Kipchoge has won six of his seven career marathons (including four straight) and is coming off one of the greatest marathon performances in history (his 2:03:05 CR in London). He's certainly the favorite, but this will be his first marathon without rabbits. He'll be challenged by NYC champ Stanley Biwott, Dubai champ Tesfaye Abera, Boston champ Lemi Berhanu plus reigning Olympic champ Stephen Kiprotich and reigning world champ Ghirmay Ghebreslassie.

Who deserved the #1 US ranking took some thought as Ritz beat Meb in Boston and Luke Puskedra had the highest WMM finish of any American (5th) and fastest time of the year as well (2:10:24).