With every major marathon, especially those in the United States, there is plenty to take away and think about as a fan of the sport. Here are a few quick thoughts from this morning's Boston Marathon:

Americans are Improving: Yes, it was slightly disappointing as a fan that neither Shalane Flanagan or Kara Goucher could pull off the victory in the women’s race and all three of our 2012 male marathon Olympians withdrew for various reasons, but Flanagan’s fourth place effort, Goucher’s sixth place effort and Jason Hartmann’s fourth place efforts were incredibly inspirational and shows that it’s only a matter of time before an American runs the perfect race and wins a major marathon.

Flanagan and Goucher have put themselves in good position to continue to challenge for a marathon major victory, while successes like Hartmann’s (his second consecutive fourth place finish at Boston) shows that even with little support (he’s not sponsored), our men can be competitive on the world stage.

Depth is the key Americans challenging for marathon major victories and numerous top ten performances. With an increase in talent and results at the high school and collegiate levels, it’s only a matter of time before the United States has a collection of individuals, not just one or two, fighting it out for victories in Boston and New York.

More Investment is Needed: Who are Jason Hartmann, Daniel Tapia and Craig Leon? Well, each is a top ten finisher at this year’s Boston Marathon. Hartmann was fourth, Tapia ninth and Leon tenth. Tapia and Leon both broke 2:15, while Hartmann finished fourth for the second consecutive year. What do these three guys have in common.

They are relatively unknown and receive relatively little financial support. Hartmann, as it’s been well documented, has run without a sponsor. He’s finished fourth twice now in what could be considered the most prestigious race in the world and he’s without a sponsor. Hopefully that changes now, but it still speaks to the issue. 

I don’t blame the shoe companies for only investing so much toward athlete development. Our sport receives little media exposure and is relatively absent on sports fans’ radars until an Olympic year. However, if our sport is ever going to become more mainstream, developing athletes like Hartmann, Tapia and Leon is key, which means more investment needs to be made by sponsors, agents, USATF and events.

Branding Athletes: Flanagan and Goucher were designated special uniforms by Nike. They looked alike, but they were also custom made for the two athletes. They were photographed together in their outfits prior to the race and there was discussion around the uniforms and if/when they could be purchased.

For the rest of the Boston Marathon field, the uniforms were boring. You see it on the track, too. The hoards of Nike, adidas, Brooks and New Balance athletes all have the same uniforms. This is horrible marketing. Why invest in sponsoring an athlete if you aren’t going to promote them. While I don’t blame the shoe companies for not producing named shoes after track and field and road race stars, I do blame them for doing zero marketing of their athletes.

There is a lot to be had by distinguishing athletes and elevating their brand. Many fans of the sport would gladly invest $20-30 in an Evan Jager headband, Shalane Flanagan compression socks or Leo Manzano branded silver t-shirt. Track and field needs to do a better job at marketing itself and perhaps the easiest way to do this is to create branded merchandise.