Full disclosure: Most of these thoughts are inspired by Bill Simmons PED article (found here
http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/8904906/daring-ask-ped-question
).
I started to type out a long winded argument mirroring what Simmons said as to why there had to have been rampant doping in Track&Field during the 90's/early 2000s. But I'd rather watch the CAP LOCK responses roll in explaining why you think someone did cheat, didn't cheat, and how far under 2 hours you'd run if you took a needle to cheek once a week.
Here is what I think: Lagat is proving in his old age that he is an incredible talent. El G's dominance over his peers proves he is an incredible talent. The U.S is at the forefront of the pharmaceutical industry, if any group of distance runners had the likelihood and ability to dope it would be U.S runners....but we were awful up until Webb started a distance renaissance (many people fail to recognize this but it's a completely separate topic). Also, and by far the most difficult argument for me to dissuade, it is very difficult for me to imagine a rampant doping system in Kenya and other developing nations. I've seen pictures and videos of training in the Rift Valley. It's incredibly difficult for me to conceptualize EPO and other PEDs being administered in this environment (especially after reading the lengths to which Armstrong and Co. went).
Yet, they all had to have cheated right? How long has it been since someone was within a couple seconds of 3:26? 12:50 in 2013 is what 12:40 was in 2000. Daniel Komen's times were almost as fast as how long it took for him to dissapear from the sport. Hindsight is 20/20, but I've always know Lance cheated. From an empirical level, since his first TDF win he HAD to have cheated. I feel the same way about most of the performances from this era in track.
back of the envelope thoughts - bash away.