Wanjiru to run BERLIN!! How will Geb get out of this one?

I'm pretty sure Geb said last year that he would be running Worlds this year. That would probably preclude lining up at Berlin a month or so later.

Can't we get these guys to face each other? Geb can't have too many more races in him.

Geb is almost 36 while Wanjiru is 22.

Wanjiru's real competition is on the track and it goes by the name of Kenenisa Bekele.

So who's dodging their competition more?

Geb, who already won everything to be won, or Wanjiru who is too afraid to race track?

..fdsfae wrote:

Wanjiru who is too afraid to race track?

change that to

"Wanjiru who realizes where the real money is - the marathon and road racing."

bpence wrote:

I'm pretty sure Geb said last year that he would be running Worlds this year. That would probably preclude lining up at Berlin a month or so later.

This year, Geb said he'll run in Berlin (but not the WC). I don't have the source at hand right now but I definitively read it somewhere some weeks ago.

You definitively read it, or you definitely read it?

Geb will not line up at the start with Wanjiru. It will either be something regarding his asthma that he has to pull out or a phantom injury he sustains during his 1 hour run record attempt next month. I just don't see him toeing the line against Wanjiru. The last thing he would want is to DNF and lose his WR at the same time.

I found the article. It's from january this year though, so I don't know if the information is still up to date.

http://www.welt.de/sport/article3051816/Gebrselassie-laeuft-lieber-Berlin-Marathon-als-WM.html

O.k. ;-) the article is in German. So I'll translate and summarize the important passages:

According to radio interviews in the U.S. and U.K., Geb said: "I don't think I'll run at the WC in Berlin."

And: "I ran so many times at WCs already. But I'll return to Berlin anyway: to the [Berlin] marathon."

Sammy Wanjiru told African press: "I want to break the WR there in September 2009."

And Geb, already turning 36 this year, said: "For me, it's the time that matters. Perhaps, I can't break 2:03. But I know that I can improve the WR to 2:03:20 - 2:03:30".

The organizers of the Berlin marathon were surprised by those statements. Race director Mark Milde said: "I didn't even make an offer yet. So I can't say much about that. Those are only the athletes' deliberations."

..fdsfae wrote:

Geb is almost 36 while Wanjiru is 22.

Wanjiru's real competition is on the track and it goes by the name of Kenenisa Bekele.

So who's dodging their competition more?

Geb, who already won everything to be won, or Wanjiru who is too afraid to race track?

Just because Wanjiru wins every race he runs doesn't mean he's hiding out on the roads. It's just that he's that good. He took on the other two Olympic medalits this last weekend and soundly beat them again. Why would he go to the track? He's the best marathoner we've ever seen and he's like 22.

-The Killer

Wanjiru ran 26:41:75 at age 18. I wonder what he could have done by now if he focussed on track a few years.

When it comes to WC just as to Olympics, it's the country that comes first. That having said, the Ethiopian athletic association (not sure by which name it goes) will probably put some pressure on him just like they did with the Olympics (you dont wanna run Marathon then you need to help on track). Geb is getting old and this could be his first and last Marathon championship race. He better make good use of it.

..fdsfae wrote:

Geb is almost 36 while Wanjiru is 22.

Wanjiru's real competition is on the track and it goes by the name of Kenenisa Bekele.

So who's dodging their competition more?

Geb, who already won everything to be won, or Wanjiru who is too afraid to race track?

Bekele's real competition is on the roads, and it goes by the name of Sammy Wanjiru.

So who's dodging their competition more?

Can't we get these guys to face each other? Geb can't have too many more races in him.

Yeah! We should have some sort of championship race where all the best runners in the world come together and compete head to head. Whoever wins that can say that they're the best in the world! Let's call it the World Championships!

2:03:59 > 2:05:09

I don't care if conditions were perfect, the pacers were awesome, it was a "time trial", blah, blah, blah - Geb is the World's Fastest marathoner. Wanjiru is maybe the World's Best at winning the big ones.

There's the time to beat - someone go get it - until they do Wanjiru's "World's Best" title will always carry an asterik.

itsme wrote:

Wanjiru ran 26:41:75 at age 18. I wonder what he could have done by now if he focussed on track a few years.

I´m glad he didn´t. The problem in the marathon has been that world class marathoners have either been those who are not competitive on the track or track stars on their way down. At last we see a runner with real track speed running the marathon in his prime years.

The age of african runners is disputable.

nope. wrote:

I´m glad he didn´t. The problem in the marathon has been that world class marathoners have either been those who are not competitive on the track or track stars on their way down. At last we see a runner with real track speed running the marathon in his prime years.

I agree. I'm glad, too. I just wanted to point out that Wanjiru could have given Bekele a tough time on track if he really tried. We'll never know.

The time will come when Wanjiru will set a new marathon WR. (Personally I think winning major races is more important than producing WRs. But Wanjiru could do both at a time.)

I have great respect for Gebrselassie's achievements. It's just that I like Wanjiru's aggressive racing style better.

At last we see a runner with real track speed running the marathon in his prime years.

I would change this to read "prime marathon years"- and based on the example of Carlos Lopes 25 years ago, Geb is still there in that window now (he does still own the record after all). And I still do not think sub 2:03 is possible for anyone right now- as seen Sunday, 1:02/1:01 is still a tall order, and 1:01:30/1:01:30 won't work either. So we're close to what is possible now- based on the apparently very slim margin for error around 1:02:00 for the first half.

1:01:30 splits may very well be possible, so long as they take the first 5k out in 14:08! Keep in mind Wanjiru still threw down a 4:19 at 19 or 20 miles into it to try to break the pack. If he would've been more conserative with say a 4:40, who knows maybe he would've ran a minute faster. It had to have taken a lot out of him.