NEW BEKELE VIDEO!!!

El Keniano wrote:

Seriously LetsRun. Ever since I started posting here, I've been lectured dozens of times about my own country by people who've never set foot anywhere in Africa. What sort of melange of arrogance, stupidity and lunacy does that take? What is it about Americans that makes them so stubbornly sure they know everything about the world without ever owning a passport and only occasionally stepping out for sunlight from their basement dwelling in rural Kentucky? Weird, doesn't begin to describe you lot.

Are you really so limited? You dare to complain? You are one of the most opinionated, often arrogant, and should I say borderline nationalist, guys on Letsrun. Hypocrite.

Sand Dunes wrote:

Explain this El K.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2016/10/19/the-story-behind-president-obamas-half-brother-malik-who-trump-invited-to-tonights-debate/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.c2de7d6654d4

Explain what? That we have mentally ill losers in Kenya too? That man managed to get more media coverage in America because no one in Kenya gives him time of day. He would never be allowed anywhere near the President of Kenya but has met two American presidents since Trump personally invited him to an event to try and embarrass Obama. He couldn’t even get 1% of the vote when he tried to run for office in his county on the back of his brother’s name. Again, I don’t understand why you think he’s relevant to this discussion.

mynameiss wrote:

El Keniano wrote:

Seriously LetsRun. Ever since I started posting here, I've been lectured dozens of times about my own country by people who've never set foot anywhere in Africa. What sort of melange of arrogance, stupidity and lunacy does that take? What is it about Americans that makes them so stubbornly sure they know everything about the world without ever owning a passport and only occasionally stepping out for sunlight from their basement dwelling in rural Kentucky? Weird, doesn't begin to describe you lot.

Are you really so limited? You dare to complain? You are one of the most opinionated, often arrogant, and should I say borderline nationalist, guys on Letsrun. Hypocrite.

Borderline nationalist? All I do here is correct ignorant mischaracterisation of my country which, unfortunately, isn’t uncommon on these boards.

mynameiss wrote:

El Keniano wrote:

Seriously LetsRun. Ever since I started posting here, I've been lectured dozens of times about my own country by people who've never set foot anywhere in Africa. What sort of melange of arrogance, stupidity and lunacy does that take? What is it about Americans that makes them so stubbornly sure they know everything about the world without ever owning a passport and only occasionally stepping out for sunlight from their basement dwelling in rural Kentucky? Weird, doesn't begin to describe you lot.

Are you really so limited? You dare to complain? You are one of the most opinionated, often arrogant, and should I say borderline nationalist, guys on Letsrun. Hypocrite.

Opinionated, sure, but I think El K is one of the most reasonable posters on this website. Give the guy a break. Why would anyone bother posting on a website at all if not for being opinionated?

I for one get pretty miffed when I hear someone who has visited my town "several times" proceed to lecture me like they know more about my town than I do, despite the fact that I have lived there ten years and they have been maybe ten days. I don't think that's an unreasonable sentiment to feel.

TrackCoach wrote:

Kenya and Ethiopia are constantly at odds over water issues and border-related disputes, etc. I am not claiming there is intense hatred between Kenyans and Ethiopians, but the national rivalry extends beyond running. Btw, I have been to Africa several times and I'm quite familiar with Kenyan and Ethiopian culture.

Shouldn’t be too difficult to provide links detailing these alleged disputes then? I’ll be waiting. I’d also like to know more about how “the national rivalry extends beyond running”. Please elaborate further on this so we can enlighten Kenyans and Ethiopians who apparently don’t know themselves.

El Keniano wrote:

...

Does that include your current president? I guarantee you will not find a single news piece of any Kenyan politician railing against Ethiopians or other foreigners. Your president, on the other hand, is supported by half the country. That's a lot of people.

re: "half the country"

Don't know much about the US Presidential elections, I gather.

He got 65 million votes (or less). I'll let you look up the US population as an exercise.

Kenya is a shithole, even with all the international backing and funding they still have more slums than Liberia.

El Falso wrote:

El Keniano wrote:

Seriously LetsRun. Ever since I started posting here, I've been lectured dozens of times about my own country by people who've never set foot anywhere in Africa. What sort of melange of arrogance, stupidity and lunacy does that take? What is it about Americans that makes them so stubbornly sure they know everything about the world without ever owning a passport and only occasionally stepping out for sunlight from their basement dwelling in rural Kentucky? Weird, doesn't begin to describe you lot.

Wes Korir, an actual Kenyan unlike you, quite enjoyed his time in Kentucky.

What? So that El K isn't even Kenyan?

Sledge_hammer wrote:

El Falso wrote:

Wes Korir, an actual Kenyan unlike you, quite enjoyed his time in Kentucky.

What? So that El K isn't even Kenyan?

jury is still out on this one...he has used lingo multiple times of that of a rich millennial from england somewhere i cant remember. also a year or so ago there was a thread about chicago vs london murder rates, and el k said that he had lived in chitown for a number of years....this was before he ever started boasted that he is a kenyan.

but as trolls on here like to say one thing, mock and insult others to be truthful they can and never do step up to the plate to admit who they are.

case it point,

-rekrunner claims he is a scientist, claims he has "something science" degree, claims he is an ex pat living in europe but its not UK or monaco, claims he is a hobby jogger yet then claims he is a coach for top tier youths, claims he works as an IT and he is given lots and lots of vacation

-exrunner, claims he is an ex top tier runner from the UK, claims to know insider info on the top UK runners, but like kara goucher never says anything, wont say when he ran, what times he ran or who he ran against....just like rek, his excuse to say anything truthful is this lame a$$ reasoning "i cant say anything more, or it will give me away too much", but then they both have mocked me repeatedly to walk the walk and admit who i was...then lie that they never said that lol

so when el K claims he is kenyan, but then says things about london and the surrounding suburbs and uses lingo from those said areas, and says he lived in chicago for a number of years....and has an attitude on LR that doesnt seem very kenyan at all, i have my doubts. if el k is kenyan he is very very whitewashed or he is a white guilt kenyan who is so upset that he is white he spouts racist things all the time. but thats just my take from the way he writes, the words he uses and his in depth knowledge of places, names, bars, tea shops of london and the surrounding areas. i havent met too many "africans" but the ones i have met do not talk like el k does, nor have the attitude he has. maybe cause the ones i know are humble and not arrogant brats...he could change everyone's mind if he were to prove it. sh*t i stopped being harassed once i did

El Keniano wrote:

TAA wrote:

El Keniano, what kind of relationship do Kenyans have with Ethiopians? Friends? Rivals? Friendly rivals? What are some Ethiopian stereotypes in Kenya?

Absolutely zero bad blood. Rivalry limited to running and even then, we'd root for each other once our own aren't in the picture. Huge Ethiopian community in Kenya, plenty of Ethiopian restaurants and never a complaint from Kenyans like you hear from Americans about Mexicans. Ethiopia has had problems and conflicts with virtually all its neighbours except Kenya. During British colonial rule, many Kenyan freedom fighters would escape to and seek refuge in Ethiopia. After independence, good relations continued even after the Ethiopian Emperor was deposed. Visa-free travel between the two countries even though Ethiopia checks everyone else. And one of the most prominent streets in Nairobi is called Haile Selassie Avenue.

That might be a BIT of a rosy description, if you want to talk about current reality and not a sanitized history book.

Remember the 2013 WC marathon where Kiprotich (Uganda) dropped Desisa (Ethiopia) by weaving all over the course to stop Desisa from sitting on him?

Certain Kenyan posters celebrated on this very message board with words to the effect of "DESTROY THE COCKROACH!" (As many will know, this is an East African slur term against Ethiopians.)

Granted, Kiprotich trained in Kenya and even has a Kenyan name. But the anti-Ethiopia partisanship got pretty loud.

That was a great race, though.

I CAME TO THIS THREAD TO READ ABOUT BEKELE!

Instead, I got guy pretending to be Kenyan arguing with a bunch of dudes (assuming you're all dudes) who are pretending to be racists, all arguing about a place you never been.

My thoughts on Bekele, putting m money where my mouth is:

We hear the phrase here a lot "Talent doesn't go away." If you had the wheels to run 12:37, you have the capacity to be near world-record caliber in the Marathon. He at least has another 2:03 in him.

m!ndweak wrote:

Sledge_hammer wrote:

What? So that El K isn't even Kenyan?

jury is still out on this one...he has used lingo multiple times of that of a rich millennial from england somewhere i cant remember. also a year or so ago there was a thread about chicago vs london murder rates, and el k said that he had lived in chitown for a number of years....this was before he ever started boasted that he is a kenyan.

I have NEVER lived in Chicago.

The Spirit of Adwa wrote:

I CAME TO THIS THREAD TO READ ABOUT BEKELE!

Instead, I got guy pretending to be Kenyan arguing with a bunch of dudes (assuming you're all dudes) who are pretending to be racists, all arguing about a place you never been.

+1

Meanwhile Amsterdam/Bekele talk is on radio silence. I would have thought the board would be all about this right now.

+2

You make many claims about me which are simply untrue. I'll just make a few corrections: - It was you who claimed I did NOT have a science degree. Like many of your claims about me and my identity, this is untrue. - I never asked you to admit who you were. And I don't care. It doesn't save your failing posts. Go back and look. I only asked you to prove your unprovoked claim that I did not have a science degree, and your peculiar reaction was to out yourself. It worked because no one held you accountable for failing to prove your false claim about me, and somehow, over time, you've turned it around that I made the claim, as if I was looking to gain some authority. - I never said I worked with "top tier" youths, and I haven't. - Not sure I ever referred to myself as a hobby jogger, although you could interpret my handle that way. Even if I'm slower these days, not winning any age group events, I still consider myself a runner. I find this obsession with guessing who anonymous people are, or doubting who they are, a massive distraction -- I'm expecting educated adults to be able to talk about the content of posts, relevant to the subject line, rather than attempting to undermine other posters' credibility with false accusations, and fabricating unimportant issues about identities, residence, and nationalities. You are not brave for saying your name, because it is not cowardice to remain anonymous -- like most everyone who posts here.

While letsrun posters have been arguing about racism and Kenya and Ethiopia, Bekele has been training at altitude.

EXPECT GREAT THINGS!

At least we came to the conclusion that El Keniano is just a wannabe Kenyan and most likely another basement living white dude with some serious personality split.

I too thought Bekele was looking a bit heavier on this video. I would not go as far as to call him fat but def heavier than I have seen him before. Even his running stride looked more worked. I guess many would argue that this could be his off season and it is normal for Bekele to gain a few lbs. I wish him the best. He is one of my favorites in the elite running field.