As it turned out it did not figure in the medaling.
Does anyone know where Frank Shorter and Bill Rodgers are this weekend? Maybe some commentators who are more on the ball would have provided a better broadcast, of course (and to be fair) we watching do not know what the producers are yelling into those earpieces the announcers wear.
Nothing personal but I am tired of Kathryn Switzer, every damned year up here in Mass. we hear about Jock and the shoving episode. Sara Mae Berman and Bobbi Gibb preceded Switzer into the marathon in previous years and NEVER get any press. Berman ran a LOT of local races and was treated with respect by Jock Semple as he felt she 'paid her dues' by running for CSU and in lots of local races; 'respect' in this case meaning Jock did not chase her off the course.
...or maybe Switzer was more media-savvy and turned it into a career? (That Berman/Gibb data comes from Tom Dederians' book on the Boston Marathon, to give proper credit.)