz Yelling was fourth.