Boston Marathon 2019: How Norwalk Runners Fared

BOSTON, MA — More than 31,500 official entrants braved the rain and packed the starting line in Hopkinton, Mass. Monday to compete in the 123rd Boston Marathon, the world's oldest annual marathon. They anticipated the challenge of completing the 26.2 mile course, including the dreaded "Heartbreak Hill" between the 20- and 21-mile marks, near Boston College. They came from more than 90 countries and all 50 states, with hundreds of Connecticut residents participating.

Lawrence Cherono, 30, of Kenya, captured the men's race by just two seconds over Ethiopian Lelisa Desisa, finishing in 2 hours, 7 minutes, 57 seconds. The women's winner, Worknesh Degefa, 28, of Ethiopia, had an easier time, crossing the finish line in 2:23:31 to outdistance runner-up Edna Kiplagaf of Kenya by 42 seconds.

Abdellah Bennani, 45, earned bragging rights for Norwalk by being the first runner from the city to cross the finish line, covering the course in 3:18:00. Here are other Norwalk runners who finished in under 5 hours:

• Keighly Rector, 30, 3:25:43
• Brendan Terry, 24, 3:27:55
• Shannon Whipple, 41, 3:46:21
• Natasha Nejdl, 33, 3:52:33
• Theodore Stepanoff, 35, 4:25:22

Click here to obtain complete searchable race results.

— By Tim Jensen, Patch Staff; Patch Editor Alfred Branch contributed to this report.