Baba solidified himself as one of the best marathoners this fall when he out-kicked Paul Tergat over the final 400 meters to finish 2nd in the 2006 New York City Marathon. In 2004 Baba finished 4th in Boston and followed it up six months later with a 2:09 PR in Chicago. Baba did not let his New York performance cloud his focus -- a week later he was already looking forward to the great people in Boston. His smile will surely light-up the the Hopkinton-to-Boston course in April.