With 21 miles in the books, the three American runners who will compete in the marathon at the 2012 London Olympics appears set, as Ryan Hall, Meb Keflezighi and Abdi Abdirahman have opened up a 30-second lead on fourth-place Dathan Ritzenhein and a two-minute on the chase pack. The three have been in the lead from the start, and will run positive split after a blazing 1:03 first half. The pace has trailed off some, as five-minute mile splits have become the norm.
It appears that both Meb and Abdi will have a chance to set personal records if they push it, which is very strange for a U.S. Marathon Olympic Trials. Few were predicting that the Trials would even feature three sub-2:10 performances, let alone three 2:08s.
Mo Trafeh had been running with the lead pack until he dropped back and eventually out at Mile 15. He has still never completed a full marathon; he is the reigning U.S. Half-Marathon Champion.