None Of This Farah Maneuvering Makes Sense

None of the above. It's probably more about staying focused on the goal, the WC's. If he's already stressed from the stomach virus, why risk extending the recovery with a grueling 10k? Race the 5k, see how it goes, and be back to regular training in a few days.

No, if you are still bothered by a stomach virus, you do not contest the 5000m, especially when the field is superior to that in the 10,000m. What we are hearing makes no sense.

you dont make any sense chethead.

Yeah you're being silly. Dropping to the 5k makes tons of sense. And disagree with the field being superior. The presence of Bekele alone is enough to make them on par.

fsdfsdfam wrote:

Yeah you're being silly. Dropping to the 5k makes tons of sense. And disagree with the field being superior. The presence of Bekele alone is enough to make them on par.

You are an idiot. Kenenisa Bekele could not win the 5000m at Pre. You obviously have never raced a 5000m at a high level. It is not easier than a 10,000m, and if you are truly weakened, you cannot run very well at either distance.

Dude's got a serious case of the Bekele Fever.*

*credit to crazy rasin

Trollist wrote:

Dude's got a serious case of the Bekele Fever.*

*credit to crazy rasin

Bad Wigins had an even better one:

"Farah is suffering from a virus.....its called chicken pox."

Oh boy chetty, you need to work on your reading comprehension. Nobody said anything about it being easier, it takes less time to recover from. Just as a 5k takes longer to recover from than a 1500 and a marathon longer than a 10k. Come on, man, use your head.

Doesn't make sense?? To who? To some guy named Chet sitting in Podunk Indiana? Seems to make sense to the athlete & coach involved. I would trust that they are making the smartest decision as they have somewhat of a vested interest in this "maneuvering"

Bro', he just doesn't want to race a hard 10,000m now against Bekele. Nothing wrong with that. He doesn't feel ready. It's a long season and there is only one 10,000m race that counts.

What scared Farah off was the hot pace requested by Bekele. Nike is probably bending over backwards right now to make sure the pacers in the 5k don't go anywhere near sub-13.

Farah's not in form to kick off of a hot pace right now. No problem, it's a long season. These other guys are in form because they have to actually work the circuit to make money. Also, many of the Kenyans and Ethiopians are trying to impress their NGBs to get selected for the WC 10k, another thing Farah doesn't have to do.

of course it don't make sense

he don want to run the 10k

stomach virus that'll do

categorically wrote:

What scared Farah off was the hot pace requested by Bekele. Nike is probably bending over backwards right now to make sure the pacers in the 5k don't go anywhere near sub-13.

Farah's not in form to kick off of a hot pace right now. No problem, it's a long season. These other guys are in form because they have to actually work the circuit to make money. Also, many of the Kenyans and Ethiopians are trying to impress their NGBs to get selected for the WC 10k, another thing Farah doesn't have to do.

Great post.

The question is does Salazar want Farah to have Bekele run away from at 8000 (or sooner) or does he want Farah to potentially lose in a kick in the 5 and make excuses after.

Apparently the later.

Fragile guys, this NOP.

Why didn't Farah just run half of the 10,000 before dropping out?

chet wrote:What we are hearing makes no sense.

When I try to explain calculus to my three-year-old, he also thinks it makes no sense. But that doesn't mean calculus is illogical.

chet wrote:

or he doesn't want to give Kenenisa some psychological edge in advance of Moscow?

I think this is it.

Some runners become very protective of their psyches and their records vs. individuals.

Bekele dropped out of the race in the 10,000 at the 2011 WC's. He didn't want to suffer the loss going through the finish line and even felt that it protected his unbeaten streak.

Gatlin and Powell were dodging each in 2006. They even both ran the 100 at Pre that year, but separate heats.

I think the pace that Kenenisa requested scared Farah a bit. But I also think we may see Tariku winning the race.

For whatever the true reason of Farah's change, it doesn't look good on the surface.

It's not like there are a bunch of high quality 10,000m races to choose from during he year.

One thing that we like about other sports is they don't get to pick who they compete against.

They get a schedule and have to compete against whoever they have lined up.

Farah is 2-0 against Bekele at 10000m. Bekele wants to change that and asks for a hot pace. Farah said nope, not at this meet - I dictate the terms.

At least that's one way to look at it.

Another way is that Farah has all but conceded victory to Bekele.

noce wrote:

Farah is 2-0 against Bekele at 10000m. Bekele wants to change that and asks for a hot pace. Farah said nope, not at this meet - I dictate the terms.

At least that's one way to look at it.

Another way is that Farah has all but conceded victory to Bekele.

More I think about it this seems more likely.

I remember when Mo ran the Euro 10,000 against Lamdassem - at one point he moved into about lane 3, put his hands up and said to Lamdassem "I know I can outkick you - do your best". It totally freaked Lamdassem out and he ended up losing the silver to Thompson (odd that - Thompson ran almost identically to Rupp with a silver in 10k and only making up the field in the 5k).

Apparently the 10,000m was not Farah certified

Pity Gebhriwet is not running