Des is, in a lot of ways, correct here. The sport of marathoning, as we understood it, really has changed to a very different thing. That the times from the '60's to the '90's were incrementally speeding up, from 2:08.33 to 2:06:55? A more natural progression as better athletes and money came into the sport. And even the advent of another 15 years only pulled us down to 2:05 with KK.
But the change in the super shoes and nutrition and the decline of track as a viable monetary success has led to waves and waves of fast younger athletes starting on the roads and marathons and just throwing body after body at the training. (I strongly suspect that there is a major new PED that we've not gotten word about, and we've seen the women respond to it more so than the men, hence the greater % drop in times. Hell, its kinda the only thing that make Assefa's Berlin run possible, but we don't have any data, just like Ma's army in '91)
Otherwise, its this: with enough numbers at training camps in kenya and ethiopia, you're bound to find the cream of the crop, the Faith kipyegons and kelvin kiptums and have them emerge. That and super responders.
It looks like a different sport now, period. I've been watching marathons since 1981, and when i go back and watch older races, it just looks and feels like a different animal. I don't think that Des is wrong.
