Johannesburg - Rene Kalmer struggled in her Boston Marathon debut, fading in the second half, while fellow South African Ernst van Dyk missed out on his 10th wheelchair victory in the world's oldest 42km race in Massachusetts on Monday.
Kalmer, chasing her personal best of 2:29:59, did well to set a steady pace in the first half, going through the 21km mark in one hour, 15 minutes, 10 seconds (1:15:10), just 68 seconds behind the women's leaders.
She was still on target to set a new career record at the 25km mark, but Kalmer slowed gradually in the dying stages to finish in 2:37:15.
Kenyan Rita Jeptoo won the women's race in 2:26:25, while Kenyan Lelita Desisa secured victory in the men's race in 2:10:22.
Van Dyk, meanwhile, finished second in the men's wheelchair division.
The 40-year-old South African, in search of his 10th win at the historic event, edged Kota Hokinoue of Japan by one second to grab the silver medal in 1:27:12.
Hokinoue's countryman, Hiroyuki Yamamoto, won the race in 1:25:33.
Kalmer, chasing her personal best of 2:29:59, did well to set a steady pace in the first half, going through the 21km mark in one hour, 15 minutes, 10 seconds (1:15:10), just 68 seconds behind the women's leaders.
She was still on target to set a new career record at the 25km mark, but Kalmer slowed gradually in the dying stages to finish in 2:37:15.
Kenyan Rita Jeptoo won the women's race in 2:26:25, while Kenyan Lelita Desisa secured victory in the men's race in 2:10:22.
Van Dyk, meanwhile, finished second in the men's wheelchair division.
The 40-year-old South African, in search of his 10th win at the historic event, edged Kota Hokinoue of Japan by one second to grab the silver medal in 1:27:12.
Hokinoue's countryman, Hiroyuki Yamamoto, won the race in 1:25:33.