It intrigues me that no one (I did a search of the site and found no mention for the past three days) has mentioned the importance of running the tangents in Central Park. That is VERY important.
In '81 when Salazar ran his 2:08:13 then lost his record because the course had been measured on the blue line, not the tangents, he protested that he had run the blue line so his record should stand. My feeling is he should have lost it just for stupidity. How could he not run the tangents? I ran it that day, had a great race for me (10th in the Masters at age 44) and I sure as hell ran the tangents like a ruler. I was bleary with exhaution but not stupid.
Running tangents is the first tactic you learn in high school cross country. Let's see if the stars remember tomorrow.