Pushing through the heat that felled many top seeds, Timothy C. Harte '90, a resident tutor in Kirkland House, dramatically improved both his time and place in yesterday's 103rd Boston Marathon.

Harte was the 35th man to cross the finish line, the 38th finisher overall, after coming in 51st in last year's event. His time of 2:27.32 was three minutes faster than his time from last year and two minutes faster than his previous best, from this year's New York Marathon.

Harte's achievements are even more notable given the heat and direct sunlight that bombarded the runners throughout much of the course.

"I was shooting for 2:26, but on a really hot day 2:27 is more than I could have hoped for," Harte said.

Harte said the last four miles of the race were particularly trying for everyone. While many runners--including last year's winner Moses Tanui of Kenya, and four-time champion Bill Rodgers of Massachusetts--succumbed, Harte pushed through the pain in pursuit of a personal record.

"I knew I was passing people and I wanted to get as good a time as I can," he said. "It was just tolerating the pain and getting to the end." RUN

Of his six marathons, Harte said he felt theworst at the end of this race, his fourthconsecutive time running the Boston Marathon.

"I crossed the line and almost blacked out fora couple of seconds before they caught me," Hartesaid.

Harte said the thought of "seeing my wife atthe finish line" provided the extra boost to helphim through the pain, exhaustion and nausea tofinish strong.

Harte's time of 2:27 is only five minutes offthe qualifying standard for the Olympic trials, atime which Harte has kept in the back of his mind.

But Harte said he has seen too many of hisfriends and fellow runners start too quickly andthen fade in pursuit of the standard.

"Today gives me a confidence for [qualifying],but it won't be my main goal," Harte said.

Regardless of Harte's future ambitions, hisextraordinary performance in yesterday's marathonhas earned him bragging rights for a lifetime.

Harvard Represents

The heat affected entrants of all abilities,from elite runners like Harte to those out on thecourse for the first time.

Yesterday was the first marathon for Matthew F.Delmont '00, who said the heat definitely slowedhim down.

"It was really hot out there," Delmont said."It got tough in the middle [and] I had to walk ahalf-mile in Newton. In short, I kind of got myass kicked by the course, but I was happy tofinish."

Delmont drew extra motivation from his role asa runner for the Red Cross. Thinking about thosewho sponsored his efforts drove Delmont tocontinue pushing, he said.

"When you're getting tired it helps knowingthat you're running for more people thanyourself," he said. "Friends in the Houses gavefive or 10 bucks and I would have let them down ifI had not finished."

Delmont, who crossed the line in 4:04.53, saidhe thought he best part of the race were the fans.

"Little kids wanted to slap my hands, and atmile 24 a group of my friends painted 'MATT' ontheir chests, which obviously helped get megoing," Delmont said.

But the best part of the course, according toDelmont, occurred earlier, when the runners woundtheir way past Wellesley College.

"For a half-mile or mile, [the course] is justlined with screaming college girls," he said."That's probably the best part of the course interms of fan support. They're crazy. They couldn'tbe more supportive."

Eric S. Rosen '00, whose girlfriend goes toWellesley, also appreciated the fan support inthat particular section of the course. Ultimately,however, the heat and a previous injury overcamethe boost from the fans.

"I was doing well, I wasn't tired, but at mile17 my knees collapsed, and I had to walk the lastfive miles," Rosen said.

Rosen has run half-marathons competitively, butyesterday was his first experience tackling thefull 26.2 miles.

Rosen started off strong, but then a kneeinjury from March caught up with him.

Rosen, who finished with a time of 4:01.56,said the last six miles took him an hour and 15minutes.

"I was refreshed from walking but I couldn'tbend my leg," he said.

Despite Rosen's disappointing performance, hesaid he still had fun and his hopes for the futureremain high.

'I'II get out there next year and try toqualify in the fall," he said.

After running a disappointing first marathon inRhode Island this fall, Natalie M Bowman '99 wasespecially pleased with her performance yesterday,as her time qualifies her for next year's race.

Bowman finished with a time of 3:38.04, 20minutes faster than her first marathon and twominutes under the 3:40 qualifying standard.

Bowman said that running the Boston Marathon,with a field of over 12,000 entrants, was verydifferent from her experience in Rhode Island.

"Boston was a little hillier, and [RhodeIsland] was a lot smaller," Bowman said. "Thereweren't nearly as many people watching [in RhodeIsland]. It was kind of like a big party to run inthis one."

Bowman said she appreciated her successful raceeven more because her parents, from NorthCarolina, were there to cheer her on.

Charlotte W. Houghteling '02 and Sarah E.Reckhow '02, who is a Crimson editor, have not yetqualified officially, but the two were verypleased with their first marathon experienceyesterday.

Houghteling said the pair finished in 4:17three minutes under their goal.

According to Houghteling, the two also had alot of fun, due in no small part to theiraffiliation with Harvard.

"It was so fun because we were wearing Harvardshirts and everyone was cheering and screaming forus," Houghteling said." It was really exhilarating.I'm really proud of myself."

The Champions of the 103rd

Not only did the heat thwart many top seeds,but winning times were slower than they have beenin the past.

Joseph Chebet of Kenya won the men's race in2:09.52, marking the ninth straight year thatKenyans have triumphed in Boston.

Fatuma Roba of Ethiopia won the women's race in2:23.25. The race was the third victory in as manyyears for Roba, who also claimed the gold medal inthe 1996 Olympic marathon.

Both the men's and women's wheelchair championsalso won for the third year in row. FranzNietlispach of Switzerland won in 1:21.36, andLouis Sauvage of Australia edged out the AmericanJean Driscoll at the line to win in 1:42.22.SETH H.PERLMANAbove:ERICS.ROSEN'OO of Kirkland Housepushes ahead at mile 20.Far left: With only 6.2 "smiles" to go,CHRISTOPHER BROWN of Bloomington, Minn. still hasa spring in his step.Near left: COWMAN AMOOHA of Kailua Kona,Hawaii, cools off before Heartbreak Hill inNewton.Right: KATSUYA KAWAI, 34, of Japan towersover the rest of the pack. He beat the four hourmark by a neck, finishing in 3:59:03.Below: JEAN DRISCOLL (right) ofChampaign, III., keeps pace with LOUISE SAUVAGE ofSydney, Australia. Sauvage edged out a victoryover Driscoll in the women's wheelchair race by amargin of just one second with a final time if1:42:22.