Hall ran sub-2:05, wind-aided or not. He was beaten by almost two minutes. BUT he beat some East African badasses, to, and by more than a minute. Why didn't the wind help them?
If not the AR, this remains the all-time American best. It beats Robert K. Cheriyot's stunning then-record of 2:07:14 by two minutes and 17 seconds. It beats last year's even more stunning sub-2:06 by almost a minute.
There is simply no way not to applaud Hall--self-coached, often mocked--for his American-best performance today. Yes, he got beat, by an even more remarkable performance on a difficult course. But he has done pretty much he said he was going to do. He's the best we have right now. He delivered a career performance in a big, unrabbited race.
There is simply no way that he can't NOW be considered one of the top three, perhaps top two, American marathoners of all time. I don't care who you boot out of the top two--Shorter or Rodgers--but I'm afraid that one of them needs to go. Probably Boston Billy.
That is a remarkable achievement.