@djgylend,
Your time line is a little off, but the gist of your argument is right on which also ties into my argument earlier in the Thread of Mahon being a hack coach. Hall was fried finishing London '08, not London '07, when his pace dropped to mid 5:##.
Hall's Half Marathon record and subsequent races were all too close together, with VERY little recovery between each & too little base building leading into the next one.
Jan 2007 Houston Half Marathon 59:43
Apr 2007 London Marathon 2:08:24 (3 months later)
Nov 2007 US Olympic Trials 2:09:02 (6 months later)
Apr 2008 London Marathon 2:06:17 (5 months later)
Aug 2008 Bejing Olympics 2:12:33 (4 months later)
4 marathons in 16 months is more than any runner should ever attempt. I'm sure he was riding the wave of celebrity and $$ and liked it, but his coach, Mahon, never should have allowed him to run London '08.
What was obvious was Hall's aerobic base was really high coming off the Half, and that carried through some strong marathons, but Mahon should have changed things up with the distances, forced some rest & down time, and coached his athlete with enough care and foresight to recognize the training/racing factors that promote burnout and fatigue. It takes a long time for the body to repair fried nerves and muscle tissue that has lead to dead legs. Mahon and Hall really messed this one up.