Lelisa Desisa Boston Marathon
Lelisa Desisa (ETH) crosses the finish line to win the men's division of the 2015 Boston Marathon. Reuters/Brian Fluharty-USA TODAY Sports

Lelisa Desisa crossed the finish line first to win the 2015 Boston Marathon, winning the race for a second time in three years. His winning time of 2:09:17 was 31 seconds ahead of second-place finisher Yemane Adhane Tsegay.

Desisa, 25, was victorious in 2013, and he crossed the finish line shortly before the tragic bombing that killed three people and left 264 more injured. The Ethiopian bested his time from two years ago, which had been the second-slowest of any winner in the last seven years.

Following the two runners from Ethiopia were four Kenyans placing between third and sixth place. Wilson Chebet, Bernard Kipyego, Wesley Korir and Frankline Chepkwony all finished between 2:10:22 and 2:10:55.

American Meb Keflezighi finished in eighth place after last year’s victory. American Dathan Rizenhien finished just ahead of him in seventh place at 2:11:20.

One of the favorites to win the race dropped out in the early going. Patrick Makau ended his pursuit of first place at around the five-kilometer checkpoint. He had the top personal best of any runner in this year’s marathon, having completed 26.2 miles in 2:03:38 at the BMW Berlin Marathon. Setting the mark in 2011, he trails 2011 Boston Marathon winner Geoffrey Mutai by just 36 seconds for the world record.

For the women, it was Kenya’s Caroline Rotich who finished in first place at 2:24:55. Mare Dibaba and Buzunesh Deba from Ethiopia round out the top three. Rotich, 30, had previously won the New York Marathon and Las Vegas Marathon.

It certainly wasn’t a perfect day to run a marathon. With the Boston Marathon starting shortly after 10 a.m. ET, runners began the race amid the cold and light rain. When Desisa finally crossed the finish line, the temperature was a chilly 45 degrees. The gloomy Patriots' Day weather was a far cry from last year, when champion Keflezighi crossed the finish line on a sunny day with temperatures in the upper 50s.