well, realm first and gnome/lock kinda come together. Alot of people booked 3-4 days holidays on Wotlk release to do just that. Get 80 asap.
the heroic kills are somewhat expected as well if he's in the top raiding guild on that server. (remember that 25 people get those ones). There's alot of people doing those kills now.

i'm more impressed by all the exalted factions and all the time sinks, such as the hundreds and hundreds of BG wins, the multitude of books read, recipes learned, dailies and quests done everywhere.