It almost seems like Molly was completely under the radar coming into this since she's so new to the event. I have been following her build up on strava and she was routinely cranking out 130 mile weeks with quality workouts. She definitely went all in on this race and it has clearly paid off. I figured she'd fare pretty well but thought 6th-10th was more realistic.
I am really intrigued to know her top end potential as we really have no clue what it is. She ran 2:27 on a brutally hilly course in Atlanta, 2:25 on that looped course in London off an abbreviated buildup and a bit of GI distress during the race (from audio captured on camera), and now 2:27 in brutally hot conditions in Tokyo. I'm excited by the prospect of seeing her take a crack at a Chicago or London type marathon off of a proper build up. I don't think 2:22 is inconceivable based on her body of work to date.