Women to watch
LIDIYA GRIGORYEVA Age 34 Russia
Boston Marathon: 1st in 2007 (2:29:18).
Of note: The third Russian woman to win at Boston, the defending champion broke away in the final two miles last year. She also placed in the top 10 of three New York marathons since 2005; her best finish there was last November, when she finished fourth (2:28:37). She started running at age 12 and is coached by her husband, Valerey.
JELENA PROKOPCUKA Age 32 Latvia
Boston Marathon: 2d in 2006 (2:23:48) and 2007 (2:29:58); 4th in 2004 (2:30:16).
Of note: After leading for most of the race last year, Prokopcuka settled for her second straight runner-up in Boston. Her 2006 finish was the closest in women's history in Boston: just 10 seconds behind winner Rita Jeptoo. Prokopcuka has won twice in New York City and has competed in track in the past three Olympics.
RITA JEPTOO Age 27 Kenya
Boston Marathon: 1st in 2006 (2:23:38); 4th in 2007 (2:33:08).
Of note: She nearly missed the 2006 race because of passport problems, but still won the closest women's race in Boston history. Later that year she ran the seventh-fastest 20K of all time (63:47). Last year she ran a half-marathon-best to win Lisbon (67:08) and helped Kenya to a gold medal at the 2007 World Championships.
ASKALE TAFA MAGARSA Age 23 Ethiopia
Boston Marathon: Debut.
Of note: The young runner turned in her personal best in January when she placed third at the Dubai Marathon (2:23:23). She has won three marathons, including Paris (2:25:07) and Dubai (2:27:19) in 2007, and has finished on the podium in seven of nine starts. She gets marathon advice from husband Gudeta Tola Debele, another runner.
ROBE TOLA GUTA Age 21 Ethiopia
Boston Marathon: 6th in 2007 (2:36:29).
Of note: Last year, at just 20 years old, Guta finished sixth here. A year older and with knowledge of the course, she hopes to improve her standing. She has quickly improved her times since starting her international racing career in 2005, and won the Conenergy Marathon in Hamburg in 2006 (2:24:35).
DIRE TUNE Age 22 Ethiopia
Boston Marathon: Debut.
Of note: Tune has made her expectations for Monday clear: "I want to win Boston," she said. She might have the power to get the job done, as she cracked legendary Ingrid Kristiansen's 23-year-old course record in Houston in 2007 (2:26:52) before raising the bar once more in January (2:24:40). She is also a two-time member of the Ethiopian squad at the IAAF World Marathon Championships.
ALEVTINA BIKTIMIROVA Age 25 Russia
Boston Marathon: 6th in 2006 (2:26:58).
Of note: After a jam-packed 2007 in which she won the Honolulu Marathon and took third in Toronto and Rotterdam, Biktimirova hopes to improve on her sixth-place Boston debut in 2006. Her personal best at the Frankfurt Marathon (2:25:12) - a first-place showing and one of seven top-three finishes - remains a course record.
BRUNA GENOVESE Age 31 Italy
Boston Marathon: 3d in 2005 (2:29:51); 4th in 2006 (2:25:28); 6th in 2002 (2:29:02); 9th in 2001 (2:30:39).
Of note: After putting herself on the map in 2004 - placing second in Rome, 10th at the Olympics, and first in Tokyo - Genovese has kept pace with the world's best runners. No stranger to Boston, she ran her personal best here in 2006. She took fifth in New York City in 2005 (2:27:15).
TETYANA KUZINA-HLADYR Age 33 Ukraine
Boston Marathon: Debut.
Of note: Out of competition in 2007 because of a foot injury, Kuzina-Hladyr is ready to continue building her impressive résumé, which includes runner-up in New York in 2006 (2:26:05); first place and a national record at the City of Rome Marathon in 2006 (2:25:44); and champion of her second marathon, Marseille, in 2003 (2:37:52). 