BOSTON -- Catherine Ndereba won the Boston Marathon for the third time Monday in one of the hottest and closest races in the event's history.

Timothy Cherigat won the men's race in 2 hours, 10 minutes, 37 seconds to complete a Kenyan sweep.

Ndereba finished in 2:24:27, outsprinting Ethiopian Elfenesh Alemu in the last mile to win by 16 seconds -- equaling the closest finish in the women's division. Cherigat broke away from Robert Cheboror right before Heartbreak Hill to win by 1:12 as the Kenyans took the first four spots and six of the first seven in the men's division. A Kenyan man has won 13 of the last 14 races.