The Americans still tend to move to the marathon later than the East Africans. But they definitely have some guys in their 30s as well — as Meb just proved, you can succeed well past 30. Read more

um...ever heard of Ray Fontaine? Read more

Actually, anyone over 28 is considered pretty old to get started in the marathon. And it doesn't mess up your knees. Read more

I actually had Gotcher on my notes to put in here, but somehow totally missed him. My bad. Read more

Cabada is a good addition — I thought he'd given it up, but sounds like he's still in the mix. Read more

You might want to recheck your math. He ran a lot faster than 5:39 per mile. Read more

DO I NOT EVER TRAIN YOU?! Read more

She was definitely expected to finish in the top 10. The "sad..disappointed" comments are because she led the race by herself for 20 miles, until she got passed by the group of 6 or 7 that she had been pacing. She finished 5th in the fastest time by an American ever at Boston — I would say she exceeded (reasonable)… Read more

— The Boston Marathon (as with road racing in general), was very popular in the late '70s and early '80s, as the baby boomers kicked off the jogging craze. Interest faded as baby boomers got older, the novelty wore off, and, yes, the East Africans took over. Read more

It used to be one of the biggest sporting events in the country, both at the turn of the 20th century and in the 1970s. And talking about the Boston, New York and Philly marathons in the same breath is like comparing the British Open, the Masters and your local muni pro-am. Read more

This is exactly right. Read more

This is obviously a much bigger debate, but if you're suggesting that the country of origin (i.e., East African descent vs. non-East African) is not relevant, I don't think you'll find many people who agree with you. It would be disingenuous for me not to talk about this, really. Read more

It's a good debate. I'm a huge Shorter fan, so I won't say you're wrong. Just the nature of competing in very different eras, I guess. Read more

Most were DNS (did not start) — different injuries. Could be bad luck, or age, or both. Read more

Thanks, Greg! You too! Read more

New York probably has the best combination of history, relevance and strength of field. I'd call it 1A. Read more

I almost clarified that sentence — I meant to stress "exceptionally". 26 miles is definitely a long run for them, but it's just not an exceptionally long run, in the way it would be to one of us hobby joggers. It'd be like fifteen fast miles for one of us — a tough long run for sure, but it's not the kind of run… Read more

They will eat what they normally eat. The marathon isn't an exceptionally long run for them, either by time or by distance. Their preparation looks nothing like what you would do, unless you run 150 miles per week. And they don't worry about the bathroom — they're only out there two hours. Read more

Yeah, but he's 0-for-3 on this course. Read more

Well, it was one of the biggest sporting events in the country 100 years ago. And it produced some of the bigger names in US sports during the late '70s. So, yes, it was cool. Read more