Wanjiru ducking Geb?

Possibly Berlin doesn't want to hand out the amount of money it would take to get Geb and Wanjiru at the same time.

There is most likely some loyalty to Geb since he has run there several years in a row setting WR's. I'm sure if he objected to racing wanjiru they would at least not bringing him in so Geb could take one more shot. I can't see how Geb would want to race him heads up and lose the race while pacing wanjiru and handing him his world record.

Can anyone say money. The winner gets a few hundred thousand, second place gets a fraction of that. Would a runner truly want to risk that???

It's all about appearance fees for these guys. Both will get a few hundred thousand from that. Yes, the winner gets another few hundred thousand that second place does not, but second place is not walking away empty-handed when it's one of these guys.

As for why they're not running the same race: it may be that they both want to take a stab at the record (as do the race organizers want them to do) and they'll both have an easier time of it if they don't also have to worry about racing each other.

I will admit it's very sad that, in a free market situation, the demand drives people to work toward situations that will produce fast times. In other words this shows that there's a demand for fast times but not for a competitive race. This makes sense when we think about it: much fewer people watch how the race goes than do watch who wins it and in what time. Most of the crowds just notice the final straightaway (by which point, even in a close race, the winner is likely to be all by himself) and the time over the winner's head as he crosses the line. They don't care if second place is a mile behind or if there was an amazing tactical battle that occurred between miles 20 and 25 before this eventual winner pulled away.

Conclusion:

If Geb and Wanjiru race together, we get one of them crossing the finish line in 2:05. That may be after a great miles 20-25 stretch, and that winner might have had to throw in at least one sub-14:00 5k split to pull it off, but in the end it's what's considered these days an average winning time.

If they race separately, we get to see one of them crossing the finish line in 2:03. Then, a month later, we might get to see the other one do the same.

Therefore the race directors, agents, and athletes would have to be on crack to work toward arranging option A as opposed to option B.

if there is an amazing tactical battle between the guys which is won in 2:05:30, then most people won't watch the race

blink wrote:

Can anyone say money. The winner gets a few hundred thousand, second place gets a fraction of that. Would a runner truly want to risk that???

especially when he fears Geb? Probably not. ;) Seriously, if Wanjiru is as good as everyone here on lrc seem to believe then he will easily beat Geb and get the WR. Which will give him 6 figures for the win + 6 figures for the WR. So even in case when Berlin doesn't give him money to come he can still leave with decent money.

Personally I'd rather see any runner running hard the whole race, determined to get her or his best time for the distance.

The competition is within.

Run your best and the rest will take care of itself.

Any top runner who can't give 100 percent in a race, doesn't deserve to be in the race.

What about Duncan Kibet????

Is he ducking both of them????

Maybe because his drug use will be investigated more thoroughly in a WR attempt????

Who has the answers to these questions????

Anyone consider that maybe Wanjiru did what all young athletes do by perhaps committing to soon and now his handlers are backing off his initial statement in order to maintain bargaining power with Chicago and New York. In the end, it is still about money... but it sounds like Rosa is more concerned about this than Wanjiru is?

However, if he ducks Geb, than this will perpetuate the perception that the top track and field athletes consistently avoid top competition. Wanjiru has never done this in the past, so if this does happen, then sadly, it is all about money. I see no other explanation because Wanjiru doesn't have a history of avoiding the best.

Even if Wanjiru is ducking Geb in Berlin,he isn't ducking the top competitors that will toe the line in Chicago( i.e Kwambai,Evans cheruiyot,Vincent Kipruto,etc)........So Wanjiru is not a ducker,Geb is and will always remain the ducker.

It is not the race directors or Wanjiru that are to blame,it is Geb that has threatened to pull out of the race if Wanjiru is signed up.That is what Geb does nowadays in any race he wishes to take part in.Geb is loosing respect fast in the world of athletics

Sammy plans to run Berlin, but he gets the story out to the press that he might run Chicago or New York so that Berlin is more generous with appearance fee money. Oldest trick in the book. Well, maybe not the oldest, but still very old.

It's a slight shame that they are both ducking Martin Lel in the world championships marathon in Berlin. This time a year ago the Brojos said that Martin Lel was the current best marathon runner in the world - he'd just set a London course record, beating Wanjiry and it was before the Olympics. He has never seriously gone for the WR, trusting his kick in tactical races. I wouldn't be surprised if he got the WR.

I particularly think Geb should run the WC in Berlin - I acknowledge that his resume is stellar, but I would like him to get a global championships marathon medal or at least attempt one. He didn't do the marathon in Beijing because of polution, but he has no real excuse in the WC other than the payday excuse.

Wanjiru already has the Olympic marathon gold, so I am less concerned about him running Berlin WC. I do think it is a shame that WC marathon fields don't always attract top competitors; with five runners per country allowed we could see some amazing fields, rivalling London marathon.

Does anyone know how fast the course is for the WC marathon in Berlin? Is it a different course from the September Berlin marathon? (Obviously August is the wrong time to go for a record.)

It will be too hot in Berlin during the WCh in august so the WR will not be threatened.

In my opinion Martin Lel is still a better marathoner than Wanjiru ,however he seems so susceptible to injury far more than the other world class marathoners.

injury and... malaria.

didn't he still finish 6th at the olympics after recovering from malaria?

5th

He finished 5th not 6th......i know you are being sarcastic about the malaria thing.He was indeed suffering from malaria in june last year.Malaria is a very common disease in Kenya.There are usually major outbreaks from march september i.e coinciding with the raining seasons.

some coked up brit wrote:

Does anyone know how fast the course is for the WC marathon in Berlin? Is it a different course from the September Berlin marathon? (Obviously August is the wrong time to go for a record.)

The course is different from the september marathon. 4x a 10-km-loop plus a 2,195 km extra loop. Should be a flat, fast course, quite a few 90°-turns though. See here for details:

High temperatures will probably be a crucial factor. Not because the race takes place in August, but because it's scheduled to start at 11:45 a.m. local time. Insane!

Hey the weather people are predicting a heat wave in europe this summer .So most likely it will too hot for anyone to go near the WR,i reckon the race could turn out to be like the one in Osaka in '07.

Yes, expect at least 80 °F. 90+ °F is not impossible. Humidity will probably not be a high as in Osaka but still can be quite unpleasant at that time in Germany.

itsme wrote:

High temperatures will probably be a crucial factor. Not because the race takes place in August, but because it's scheduled to start at 11:45 a.m. local time. Insane!

So basically a NOON start time?! WTF is tehIAAF thinking? I don't care where you are in the populated northern hemisphere in August, you don't run a fvcking marathon at noon. That must change.