Ryan Hall in London

It was a remarkable time. Ryan's future is limited by only two things: his ability to stay healthy and his ability to learn from each race. He has the drive to be the best American marathoner ever and perhaps even hold a world record in the event. However, shaving another two minutes off of 2:06 and change is an incredible amount of time. Only time will tell if he has the world record talent to match his incredible grit and determination.

As for Beijing, that olympic marathon perhaps more than most is a total coin toss as Sasha stated. The pollution, the heat and the difficulty of the course will mean any of probably 30 guys have a decent shot at winning the whole thing, especially since Haile has pulled out. The World Championships in August may have been an unfortunate preview of what we could see in Beijng. So unless the conditions are somehow near perfect, I won't put much stock in the order of finish.

It's too bad that this olympic marathon won't be in a more hospitable place because I would love to see how Ryan could do on a flat course, in good weather on against the top 20-30 marathoners in the world.