GEOFF Blee led home 23 Bermuda-based runners in the 112th Boston Marathon on Monday.

He and friend Ricky Sousa had high hopes of once again dipping under the three-hour barrier for the 26.2-mile event but missed that mark by a matter for minutes.

It was Blee who had the greater stamina as he edged ahead of his rival around the mid-race point and extended his advantage all the way to the finish line of the famous event ¿ the oldest annual marathon in the world.

Blee stopped the clock at three hours, two minutes and 49 seconds, compared to Sousa's 3:05:31.

The overall race was won for a fourth time by Kenya's Robert Cheruiyot in 2:07:46, while the first woman was Ethiopia's Dire Tune in 2:25:25.

It was the start of an impressive day of results for Bermuda's athletes with many setting times that will gain them automatic inclusion in the 2009 marathon.

Will Drea (3:14:10), Donald Bowman (3:15:02), first local woman Kim McMullen (3:15:19) and Tatsuhiko Hoshina (3:16:08) packed well at the sharp end of the race and came away with impressive times, as did Alistair McNeish not far behind in 3:21:13.

Next back was triathlete Garth Thomson in 3:24:50, followed by Vivienne Lockhead who had already gained an automatic qualifying time for next year's Boston race, but improved upon that with a time of 3:31:20.

She said: "I was happy with my performance overall, although not ecstatic as I could have done better and really did want a faster time. However, this is my first marathon that I have not hit the wall, so I felt really good about that and I am recovering well from it. I have qualified again for next year so I am sure that I will be back there as Boston is my favourite course. As with every race, I hope to go back there stronger and faster.

"Knowing that I had the support of family, friends and co-workers at their respective cell phones and computers monitoring my progress helped to keep me going, as well as seeing fellow Bermuda runners on the race course as they whizzed past me on the Newton Hills."

Deanna McMullen had a time just two seconds slower. Marathon man Calvin Steede, chalking up his 81st marathon, set a creditable time of 3:36:53.

Throughout the field there were heart-warming stories. Melissa Kizer (4:04:03) said: "While I did not run my best time, I am very pleased that I was able to complete such a prestigious marathon. I found the course quite challenging, but I was inspired to carry on by the support of the spectators and fellow runners.

"I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Mid Atlantic Athletic Club for their assistance and support.

Melissa Durrant (4:13:38), running her fourth Boston Marathon, said: "This year was a good race. I had issues with my knee/leg before I went so I was hoping it wouldn't act up too much but it did. Nonetheless, I still really enjoyed it and hope to be back again next year. I'm going to try to do a marathon in the fall with Allison Petty and aim for a qualifying time for next year ¿ that's the next goal."

Having already run the Disney Marathon in January, Allison Petty entered Boston and ran with her father Stephen all the way until the very end where she pushed ahead by two minutes to finish in 4:10:12. She said: "Boston was so much fun. The crowds along the way helped it to go by faster than I thought. Melissa Durrant, Ali B (Alison Beaulieu) and I ran in Bermuda shirts so we were constantly hearing how wonderful Bermuda was as we ran by or hearing 'go Bermuda!' which was fun.

"It was amazing to run with my dad for as long as we did ¿ some good quality father/daughter time together. We also ran the first 11 miles with Ali B, who had a grin from ear to ear the whole way. At mile 22 I realised I was coming close to the time I did for Disney race three months ago. The downhill at the beginning took a greater toll on dad's quads than mine, so he then told me to go ahead and try to beat my time. We paced each other the 22 miles, which was real nice.

"My goal was to finish, due to knee troubles and also, if I could, beat my Disney time. I beat Disney and felt so much better as I was able to run a consistent pace, thanks to dad, and ran up every hill. The experience was a great one and now I'm looking forward to hopefully running the New York Marathon in November."

Other Bermuda finishers were: Jill Montgomery 3:51:19, April Vesey 4:00:17, Paul Waldburger 4:01:28, Stephen Petty 4:12:32, Russ Dyrli 4:15:56, Samantha Stephens 4:18:16, Jason Olynyk 4:38:41, Alison Beaulieu 5:01:09.