time world champion Jaouad Gharib of Morocco kept his own pace in a long solo run despite a surprise challenge by Kenya's Eliud Kiptanui for an easy victory in the Fukuoka marathon Sunday. The Beijing Olympic silver medalist took the lead when the last pace-setter Kiptanui abandoned the race at the 30km mark and never faced a serious challenge, winning in two hours eight minutes 24 seconds. Russia's Dmitry Safronov was second in 2:10:12, followed by Takayuki Matsumiya of Japan in 2:10:54.
