A hyped group of marathoners ran this morning's London Marathon. The most hyped one didn't run as well as he'd hoped, but the best one won.

World record-holder Wilson Kipsang prevailed and set a new course record in 2:04:29. Second place was Stanley Biwott, 2:04:55. Last year's winner Tsegaye Kebede (2:06:30) was a distant third. Double Olympic gold medalist Mo Farah, making his marathon debut, finished eighth in 2:08:21. The top 18 here.

Based on weather conditions, the quality of the field, an ambitious group of rabbits, and the blazing debut (2:05) of Kenenisa Bekele at last Sunday's Paris Marathon, faster times were expected. The hold-up, as letsrun pointed out, was likely a super fast first 5k paced by Haile Gebrselassie. His job was to lead the group towards 2:03:30 pace, but his first 5,000 meters (14:21) was in the absurd 2:01 range. After those first three miles, it took even Kipsang a chunk of miles to regain goal pace. By then, any chance of breaking 2:04 was over.

Who's the best marathoner in the world? According to the BBC, it's Kipsang. According to letsrun, the title is dependent on Boston next weekend. If equally acclaimed 26.2-ers Lelisa Desisa and Dennis Kimetto win, they'll also be deserving of GATM (greatest at the moment).

Interesting but not necessarily surprising that Farah would fare worse in his debut than Bekele. For the last few years, Farah had taken the Ethiopian's place as the sport's best 5k/10k track runner. Yet, Bekele holds two nearly unbeatable records -- 12:37 for 5k and 26:17 5k -0, is the same age as Farah, and is known more for his inhuman pacing than last second kicks. His skills would seem to translate better to the marathon distance.

Still, one should never underestimate Farah. It took him half his career to become the runner he is today. Perhaps the marathon distance will also take some time. He's at least willing to give it that shot.

"100% (I'll do another one). I'm not going to finish it. I'm not going to finish it (the marathon) like this," said Farah.