El Guerrouj to run 5000m

Thats been in the works for awhile now. I would think this year would have been the year to experiment with that since nothing is at stake now. I understand that was initially a 5k 10k guy but he has obviously found his true niche as a miler now, and the 5k is an event that is often very tactical at championship meets as the last two championships have shown. His speed doesn't mean he can win it in a kick either as Ali Saidi-Sief found out the hard way twice. My take is that Kenyans and Ethiopians will use team tactics and make things very difficult for El G but setting a hard but uneven pace and shielding the their one main man like both countries usually do. I don't think El G will win but I want to see it as it will be an interesting race to watch.

While it would be interesting to see my gut feeling is that we don't see El G toeing the line in the 5000m at the WC this year.

i'm not el g's biggest fan due to his insitance on rabbiting races but i'm looking forward to see how he goes over 5km. sure he can go very fast if he gets it right

Didn't he claim once that he thought 12:30 was well within his limits. I think that's a bit of a stretch. I actually would like to see him falter a bit to prove he is a mere mortal. Maybe not even break 13:00.

Interesting that he plans to run both the 1500 and the 5k at the World Champs. I think he could run a very quick 5k as a one-off but doubling up will surely be too much.

There is no doubt that El G is the best TIME TRIAL miler in history. But his ability to win non-rabbited, championship 1500's is questionable. I also dislike his dependence on hares and how he flounders without them. That said, I actually think he would have a better chance to win a non-rabbited 5,000 than a non-rabbited 1500. The guy is clearly a strength-oriented miler as opposed to an 800/1500 guy like Coe. But in a tactical race, Coe's 800 ability made him deadly in a slower, more tactical race. I think the same would apply to El G moving up because I think he does the mileage necessary for the event already.

Just my thought. In a non-rabbited 1500/5000 double, I could see him going silver in the 1500 and gold at 5000.

Zat0pek wrote:

There is no doubt that El G is the best TIME TRIAL miler in history. But his ability to win non-rabbited, championship 1500's is questionable. I also dislike his dependence on hares and how he flounders without them. That said, I actually think he would have a better chance to win a non-rabbited 5,000 than a non-rabbited 1500. The guy is clearly a strength-oriented miler as opposed to an 800/1500 guy like Coe. But in a tactical race, Coe's 800 ability made him deadly in a slower, more tactical race. I think the same would apply to El G moving up because I think he does the mileage necessary for the event already.

Just my thought. In a non-rabbited 1500/5000 double, I could see him going silver in the 1500 and gold at 5000.

I'd have to agree, I wonder if maybe he would be a better 5k-er than miler, like Daniel Komen. According to Marius Bakken he runs about 200k a week, most of it at LT pace/effort. He's definately got the endurance and the speed, it would be great to watch him make a run at 12:39, right now he is one of two who can make a legitimate claim to running that fast (the other being Haile if he makes a successful comeback on the track).

ElG has been talking about moving up to the 5000m and/or doubling for about three years now but it hasn't happened. The closest he came was his 7:23 3000m. I don't doubt he can run under 12:55 but he keeps sticking with the mile for some reason.

Also, El Gerrouj wasn't always the big time-trial guy that he is now. Remember in 1996 he won the GP Final in a very tactical 3:38 over Morceli, and then the 1997 World Champs in 3:35.83. From 1999 on it has changed a bit, not sure why, probably just a whole lot easier to win that way...

Joel

In 1996, El Guerrouj tripped on Morceli and fell. That is why he lost. In 2000, El Guerrouj couldn't hold down food for like, the 24 hours before the race, and got very little sleep the night before. (Think about it - he had been dreaming about this race and working his ass off for 4 years.) You could say he choked under pressure. That would be more accurate than saying that he can't win without a rabbit. Don't forget his 3 World Championships. (A Moroccan attempted to rabbit 2001 but he didn't do a very good job.)

I don't understand how people can say things like "he stays in the 1500 FOR SOME REASON?" or, "i don't know why he won't just move up".

Seriously guys, he's the best ever in the mile/1500, and is running near his best right now. He has beaten everyone everywhere, except the Olympics. I'd say that's reason to stay in it.

If I were the best in the world, I wouldn't rush myself into another event either.

coop wrote:Seriously guys, he's the best ever in the mile/1500, and is running near his best right now. He has beaten everyone everywhere, except the Olympics. I'd say that's reason to stay in it.

That's not why milers don't move up. It's money. The 1500/mile is one of the glamour events and also the best paying. Steve Scott has said point blank that he couldn't afford to take the pay cut he would have taken to move up.

A few reasons:

1- more money in miling

2- he already knows how to win the mile

3- he is chasing that Olympic mile dream

4- its hard to get to be known as the best miler ever when you run the 5000

5- he loves the mile

6- he thinks his mile WR can be lower than it is

runningrebel wrote:

I'd have to agree, I wonder if maybe he would be a better 5k-er than miler, like Daniel Komen. According to Marius Bakken he runs about 200k a week, most of it at LT pace/effort. He's definately got the endurance and the speed, it would be great to watch him make a run at 12:39, right now he is one of two who can make a legitimate claim to running that fast (the other being Haile if he makes a successful comeback on the track).

I think you are mixing up El Guerrouj with Daniel Komen.

Unless Komen is who you meant as to running 12:39.

I can see how I was unclear. What I meant to say is that right now there are only two people I see capable of running <12:39 in '03, El G and Haile. Komen did run 12:39.9x in '97 or '98, but he's retired now.

Daniel Komen is not retired he recently ran 27:38.32 for 12th place at the Brussels Track Meet on August 30, 2002!

Komen is not retired, but I'm pretty sure that he got busted a few years back for doping. Not positive, but I'm pretty sure. It would make sense considering he is "27" and running slower now than when he was 20. It would also explain his drop from the face of the earth.

What proof do you have of these allegations?

Supposedly Komen really ran for the money and has started a few businesses back home in Kenya. He just runs now for whatver reason but doesn't need the money so he doesn't kill himself training as much. This is only what I have heard, not claiming to know the absolute truth. He was insanely talented there can be no doubt of that, he may have overdone it when he was younger and also didn't have the motivation. Who knows, but throwing accusations at Komen is just as founded as throwing them at Radcliffe the only difference is you'll get lynched for calling out Radcliffe.

I would rate Komen as the most talented runner ever above geb, tergat, & El G. A lot of conclusions come from running times and titles which is legit, but as a viewer of running style & potential, Komen is the freak of freaks of running. In the books he only has that 7:20 3000m (really freakish), but I'm sure if he applied his running like other champions he would hold more records (2k,5k) ...