Sisay Lemma of Ethiopia set a blistering pace and held on to win the Boston Marathon on Monday, running alone through most of the course to finish in 2 hours, 6 minutes, 17 seconds — the 10th fastest time in the race's 128-year history.After the finish, Lemma said he had hoped to break the course record but found the hills harder than expected to conquer."I thank God that I was able to redeem myself from the failure of last year, and I won, so I am happy," he said.Lemma arrived in Boston with the fastest time in the field, becoming just the fourth person ever to break 2:02:00 when he won in Valencia last year. And the 2021 London champion showed it on the course, separating himself from the pack in Ashland and opening a lead of more than half a mile.Lemma ran the first half in 60:19 — 99 seconds faster than Geoffrey Mutai's course record pace in 2011, when he finished in 2:03:02 — the fastest marathon in history to that point. Fellow Ethiopian Mohamed Esa closed the gap through the last few miles, finishing second by 41 seconds; two-time defending champion Evans Chebet was third.Lemma dropped to the pavement and rolled onto his back, smiling, after crossing the finish line.The Associated Press contributed to this report.