Not at his best in the last 2-years, Mutai was already a long shot to make the Kenyan squad, but pulling out of Boston sealed the deal.

Caesar:  “The first thing to say about them is that no matter how quietly they speak or how often they refer to God and so forth, they’re all tough as old boots. They have to be. To me, their default position is to be humble and quiet, and for me the challenge, and joy, was getting them to discuss what was really going into the reality of their lives.”

Ed Caesar: "On the last day of my last trip to Kenya, Geoffrey Mutai, with whom I was pretty close, went for a run with me. We did about half an hour near his training base, and I was telling myself not to look at him while I was running, because I was going as fast as I could, obviously, and I knew he’d hardly be moving. Towards the end, when I was just about to call for an ambulance, he looked over at me and I saw one drop of sweat roll slowly down his forehead. That was my Olympic gold medal, right there.”

"The focus is on the world record and I want to do just that. I have not run under two hours and four minutes and that is my inspiration."

Conflicting with that quote, he also said, "I want the world record of course. It is what everyone is talking about. But the important thing first is to win the race and let the record fall in place by itself."

First place is $1421.79.

Writer, Ed Caesar, visits Kenya to work on his book, Two Hours. Of Mutai he says, "Running was not just something he did for a living; it was the way he breathed."

Kipsang ran 28:26.2 at altitude to beat Mutai's 29:06.1 and Kisorio's 29:06.2. World 5,000m silver medalist Mercy Cherono won her 1500 heat in 4:21.

“I have won in Boston, Berlin and New York, but the win I still want is this one. The fact that I have not done well here before is my main motivation now. It is what keeps me running and makes me want to come back...The London Marathon is more important to me now than the Olympics because it is more challenging,”

Kipsang's protege and neighbor, Kimetto, broke his WR but all is good. "We are friends all the time even in the race. It’s possible to be rivals and friends. We’ll shake hands, see each other on the line and then it’s, ‘Let’s go’."

AK is investigating the two agencies run by Italian Gabriele Rosa and Dutchman Gerard van de Veen, for possible connection with the rise in Kenyan doping cases. Rosa previously represented Rita Jeptoo, Matthew Kisorio and currently has Asbel Kiprop, Eunice Sum and Janeth Jepkosgei. Van der Veen represents Dennis Kimetto, Wilson Kipsang and Geoffrey Mutai. *Discuss
*Isaiah Kiplagat Says Van der Veen Has Current Doping Cases In His Group, But Couldn't Reveal The Names While Investigations Are Ongoing There were rumors of this last week.
*AK Will Take Over Duties Of Agents Leaving Athletes Like Asbel Kiprop Rightfully Concerned Kiprop: “We don’t what to do now since we don’t have a manager. They should punish those involved individually. We need our manager to stay in Europe during Diamond League races in Italy for example, now we don’t know what to do ... One thing is the managers will not be affected. Rosa will stay in Italy and Gerard in Netherlands. It is we who will suffer."

Her marathon PR is only 2:30, but she has a 66:19 in the half. She's also cousins with Geoffrey Mutai.

On a positive note, Geoffrey Mutai was added to the men's field and Dubai Marathon winner Aselefech Mergia  (2:19:31 pb) was added to the women's.

Salazar was the last to win 3 in a row in 82.

Kipsang says his favorite type of running is easy running because he "can really enjoy the running" and his favorite training partner is Geoffrey Mutai.

Mutai will be going for his 3rd victory in NYC, but will face stiff competition from the former WR holder.

He'll face 10K WR holder Leonard Komon and others.

The women are lead by defending champ Mamitu Daska, Buzunesh Deba, Linet Masai, Betsy Saina and Jen Rhines.

She set a CR of 31:22 and won by a minute in her first race since the London Olympics. Wilson Kiprop won the men's race in 28:01 beating David Kogei (28:07) and Geoffrey Mutai (28:09).

This will be Keitany's first race back from pregnancy as she gave birth to a daughter last year. Her last race was at the 2012 Olympics were she was 4th. Her she faces former Boston Marathon champ Caroline Kilel and Ethiopian national 10K champ Yebrqual Melese. In the marathon on Sunday 2:04:48 man Yemane Tsegay leads field over 2012 Boston Marathon champ Wesley Korir as well as Bazu Worku.  The women's field has two 2:23 runners in Ehitu Kiros and Agnes Kiprop.