Eliud Kipchoge, 29, ran 2:04:11 to lead a 1-2-3 Kenyan sweep in the men’s division of the Bank of America Chicago Marathon, Sun., Oct. 12.

In the process Ethiopian track legend Kenenisa Bekele, running his second marathon, was relegated to a fourth-place finish.

The remarkable Rita Jeptoo, 33, of Kenya repeated as the women’s winner in Chicago as she ran 2:24:35.

On a day when the temperature was ideal but the wind became a challenge late in the race – Chicago is the Windy City, after all – Eliud Kipchoge had an ear-to-ear grin as he ran the last two miles after pulling away from his countrymen Sammy Kitwara and Dickson Chumba, who are both 27, to score his first major marathon victory. Kitwara finished second, 17 seconds back, in 2:04:28 and Chumba was third in 2:04:32.

Kenenisa Bekele, 32, finished fourth in 2:05:51. After that, there was a gap of more than 2½ minutes to the fifth-place finisher, Bernard Koech, 26, another Kenyan, who ran 2:08:30.

Bekele, who said after the race his goal had been 2:03:13, nearly two minutes faster than his debut marathon earlier this year in Paris, offered these comments about his Chicago performance: “Of course I wanted to run faster but I couldn’t. I’m disappointed but it’s okay. There is another day. I will prepare myself again for a better result.” He felt his lack of experience in the marathon and jet lag affected his performance.

The first American finisher was Bobby Curtis, 29, of Madison, Wis., who was ninth in 2:11:20.

The winner of this race last year was Kenya’s Dennis Kimetto, who ran 2:03:45. He would, of course, become the first man to break 2:03 for the marathon when he won the Berlin Marathon two weeks ago in a new world record time of 2:02:57.

The lead group in the men’s race in Chicago on Sunday stayed together for about 20 miles before the three Kenyans (Kipchoge, Kitwara and Chumba) pulled away. Bekele was among those who could not go with the Kenyans.

After 24 miles Kipchoge and Kitwara were running side by side with Chumba right behind. Then Kipchoge initiated a quick surge and it was all over but for the smiles over the last two miles. Kipchoge is more than capable of putting in a quick surge, incidentally – he’s a two-time Olympic medalist in the 5000 meters (silver in Beijing 2008, bronze in Athens 2004). One thing more: His 5000-meter best of 12:46:53 makes him the fourth fastest ever in that event.

“To enjoy the streets of Chicago,” he quipped about the apparent ease of his victory on Sunday, “you need to smile. With all these people, you need that big smile."

Easier said than done, of course.

Chicago was Kipchoge’s fourth marathon – his first one was only 18 months ago – and he said he’s getting accustomed to the longer distance, which can’t be good news to his competitors.

“To run a good marathon, (you need) good preparation and good planning. I can say my planning with my coaches is (good). I now understand (the marathon). I’m still learning the ropes, but I can say today I am now fully experienced … I am happy to be one of the winners here.”

The steady and superlative Rita Jeptoo, whose 2:24:35 gave her an easy victory in the Chicago Marathon for the second year in a row (if any victory in a marathon can be called “easy”), has now won four straight major marathons. She also repeated as the women’s Boston Marathon champion this past spring, setting a new course record.

At Chicago on Sunday, Mare Dibaba, 24, of Ethiopia was second in the women’s race in 2:25:37, Kenya’s Florence Kiplagat, 27, finished third in 2:25:57.

Birhane Dibaba, 21, of Ethiopia won a close battle for fourth by a mere second over Amy Hastings, 30, of Long Beach, Calif., as they ran 2:27:02 and 2:27:03 respectively.

Jeptoo, who hasn’t lost a major marathon since 2012, admitted she struggled with the wind during the race.

“It was not easy,” she said. “The beginning, nobody tried to push because everybody was looking for me … Everybody was strong so I was like ‘Let’s wait.’ “

It wasn’t until 23 miles that Jeptoo decided the waiting was over and she made her move, pulling away so decisively that she put a minute and two seconds between herself and the runner-up Mare Dibaba by the time they reached the finish line.

And what a sweet and lucrative victory it was for Jeptoo! Like Kipchoge, the men’s winner, she received $100,000 for winning the race (Kipchoge also received a time bonus of $55,000). But Jeptoo also hit road racing's jackpot as her victory in Chicago clinched the 2013-2014 World Marathon Majors points championship for her, which means she’ll receive an additional … $500,000! 

The men’s winner of the 2013-2014 World Marathon Majors points championship has yet to be decided.

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