Different Outfits!

I took this picture last year at the ING New York City Marathon. While Ramalaa's (the guy in 2nd) shorts are obscured, they were the sam as Tergat's (in first) and also the same as Meb's (who was in third, but no longer in contact when this photo was taken). (A better shot illustrating this can be found here.)

The World Marathon Majors held a press conference and announced that at London this year, the leaders would be wearing different outfits. The folks at Let's Run have published the outfits here (note: PDF format). It should mean that, except in the unlikely event of a surprise winner, any viewer with an outfit chart can pick out who is who. Like the way jockeys at the horse track wear different colored silks, this will make it easy to tell the competitors apart.

I hope this starts a trend, it will make telling the athletes apart much easier for the spectators, especially those less familiar with the appearance of the athletes.