Bekele is 41 and just ran a 2:04 master WR - It's BEKELEMANIA!!!

Where's banana bread?

Tom Brady retired at age 45... never doubt what the all-time greats think, say, and do

He may be able to run 30 sec faster with more even splits but anybody who thinks he can still run sub 2:02 is delusional.

And I say this as a Bekele fan.

I've heard he had a stroke shaking hands with the milkman.

What's YOUR marathon PR?

Please let him in the Olympics! One last Bekele v Kipchoge race for the ages. Kiptum will probably be like 2 min ahead, but who cares.

Best runner to ever exist hands down

Ritz can’t probably break 15 in a 5k

Throwing balls is a fkn joke compared with running at elite level. He was exerting way less than a fat old man playing golf. Running and cycling at elite is just a million times more difficult than most real sports. American football is not a real sport is almost like WWE entertainment.

that banana bread is not starting threads or commenting shows he has either passed away or gone anonymous.

Ritz has very often said glowing things about Bekele, and rightfully so. I hope this isn't some sort of underhanded way to criticize Ritz. Ritz had injury problems and yet still lasted as long as the typical professional distance runner, and longer than his contemporaties Ryan Hall and Alan Webb. Bekele is an exception to be able to continue to perform at this level at his age.

That's too bad. His posts were hilarious, although I'm not sure he intended them to be. Or maybe he did?

Bekele's performance is extremely impressive, but he has a long way to go to before he tops Kipchoge's 50+ record of 2:01:09.

Bekele has once again proven that he is the GOAT. People like to call Jakob the GOAT, but Bekele's international career has literally been as long as Jakob's life. Bekele destroyed the fukk out of the field in the World Junior XC race by 33 seconds when Jakob was probably only learning to crawl. Now he has run a time faster then any non African is capable of at 41. 2 master's WRs now. I'm sure he will get another. It has been 4 hard years since his WR in Berlin, but today he is still only 2:38 slower after going out at a pace that would of been considered suicidal and impossible 5 years ago without literally exploding. This would of been a WR 16 years ago, but the opening half of his race today was over a minute faster then the opening half of the WR back then. Also being only 20 seconds back at half way today is not that much. I can't wait to see Bekele run another master's WR next year

Do you honestly think when people are using the contraction "would've" that they're saying "would of?"

I think he’s gotta love it, and is probably living vicariously through him. His body broke down, but seeing an old guy taking advantage of the supershoes and taking it to the young guys...I’m sure he’s enjoying a win for the old guys.

I'm literally getting goosebumps reading this. I need to take a cold shower, literally now

I wonder what went through Kibiwott’s mind when Kenny surged past.

Was it: ‘that never happens to me over the half’ Or

’never mind. After all, he is the GOAT of distance running.’

I think I recall Ritz calling Bekele the best ever in an interview after breaking the 5000 AR. The interview is on Flotrack if you can access it. Of course that was 2009 and now he has had many years to reflect on their respective careers. It would be interesting to hear his perspective.