Pooe arrives in Boston fresh off his win at February's South African National Marathon in Cape Town (2:12:40). Pooe also won this national championship in 1998 in 2:13:09. Other race highlights for 1998 include a second-place finish at South Africa's Maize Barp Phala Bouf Half Marathon in Johannesburg (1:03:33) and a fourth-place finish at the South African Half Marathon in Durban in 1:01:17. In 1997, Pooe won both the South African Prestige 10K (29:40) and the South African Provincia Championships 15K (44:30). The Boston Marathon will be Pooe's first competition outside of South Africa.