Last year's second-place finish wasn't good enough for Jonathan Ndambuki. It wasn't typical either, not after having won the Deseret Morning News/KJZZ TV marathon three times and holding the course record for fastest time, at 2:16:08, which he set in 2004.

He got back to his winning ways this year, capturing his fourth title with a time of 2:22:22.

"It was good," said Ndambuki about his time. "It was hard because it was humid."

The unusual humidity wasn't the only hurdle for Ndambuki. The Kenyan said his stomach began to hurt and he even had to stop for a bit. The brief rest may have hurt his time, but it did not prevent him from beating second-place, and fellow Kenyan, Paul Rugut, who posted a time of 2:23:33.

"My stomach wasn't feeling good, (but) I just kept on going," said Ndambuki as onlookers shouted praises to him from afar.

Ndambuki said he has been training extremely hard and plans to run in the Twin Cities Marathon as well. He may return to Kenya, to see his family, after that. As for next year, he plans to be back to challenge for his fifth title. This year's race though, was a good tune-up for what lies ahead.

"This was part of my training for the Twin Cities Marathon," he said.

Sasha Pachev was the third to cross the finish line with a time of 2:32:56. He was the first Utahn to finish, meaning he took home $500.

"It's been a goal of mine for a long time," said Pachev about his top-three finish and local bragging rights.

Pachev was a little slower than he expected and said maybe he just got tired. Like Ndambuki, Pachev said he suffered a little from the rare, early morning humidity.

"I tried to break Peter Vail (another participant). He caught up to me around 15 (miles), I didn't want to lose $500 so I put on a surge. I think that did my legs in," said Pachev. "This race is not a race for time; it's a race for position."

Pachev said he is set to do a few half-marathons to help him train for the upcoming St. George marathon this fall.

More than 3,000 runners participated in this year's races. A band welcomed runners of all ages as they crossed the finish line in the annual Pioneer Day celebration at Liberty Park.

This year's prize money for first place was $2,007, which is set to the year 2007. Every year it will raise another dollar to coincide with the date.

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Men's Marathon Top Five

1. Jonathan Ndambuki, Kenya, 2:22:22

2. Paul Rugut, Kenya, 2:23:33

3. Sasha Pachev, Provo, 2:32:56

4. Steve Olsen, St. George, 2:44:47

5. Bil Cobler, Holladay, 2:48:28

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E-mail: nstorey@desnews.com