Kenenisa Bekele will NEVER win a major marathon

No, we didn't here it here first, this has been said many times before. I will believe it when I see it though.

I think it is less to do with his body shape and more to do with the fact that many of the top marathoners today could probably approach his track PRs if they focused on track and not the marathon. Could Bekele still run in the 26:20s? Possibly, but not for much longer. Add in the factor that he is not as hungry as an upcoming unknown Kenyan and it becomes less likely.

asdjklasjd wrote:

I think it is less to do with his body shape and more to do with the fact that many of the top marathoners today could probably approach his track PRs if they focused on track and not the marathon. Could Bekele still run in the 26:20s? Possibly, but not for much longer. Add in the factor that he is not as hungry as an upcoming unknown Kenyan and it becomes less likely.

It seems unlikely that many could approach his track PRs unless you have a loose interpretation of approach. If he goes 'long' he will drop a bit of weight and muscle mass, but neither is way overboard for doing a marathon. Did Geb change at all between 1996 and 2007/2010?

Bekele and all his muscle still weigh less than Ryan Hall so I'm sure that won't be much of an issue.

Bekele I bet still has a 26:17 in him. That record is soft for him. Did you see his last lap of that record?

As I recall, Wanjiri had pretty large thigh mass and did good at the marathon.

NO, Sammy had thin thighs in his case necessary because he had short legs and when they would be massive he couldn´r run that fast

Bekele is tiny - 5'4" - and only weighs 120. He'd do very well in marathons. His build isn't much different from Geb's, and Geb did pretty well for himself in the marathon.

http://www.iaaf.org/mm/photo/competitions/other/40154_w400xh600.jpg

Scientifical wrote:

Bekele I bet still has a 26:17 in him. That record is soft for him. Did you see his last lap of that record?

Yes, I saw that last lap. That was in 2005, I don't think that has much bearing on what he can run now.

Mr. Obvious wrote:

Scientifical wrote:

Bekele I bet still has a 26:17 in him. That record is soft for him. Did you see his last lap of that record?

Yes, I saw that last lap. That was in 2005, I don't think that has much bearing on what he can run now.

zadbuppy wrote:

Mr. Obvious wrote:

Yes, I saw that last lap. That was in 2005, I don't think that has much bearing on what he can run now.

What does have a bearing on what he can run now?

Bears

Roar!

Paris IS a major marathon.

MGK - 1 fan wrote:

Paris IS a major marathon.

A major marathon where they don't even bother to clear the streets?

He will never win London. Apparently his calves are too big, or something?

darkstar wrote:

I was watching some videos of "The Master" when I realized that he just doesn't have the body type to be able to hang with the up-and-coming top Kenyans over 26 miles.

He has a perfect 5k runners' body, but his extra calf and thigh mass will come to haunt him when he eventually does move up to the roads.

You heard it here first.

Classic foot-in-mouth thread.

My 2 cents wrote:

darkstar wrote:

I was watching some videos of "The Master" when I realized that he just doesn't have the body type to be able to hang with the up-and-coming top Kenyans over 26 miles.

He has a perfect 5k runners' body, but his extra calf and thigh mass will come to haunt him when he eventually does move up to the roads.

You heard it here first.

Classic foot-in-mouth thread.

Good spotting.

darkstar wrote:

I was watching some videos of "The Master" when I realized that he just doesn't have the body type to be able to hang with the up-and-coming top Kenyans over 26 miles.

He has a perfect 5k runners' body, but his extra calf and thigh mass will come to haunt him when he eventually does move up to the roads.

You heard it here first.

Swing and a miss. 😂

Critic of Race Organization wrote:

MGK - 1 fan wrote:

Paris IS a major marathon.

A major marathon where they don't even bother to clear the streets?

Still accurate to this date. Paris = clown show.

Now, the OP on the other hand... swing and a miss.

1) Kenenisa has already won a major marathon. It was in Paris. It was not a "clown show" by any standard, although the field was not loaded like various other yearly marathon majors are.

2) I don't believe Kenenisa's calves or overall all body size & frame place limits on his performance at any distance. I think he is an extremely efficient runner and this likely carriers over to any distance.

3) It's foolish to assume Kenenisa is "not hungry" about winning and setting records. The man has been so hungry for so long. I'm sure he was especially hungry after not running for 11 months due to injury, because he came back and almost broke the world record in his 3rd marathon after doing so. His ambition and enjoyment of competition is evident in his smile and his body language at the finish line when he wins. He always drives 100% through the finish line as hard as he can, and is extremely tough at the end of every race. I'd say Kenenisa might be the hungriest and most ambitious runner alive.