but.... wrote:
There were 44 men's trials qualifiers from Chicago in 2006.
Yes there were 44 under 2:22:00, with a difference. They were all packed between 2:19:00 and 2:22:00.
Chicago 2006 had only 15 runners under 2:19 (the current standard.). Eugene 1979 had at least 33. Boston 1983 had over 70. New York 1983 had 26. Even NYC 1982 had 22.
Still, Chicago 2006 was probably the deepest non-trials marathon of the last 20 years for Americans.