WC MEN'S 5000m FINAL THREAD! IT'S ON.

Unless one of them is willing to talk, it's impossible to know whether there some of the others tried to work together to beat Mo.

I personally found the race to be very exciting. Once the initial spurt at 3 k fizzled, I was 80% confident that Mo had it in the bag, but one never knows. That's why they run the race afterall.

That said, if I were one of the E.Africans, I certainly would have tried to get some help setting a fast pace. Mo had to be a little tired from the 10,000. A hard early pace would have forced him out of how he likes to race and given others a chance since he was more tired than they. Don't forget, Mo does not have the fastest PR in the field. If 3 or 4 guys had taken it out at 12:50 pace, the race would have been much more in doubt than it was. In particular, Mo would have had to make a decision that he didn't want to have to make - stay or go. If he stays, maybe they blow up and come back but maybe they don't. If he goes, maybe he beats them, but someone else running smarter beats him. Of course this is all easier said than done.

Games are only Theoretical wrote:

agip wrote:

hard to explain why the kenyans and ethiopians just hand these races to mo - they knew Mo ran 3:28 but they run slowly. anyone have a good answer to why?

It is pretty simple really. The Kenyans and Ethiopians race as individuals. It is not in any individual's best interest to push the pace (except perhaps for folks who know beforehand that they have no shot - then there is some possibility that the field will simply let them go).

You think of the Ethiopians and/or Kenyans as some sort of team. That is the flaw in your thinking. Think of them as completely independent individuals, shooting for their own individual glory, and then what plays out before you time and time again becomes obvious.

__

well maybe I think of them as a team, a little. But even if we think of them as individuals...each KNOWS Mo has outkicked them in the last 400 every freaking time. Every one of the kenyans and ethiopians can run 12:55...you would think ONE of them would push things along. Like the Kenyan who knows he can only run a 54 last lap. Esp considering Mo had a 10k in his legs.

it has happend in wc races, but only once to my knowledge - '93 a guy beat Geb by gettting a 75 meter lead and gutting it out.

Mo probably won't be back to the track for the 2015 champs or 2016 Olys so this is the last time they'll have to deal with him. Woohoo!

About Rupp...he better start looking in the rearview..Ryan Hill might just be a become a better championship racer.

Lagat...this had to be his last go at the track.

Does Mo Farah need to run a faster or similar time than bekele/geb at 5km/10km to get legendary status or are his doubles at Worlds and Olympics good enough.Are other runners who have faster 10km/5km pbs than him better?

ultraman wrote:

Does Mo Farah need to run a faster or similar time than bekele/geb at 5km/10km to get legendary status or are his doubles at Worlds and Olympics good enough.Are other runners who have faster 10km/5km pbs than him better?

Farah would need to get the world records and demonstrate that he can win without relying on his kick every time. He also needs to defeat more formidable opponents than he's been racing.

Where can I watch the full race? I missed it.

I'm going to watch it despite the fact that seeing Mo Farta win is going to make me smash my computer.

(1) Nearly every 1500m and 5000m runner thinks that they have a great kick. Thus, very few would be willing to concede that they have no chance against Mo in a sit and kick affair (even if, to an outside observer this may seem obvious).

(2) It follows that every single legitimate medal contender is thinking that they have at least a shot at gold by sitting and kicking.

(3) Each of them believes that they have zero shot at gold by taking on pace setting duties.

(4) Their actions necessarily follow.

ultraman wrote:

Does Mo Farah need to run a faster or similar time than bekele/geb at 5km/10km to get legendary status or are his doubles at Worlds and Olympics good enough.Are other runners who have faster 10km/5km pbs than him better?

He needs wrs because bekele has done what farah did today four to five years ago. He also did it by being the current 5000m/10000m word record holder.

The GOAT Haile G. could have won this thing. No tactics whatsoever. Haile is the greatest ever. What a running resume. Sorry I sat through this.

I just wonder if this is a 'Moneyball' situation, where people set strategy just because that is what they have always done and that is what people always do.

Of course there is no way to statistically analyze results in track like there is in baseball.

You're probablty right that everyone considers himself a kicker. I'm trying to think of someone who doesn't, and I am coming up blank.

calling it. wrote:

Mazzsan wrote:

Fantastic response, this:

No. These guys are professionals. Point 2 contradicts point 1. Do these guys have arrogance from years of winning or do they lose their nerve when it comes race time?

I've offered two possible reasons. I didn't say it was both. I obviously don't have a answer; those are just my thoughts and you're free to disagree.

J.R. wrote:

I miss Vladimir Kuts.

For once, you write words of wisdom.

You'll soon be back to the trolling, so I advice you to stop with this, the first and probably last comment of value from you J.R.

i never seen such moron, idoit runners in my life from both ethiopian and kenyan side. i do not know what kind of training they practice .

ya mo is one of the best runner in the world but to put him as GOAT is not accptable.

totally agree. Here's hoping King Kenny kicks him good on the roads

Bring back Bekele wrote:

Terrible race. Completely boring and unexciting even for British fans. Nothing more than pathetic half hearted attempts by all runners to beat MO. Really disappointing, Mo may have the titles, but he's easily the least exciting champion to watch, just nothing interesting about watching him kick the last 500m of every race to win in 13:30 or 27:20. I miss Bekele.

Breaking News!!!

Mo uses the SAME tactic in every race!! He will get to the lead with 600 to go and not let you pass! If you want to win, don't let him get the lead!

Could someone please explain to me what Koech was trying to do with his one lap surge? Was he planning to go hard all the way and just changed his mind after one lap?

Probing? Getting in a warm up? Not sure.

Very disappointed that no one decided to challenge Farrah. Every runner in the field, their coaches and managers knew with absolute certainty that Farah would win the race if it was a slow pace.

The only strategy to beat farah was exactly what the kenyans did on the 2nd lap. As soon as the pace slows, farah always goes to the back to relax. A break at that point could put a 50+ meter gap on Farah which is exactly what the Kenyans would have had if they had run 61s through the first mile. With two guys trading the lead and running 12:50-55 pace, with a 50 meter lead, Farah and the rest of the field would need to make a monumental effort to catch them by the bell. The fact that none of the Africans chose to employ this strategy either means that they are stupid or just didn't want to win. No other explanation. Even if they didn't think they could pull it off, they had a much better shot of winning if they at least made the attempt.

It is pretty simple really. The Kenyans and Ethiopians race as individuals. It is not in any individual's best interest to push the pace (except perhaps for folks who know beforehand that they have no shot - then there is some possibility that the field will simply let them go).

You think of the Ethiopians and/or Kenyans as some sort of team. That is the flaw in your thinking. Think of them as completely independent individuals, shooting for their own individual glory, and then what plays out before you time and time again becomes obvious.

__

well maybe I think of them as a team, a little. But even if we think of them as individuals...each KNOWS Mo has outkicked them in the last 400 every freaking time. Every one of the kenyans and ethiopians can run 12:55...you would think ONE of them would push things along. Like the Kenyan who knows he can only run a 54 last lap. Esp considering Mo had a 10k in his legs.

it has happend in wc races, but only once to my knowledge - '93 a guy beat Geb by gettting a 75 meter lead and gutting it out.[/quote]

(1) Nearly every 1500m and 5000m runner thinks that they have a great kick. Thus, very few would be willing to concede that they have no chance against Mo in a sit and kick affair (even if, to an outside observer this may seem obvious).

(2) It follows that every single legitimate medal contender is thinking that they have at least a shot at gold by sitting and kicking.

(3) Each of them believes that they have zero shot at gold by taking on pace setting duties.

(4) Their actions necessarily follow.[/quote]

Yes. Plus people are NOT JUST racing for gold. That is for Americans who think every place except first is for losers. Every medal has dollar signs attached to it. You win a medal, any medal, immediately your agent can get more for you. It's a big career boost to win a medal so why jeopardize that by taking it out and probably not medalling as a result.

These are professional RUNNERS. They're not professional KENYANS or ETHIOPIANS.

Even fast-paced races are still decided by kicks. All a fast pace would do is ensure a faster winning time for Farah. If anything, a fast pace would make it easier for Farah to get in kicking position. The pack would be strung out and probably no one would fight him for leading position like Alamirew did.

Thoughts:

Kenyans surged then figured, "meh, why try now....sit and kick and try and beat Mo."

Rupp.......cooked. Won a medal at Olympics and totally out of it. Needs a sit down session with Mobot on how to stay motivated after an Olympic medal.

Nice job Letsrun.......opening shot BEFORE starting the video is ........Mo winning the flipping race!!!

All these thoughts were gathered watching the video 3x because Hammonds is a human snooze button when calling a race..