POLL yes or no, will Mo debut faster than Bekele?

'I think Mo will come in around 2:08-2:10 for 4th or 5th.'

He'll need faster than that for 4th 5th

Slower than KB

Calgary wrote:

The Brits might be out to play games on all of us! Remember Mo has a twin brother with striking resemblance. Knowing how the marathon course is full of corners and sharp turns, is it possible they plan on having the twin run a portion of the distance while Mo is given a lift only to show up at 38km for a 4km kick to win the race easy? I can smell a fish on these Brits!

They don't look anything like each other

are you people out of your minds!

10 years ago if someone debuted at 2:05 you would be freaking out. now Bekele is the 8th?? fastest debuter, and the fastest over 30. so in order for mo to debut faster than Bekele is if he becomes the fastest debuter over 30. its just not gunna happen. at best he runs 2:06:30.

then again, its mo... this suggests a 2:15 marathon

BUT he had a 52 sec last 400m.

Mo debuts at 2:04:35

A good run, well paced. Falls off lead pack and picks off stragglers for top 5 finish.

Basically, Mo can run really well in London if he's careful about following a suicide pace.

A big if.

With a much faster course and an entourage of pacers, it is not inconceivable that Mo would run faster.

Bekele can and will beat Mo in head to head though.

Yes, Mo's debut will be faster, but he will not win, and when we take into about course and weather differences, it will be arguable whether Mo's debut is better...or most will think they are generally equal.

London killed Zersenay Tadese twice, and Tadese is indisputably the best half marathoner of all time, and his HM WR is probably slightly superior to Kipsang's marathon WR.

London could eat Mo.

I'll guess 2:06:55.

InWyo wrote:

Yes, Mo's debut will be faster, but he will not win, and when we take into about course and weather differences, it will be arguable whether Mo's debut is better...or most will think they are generally equal.

The weather will be comparable.

The Emperor holds on to WR pace to retake his crown, Geb for the win, you heard it here first.

This is silly wrote:

Right. This race was set up for a Bekele time trial. Dont get me wrong, it is a great result. But London is a race. If you put those same guys in Paris, it could have been a very different outcome for Bekele. He may have had to match moves and been put out of his comfort zone.

I think Mo will come in around 2:08-2:10 for 4th or 5th.

I think there are two ways to think about it.

Bekele had to run much of Paris all by himself. That isn't helpful. But it's way better than going out on 2:03:00 pace and blowing up.

The question I about about Farah and London is, "Do we know the rabbits will be set up to go fast as hell or might the organizers slow it down to help Farah?" Races are way more interesting when they go out in 62:30 than sub 62:00.

Is there any chance Alberto/Nike pay for Farah to have his own rabbits. I guess in terms of the manliness/PR campaign there is little chance that Farah might go out purposely behind the lead pack adn try to pick up the pieces but Ritz did it last year in Chicago.

But if he does that, he could very well beat Bekele's time. I tend to agree that London is a slaughterfest up front. But remember was it last year or two years ago when Emamnuel Mutai won when the leaders just totally cratered.

Since the vast majority of this poll is saying, "No, Mo," the correct answer must be "Yes, he beats Kenny's time."

As for me, I hope Mo runs 2:05:03 after being pulled along by the others and kicking in for the win. Then we can argue all the way to Rio '16.

Farah going from a 3:28 1500 to a sub 2:05 in under a year? I just don't see it.

I'd say the odds are tough for Mo to run faster, but I don't get why people would question Mo's toughness. He rarely has a bad race, which is saying something. It's also hard to know what Farah was capable of in the 5000/10,000 because he hasn't done too many rabbited time trial type races when at his peak. He was too busy collecting gold.

I almost hope he doesn't do TOO well next Sun, because I'd rather to see him focus on going for some fast times in the Diamond League later this summer. I think he's capable of some very high quality 12:3x/26:3x times.

I don't see him breaking Bekele's records though. There's a few young prodigies who might have a chance in the next couple years under the right coaching.

Charles Mackay wrote:

As for me, I hope Mo runs 2:05:03 after being pulled along by the others and kicking in for the win. Then we can argue all the way to Rio '16.

+1

wouldn't it be great if the message board could actually create a 'poll' where you voted for options and it showed percentages? come on now brojos.

No. In fact I predict a DNF.

I think that KB's excellent debut will play on Mo's mind a bit in a negative way. Mo knows that London is a faster course, so he will feel pressure knowing that if he simply runs the same time as Bekele, give or take a few seconds, many people will view it (perhaps unfairly) as not as impressive in comparison, regardless of the much stronger field he will be battling against.

KB's time changed everything a little. Mo will feel more pressure than the (probably) fair amount he already is dealing with in his debut. The marathon is long enough for lots of thoughts to play out in the mind. The very strong field further plays this against him. I'm thinking 2:08 - ish after a 62-low first half.

He will DNF, and consequently finish the marathon faster than Bekele.