I tuned in awhile back and thought I was watching the masters race, built dude with gray hair who looks over 50. But no, he is leading the pro mens race by over 2 minutes with a few miles to go, never heard of him either. And apparently he was not on anyones card for the podium today either…
Womens race is still a huge pack and a pick’em.
Lemma a 2;06.17 was winning time, dude went for it and held on for that $150k payday. 33 years old with a family so has to be a very big day for him in what seemed to be the twilight of his career. He has some credentials overall, but two DNF’s at Boston and a 30th place last year, so certainly not on any bingo cards here today…Announcers said he is more known to be a flat runner, and does have a PB in the high 2;01’s, so certainly a class runner…
Women still packed up but thinning out, last miles are going to be a real battle. Must be hard to be in such a big group so close to the finish, and think that $150 is so close, but some there will get nearly nothing…
Not your typical super skinny guy for sure
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Me! This womens race is great!
No kidding, from 20 to 11 to 5 to 2!!! Turning into the Kenyan championships here…
Glued to the screen!
Amazing!
4:40 for the last mile they ran.
Hammer and tongs!
Tyler Butterfield 2:26:56 … 48th overall now…
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I wouldn’t say nobody picked Lemma for the podium. He didn’t exactly come out of nowhere – he had the fastest PB out of anybody on the start list by more than a minute, a 2:01:48 in Valencia this past fall. I would say a lot of people liked Chebet to win since he had gone back to back & was looking for the 3-peat. Well fought 3rd for him today & maybe Athletics Kenya could at least consider him for their Olympic team.
Women’s race was great. Obiri threw down in the last few miles.
There’s been some complaining on here recently about T100 & IM commentating but the ESPN coverage was brutal today. They find any excuse not to cover the leaders & broadcast primarily for non-running fans. At least we get to see pros for most of the race & hear the commentators talking about things relevant to the race instead of joking about how much they don’t like running. No other pro sport covers events the way major marathons do. It’s frustrating. Would take a triathlon stream any day of the week.
I hadn’t heard of Lemma until now, and when I saw the CNN report on him, my jaw dropped when it said he just ran 2:01 “last month” on CNN’s site. I was about to comment that this guy must clearly be on something to recover and win another race so quickly. Then I saw that by “last month” what CNN really meant was “December”.
It’s funny you mention commentators. I thought the commentating at the US Olympic marathon trials were on point and amazing. Didn’t get to listen to Boston though, and I think people are way to harsh on Belinda, and triathlon commentators in general. Those voices are trying to carry the entire race and of course they will mess up, or spit out word salads as they try to formulate their thoughts while speaking them for 4-8 hours.
Kara Goucher though is another level in terms of preparation and seemingly individual knowledge of the athletes she talks about.
Lemma’s credentials (recent 2:01 marathon PR) and past blow-ups were discussed multiple times beginning soon after his early breakaway from the pack. He got it right this time!
I agree that the commentary from John Anderson was embarrassing at several points and he should be replaced next year but I thought Tollefsen, McGrory, Storm and the two reporters following the leaders did a good job. I can’t complain too much because I watched it for free on the Boston TV affiliate website.
He does look a lot older than 33.
He does look a lot older than 33.//
No kidding, and the close ups at the finish you could see the gray in his hair, I would say looks good for a 50 year old!!
And his body is just not in line with all the other pros he races, he really looks more like a miler or 800m runner. But perhaps that is just because he is around all those stick men, and it is an optical illusion. But he actually has legs and some definition to them, like a cyclist would…
And I dont disrespect the dude, I just dont follow running that closely anymore, and all his DNF’s and lowly places just didnt have him on my radar. I suppose a 2;01+ should have put him there, but I dont think I was alone in thinking he was not a guy you would see in the top 10 today, even among the talking head experts. Good for him to break through, I imagine this is like hitting the lottery for him and his family…
I watched in person from Wellesley. I had a sign that said “kiss me†and I got and gave a lot of kisses 
Didn’t get to listen to Boston though, …
ESPN brought Hannah Storm, John Anderson, Carrie Tollefson and Paralympian Amanda McGrory to go along with local talent
Also, Gronk was the Grand Marshal so he did a bit