Thoughts on Boston 2009 from the US Perspective

i finally finished watching the 2009 marathon race today. Wow, that was certainly one for the ages on the women's side. On the men's side, it was nearly a classic, but at the end of the day the smartest runner took it. Hall went out way too fast, if not for that he might have had a real chance. To go out that fast and still finish third says a lot about his strength and fitness. I have to say, what a knucklehead move. He tried to go Prefontaine, running a pace that would've put him at the half at 1:01:30... this in a race that is usually won in the 2:09 range. Still he showed a lot of guts in the second half, and he makes me think we'll see more of him as he figures the race out.

The Women's side was unbelievable. Goucher really threw everything she had at the two other leaders. Proof of that was the total collapse of Tune just 1 step after the finish. I don't see how she could have run any better tactically, but the other two were just strong enough and clearly they showed that will at the end.

Great race and exciting to see US runners perform so well.