http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB1 ... 66656.html
"On a beautiful day on which four women broke the women's course record, no one in the men's field could come within 5.5 minutes of the course record. That is hard for the casual sports fan—or even pretty hard-core running fan, really—to grasp," said Robert Johnson, a LetsRun.com founder who understands but doesn't share the belief that something fishy occurred.
I think that quote especially misses the point... the elite runners aren't like "us" age groupers, out for our fastest possible time. They're out to beat the other guys. Sometimes the pace at the front isn't record-setting because it's just not! If one of the perceived main contenders had pushed the pace, then it would have been.
I think the explanation that they just underestimated Meb until it was too late to close the gap is the most obvious one... the conspiracy that a bunch of people intentionally lost a prestigious race with big prize $$, not so much!
Enjoy.
jono