I just read that Mutai's "world record" of 2:03 won't count because Boston is a net downhill course. I find this ridiculous. First, every marathon is different. The Rotterdam marathon, where the "real" record was set, is flat as a pancake, and there were pacesetters for much of the race! But this is okay?
Boston has no pacesetters, it's a real race. Yes, there are downhills, but most of that is in the first 2-3 miles. Maybe people from the sanctioning bodies of running need to run the 3-4 miles that make up Heartbreak Hill, especially after running 15 miles at a 4:40 pace. I bet the record will count then. Maybe they need to race someone over 26 miles and have it come down to a sprint finish in the last 600 yards, with the racers actually picking up the pace from a 4:40 mile to see who has the last ounce of energy left?
The only way you can really have a world record in a marathon is to run the race, all 26.2 miles, on a track, or use just one course somewhere in the world, that everyone who wants to go for the record has to run. Of course pacesetters can't be allowed either. I'm being sarcastic.
Listen, Mutai ran 26.2 certified miles, up and down hills, on flat, in a competitive race with no pacesetters and crushed the record, that's it, end of story.
Running with a slight tailwind is kind of like running on a treadmill there is no cooling breeze, however, much preferred to a headwind. The weather was a definate factor in the fast times.
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