I am guessing the fast time achieved in Chicago help the Kenyans catapult to other bigger things....fatter contract...bigger appearance fees at future races...Olympic selection process?
I am in favor of non-paced races. $145k is a lot of money to waste otherwise.I doubt Chicago will go back to the old method after they've realized how much money they'll have on hand to do other things. And as a previous poster said - the average marathon finisher won't know Kiplagat from Kemboi and the difference between 2:04 and 2:09 when they're running 4:00 hours.