American Meb Keflezighi won today's Boston Marathon in a personal best 2:08:37. Second place was a late-charging Wilson Chebet in 2:08:48. He's the first American to win since 1983

It was a strange race -- so strange that some on Lets Run's famous message boards are calling the results a fix. Before almost the 13 mile mark, the 38 year-old known as Meb was on his own against a field of competitors billed as Boston's strongest ever. Among them, Meb was not considered a favorite. Nine men in the elite field, including fellow American Ryan Hall, had better lifetime PRs by minutes. Five had gone under 2:05 while Meb had never before broken 2:09.

Yet, on a purely results basis, Meb was as accomplished as most of the field. He's won a major marathon before -- NYC in 2009 -- and picked up a silver medal in the 2004 Olympic marathon. He also finished fourth in the 2012 London Olympics. For some reason, he's never run a standout time. Most likely, he's more than capable, but he's happened to be in more tactical races with less than ideal conditions.

Meb also choose races not known for fast times. Though Boston produced the fastest race in history in 2011, it's also led to a slew of up-and-down results over the years. In the last two, a runner hasn't broken 2:10 (a time that might place an athlete outside the top 10 in other major marathons like London and Berlin). New York City, one of Meb's favorite runs and where he won in 2009, is similarly slow compared to other 26.2 races. Finally, Olympic marathons (where Meb has produced two of his most memorable performances) are almost always slower, more tactical affairs -- mostly because they're run in the summer while all other major marathons are run in the spring and fall.

Though today's win fit a pattern only characteristic to Meb, it was still quite shocking. Once Meb cut the lead pack down to two and then one -- himself -- near the half-marathon mark, it seemed as if the pack was giving him the victory. That not one runner could handle Meb's seemingly reasonable early pace (which was the same 2:08 in which he finished) was baffling. The results are more baffling considering the women's race, in which several broke the course record. (American Shalana Flanagan finished sixth but PR-ed by minutes.) Why were the men so slow on a cool, windless day?

I can't remember the last time a major marathon was decided so early. Usually, an early gash on the lead pack like the one Meb created is most hurtful to the runner who makes it. When Chebet emerged late, it seemed certain he'd win the race. But Meb stayed strong, and Chebet never got within eight seconds.

I'll be looking forward to hearing Letsrun take on the race. That will likely come out later today, with a more in depth analysis tomorrow.