Dubai top 10 men fastest top 10 finishers ever?

No competition. The previous fastest 10th place finish was Daniel Kiprugut, Paris 2009 with a 2:08:38.

The previous fastest *6th* place finish was Peter Kirui Cheruiyot in Amsterdam last year with a 2:06:31 and #10 in this race ran faster than that.

I can't imagine being the guy who runs 2:06 something and finishes "only" 10th.....like wow, are freaking kidding me?!! Wasn't that the winning time of the Olympic Marathon in Beijing?

Couple of those guys had 5+ minute PRs. The winner was a 62 min 1/2 guy. The same pace in London and Berlin had well known and established marathon runners dropping like flies. This does not look good. East Africa=East Germany?

The very first thing I thought of when I saw those results was cheating. Plain an simple its just too good to be true. Gather a bunch of guys from countries that don't enforce testing, run them in a marathon that is up-and-coming where big money is on the line, and you get the green light for malicious behavior.

I am a cynic, and I don't believe this many runners can all get this good at the same time. Is the argument training is better now than it was 10-20 years ago? That much better? Is the argument more better runners are being discovered? Is the argument the 5k/10k guys are all moving up the marathon for more money and bringing their speed with them? Are they all catching on to the supposed "Alberto" method of take pharmaceuticals right up to the legal limit, combine it with freak genetics, and let her rip?

Precious Roy wrote:

The winner was a 62 min 1/2 guy.

Not true. It says in the LRC article that he ran 59 and change.

Now what he ran is probably more in line with sub59 to 59 sharp but dropping half a minute in the HM from one season to another is not that unrealistic.

What is unrealistic is dropping a 2:04 debut time.

A short course ... perhaps, but they would have had to do something like have the km markers all be 10 or 20m short. The splits were pretty darn consistent.

Did they all cooperate, share the pacing, agree to even pace and no kicks until the finish? That could probably account for it, along with ideal conditions. The tarmac in Dubai is incredibly smooth and the course is super fast with few turns. I mean, it's possible that this is totally legit but I admit I had the same reaction - it looks fishy. Especially since none of those guys have big wins to their name.

The 3rd woman that ran 2:19 lost to Amy Hasting in LA last March.

Something is not right here. I just can't believe that many runners having a career day at the same time.

This is a joke a guy running 2:06 (sub 4:50 pace) and coming in tenth.

C'mon Man.

The course was short.

broken arrow wrote:

Something is not right here. I just can't believe that many runners having a career day at the same time.

This is a joke a guy running 2:06 (sub 4:50 pace) and coming in tenth.

C'mon Man.

For Top 10, Dubai 2012 is now tops. But if you go deeper in the field, it's hard to beat London 1991. Imagine running 2:19:56 and only finishing 105th.....

Look at the women's race:

1. 2:19:31 Aselefech Mergia ETH

2. 2:19:34 Lucy Wangui Kabuu KEN

3. 2:19:52 Mare Dibaba ETH

4. 2:20:30 Bezunesh Bekele ETH

5. 2:20:33 Aberu Kebede ETH

6. 2:21:30 Lydia Cheromei KEN

7. 2:22:39 Sharon Jemutai Cherop KEN

8. 2:23:13 Atsede Baysa ETH

Then take a look at their iaaf bio's...

Aselefech Mergia

Marathon

2012 2:19:31 Dubai 27/01/2012

2011 2:22:45 Dubai 21/01/2011

2010 2:22:38 London 25/04/2010

2009 2:25:02 Paris 05/04/2009

Lucy Wangui Kabuu

Marathon

2012 2:19:34 Dubai 27/01/2012

This was her debut, but she did run a 1:07:04 Half Marathon in 2011.

Mare Dibaba

Marathon

2012 2:19:52 Dubai 27/01/2012

2011 2:23:25 Toronto 16/10/2011

2010 2:25:27 Frankfurt 31/10/2010

Bezunesh Bekele

Marathon

2012 2:20:30 Dubai 27/01/2012

2011 2:23:42 London 17/04/2011

2010 2:23:17 London 25/04/2010

2009 2:24:02 Dubai 16/01/2009

2008 2:23:09 Dubai 18/01/2008

Aberu Kebede

Marathon

2012 2:20:33 Dubai 27/01/2012

2011 2:24:34 London 17/04/2011

2010 2:23:58 Berlin 26/09/2010

Lydia Cheromei

Marathon

2012 2:21:30 Dubai 27/01/2012

2011 2:22:34 Praha 08/05/2011

2009 2:28:09 Rotterdam 05/04/2009

2008 2:25:57 Amsterdam 19/10/2008

Sharon Cherop

Marathon

2012 2:22:39 Dubai 27/01/2012

2011 2:29:14 Daegu 27/08/2011

2010 2:22:43 Toronto 26/09/2010

2009 2:33:53 Nairobi 25/10/2009

2008 2:39:52 Nashville, TN 26/04/2008

2007 2:38:45 St. Paul, MN 07/10/2007

Atsede Baysa

2012 2:23:13 Dubai 27/01/2012

2011 2:23:50 London 17/04/2011

2010 2:22:04 Paris 11/04/2010

2009 2:24:42 Paris 05/04/2009

2008 2:33:07 Roma 16/03/2008

2007 2:29:08 Istanbul 28/10/2007

2006 2:37:48 Tokyo 19/11/2006

So the top 5 ran a huge PB (or sub 2:20 debut) and even the next 3 ran a PB after years of marathon running on some fast courses.

You have to go to 9th place Mamitu Daska to find someone that had run faster before Dubai 2012.

So did a whole bunch of men and women from different training groups decide to dope on that same day? I'm thinking the course might have had something to do with it... short perhaps, or maybe something else changed from previous Dubai marathons?

Rumor buzzing around is that the course was only 26.18 miles long.

Correction - Atsede Baysa had run faster, so top 7 ran a PB, not top 8.

Probably the best prize money of any marathon ever.

At the end of the century the sub 2:07 list numbered 10

Is Larry Barthlow still the elite coordinator? If so, that would be my. First suspicion that something is wrong.

I give the benefit of the doubt but I have to agree with you. I mean, OK, maybe people have finally figured out the marathon and these guys attack it with no fear or maybe ...

IMO, we are finally seeing just how weak the marathon was in the past. Rather than old guys who couldn't hack it on the track anymore running WRs and top times we get guys in their low 20s who never really bothered with the track and took their talents straight to the road because that is where the money is. There is also the new way people run these things, going after it and not being afraid. The only person who really ever did that in the past was Steve freaking Jones. He went out in 61:42 and still ran a 2:07. You're telling me you don't think guys who are capable of running over a minute faster than him over 10000m can't do 2:04s and 2:03s? Sammy Wanjiru completely changed the game and it has been incredibly exciting to watch. Quit being cynics, you're missing some amazing running.