I don`t know why you mention El Guerroj as one who front ran his world records.
In both his 1500 and mile record he has 2 pacemakers. In the 1500 he was paced 1150 meters, and on the mile he took over just prior to the bell, last lap.
Missing those guys but having the reigning World 5000m champ and Olympic 1500m champ, two other 1500m World champs, a 12:48 guy, and plenty more. Appreciate that there had never been an indoor field before of such quality in the distances.
Yes all those all-star runners were there, but the race was sort of like an NBA all-star game where the athletes did not compete to the best of their abilities until the very end.
The most exciting races of the modern era are determined by the pace makers. They set the tone and expectations for the race. If done well, this creates high tension and entertainment. And we all know this race was missing the greatest pacer in history, Jakob "I'm the pacemaker" Ingebrigtsen