Margaret Okayo, front, leads Catherine Ndereba away from the pack. (Globe Staff Photo / Essdras M. Suarez)

WOMEN Okayo KOs course record in her debut The odds favored defending champion Catherine Ndereba, but fellow Kenyan Margaret Okayo was not to be dissuaded in her Boston Marathon debut. She took the lead around Route 128 and easily surpassed Uta Pippig's 8-year-old course record. She finished in 2 hours 20 minutes 43 seconds and in the process became the second Kenyan woman to win Boston.. Catherine Ndereba far from second-rate Women's top 50 finishers

MEN

Rop puts Kenyans back on top He'd run one marathon before, so he knew he could go the distance. He'd seen a video of the course, so he knew all about the hills. And he knew that a man named Rodgers had won a few here.

Ryan: Kenyans' absence didn't last long

Photos   Memorable moments   During the race Before the race   Post Marathon party at The Roxy Sunday Pasta party   Sports & Fitness Expo

WHEELCHAIRS VanDyk, Hunkeler roll to victory South African Ernst VanDyk defended his wheelchair title in the Boston Marathon in fine fashion yesterday. The women's crown went to Switzerland's Edith Hunkeler.   US RUNNERS Support not up to speed The loneliness of the American distance runner continued yesterday at the Boston Marathon. Keith Dowling of Reston, Va., the top man, finished 15th. DICK BEARDSLEY Former runner-up returns for a fun run The crowds along the route didn't recognize him - and Dick Beardsley liked that. ''It was actually nice being a little bit inconspicuous out there,'' he said. MASTERS At 43, Kipkemboi in prime of life A couple of years made no difference to Joshua Kipkemboi. In fact, it might have spurred on the Kenyan runner yesterday to reclaim the masters title. NOTEBOOK Thanks to weather, runners kept their cool BAA officials credited temperatures in the mid-50s for the high completion rate and the low number of casualties - only 350 runners were treated. SPORTVIEW Coverage barely got off ground No live pictures. That nightmare ranks at the top of the worst-case scenarios in the handbook of Boston Marathon television coverage.

2002 TOP TEN MEN Rodgers Rop 2:09:02 C. Cheboiboch 2:09:05 Fred Kiprop 2:09:45  Mbarak Hussein 2:09:45  Lee Bong Ju 2:10:30 Elias Chebet 2:10:48 Simon Bor 2:11:39 Getachew Kebede 2:11:43 Luis Fonseca 2:11:49 Silvio Guerra 2:12:28  | Men's Top 50 | 2002 TOP TEN WOMEN Margaret Okayo 2:20:43 Catherine Ndereba 2:21:12 Elfenesh Alemu 2:26:01 Sun Yingjie 2:27:26 Firaya Sultanova 2:27:58 Bruna Genovese 2:29:02 Nuta Olaru 2:30:26 Mai Tagami 2:32:00 Gitte Karlshoj 2:35:01 Yukari Komatsu 2:35:34 | Women's Top 50 | 2002 MEN'S WHEELCHAIR Ernst F. Van Dyk 1:23:19 Krige Schabort 1:26:04 Franz Nietlispach 1:30:08 | Complete list (men & women) | 2002 WOMEN'S WHEELCHAIR Edith Hunkeler 1:45:57 Christina M. Ripp 1:49:32 Wakako Tsuchida 1:50:09 Search BAA database of all finishers ENTRANT STATS Registered runners 16,638 Men 14,405 Women 6,233 From US 14,558 From Mass. 4,315

AROUND THE COURSE
The start: Occupying oneself the first challenge
Heartbreak Hill: Volunteers are over the top
First-person: Hopkinton to Boston, the hard way
In the crowd: There were miles of smiles

Race log: Stride-by-stride account of the marathon