Did the Boston Marathon even try to get greatest ever in Kenenisa Bekele?

My thoughts:

- Adidas doesn't really have a say here. Boston has a record of signing Goucher (Nike) and Hall (asics), despite their adidas ties. I believe John Hancock selects the field.

- Bekele is virtually unknown in the US to anyone except hardcore T&F fans. Far more people know Kim Kardashian.

- Bekele probably doesn't even want to run a hard course like Boston, giving his injury history.

Maybe because Geoffrey Mutai would beat Bekele?

Is Paris a fast course? Maybe he thinks he needs to nail a fast time on his debut to begin marketing himself to a stacked national team for Rio.

Paul Revere wrote:

To me, Bekele running Paris is a sad day in history for the Boston marathon. It shows how far Boston has slipped. 20 years ago, no way in hell a runner of Bekele's stature would go to Paris and not Boston no matter what the reasons were.

Or how far Paris has climbed?

I am guessing they gave him a larger appearance fee than Boston or London was willing to. London, Paris, and Boston are essentially the same size. Boston has several Americans running and charging big money, and London is blowing huge $$$$ on Mo and has been criticized in the past for spending money on elites rather than charity.

yourmom.com wrote:

Is Paris a fast course? Maybe he thinks he needs to nail a fast time on his debut to begin marketing himself to a stacked national team for Rio.

Paris is fast but Spring 2014 would probably not count as a qualifier for ETH for 2016. They will probably more likely look at fall 2015 results. But who knows...

Greatest ever what?

Better payday, faster course, and closer to home. These are good things for a first marathon.

He's not going to run a slow marathon course unless he is dumb. He's been getting excluded from teams because of running slow times despite having many quality performances. The clear lesson Ethiopia showed him is that he needs to run for times.

The fastest marathon ever was run in Boston, it's not a slow course.

whoo wrote:

Greatest ever what?

Doper that got away with it

Dennis Reynolds 2.0 wrote:

The fastest marathon ever was run in Boston, it's not a slow course.

it's not fast either

compared to London Berlin aside from the wind assisted tomes

Doesn't Paris drug test?

justsoyaknow wrote:

whoo wrote:

Greatest ever what?

Doper that got away with it

Do you really think that Bekele has been doping all this time and managed to get away with it? In other words, you are implying that he has been doping since he was a junior. Because his performance has been consistent, save for the recent years when he was plagued by injury, ever since he appeared in the world stage in the early 2000s.

Alubalta wrote:

Do you really think that Bekele has been doping all this time and managed to get away with it? In other words, you are implying that he has been doping since he was a junior. Because his performance has been consistent, save for the recent years when he was plagued by injury, ever since he appeared in the world stage in the early 2000s.

Everyone is a doper according to this website even if there is zero evidence. Don't take it too seriously.

Alubalta wrote:

justsoyaknow wrote:

Doper that got away with it

Do you really think that Bekele has been doping all this time and managed to get away with it? In other words, you are implying that he has been doping since he was a junior. Because his performance has been consistent, save for the recent years when he was plagued by injury, ever since he appeared in the world stage in the early 2000s.

If anything Bekeles recent performances should be confirmation he didnt dope. Just think about Lagat...

Dennis Reynolds 2.0 wrote:

Alubalta wrote:

Do you really think that Bekele has been doping all this time and managed to get away with it? In other words, you are implying that he has been doping since he was a junior. Because his performance has been consistent, save for the recent years when he was plagued by injury, ever since he appeared in the world stage in the early 2000s.

If anything Bekeles recent performances should be confirmation he didnt dope. Just think about Lagat...

I totally agree.

Alubalta wrote:

justsoyaknow wrote:

Doper that got away with it

Do you really think that Bekele has been doping all this time and managed to get away with it? In other words, you are implying that he has been doping since he was a junior.

Ya

since he hooked up with hermens

generally they stay on the sauce the whole time

It pays to do so

remember lance

justsoyaknow wrote:

Alubalta wrote:

Do you really think that Bekele has been doping all this time and managed to get away with it? In other words, you are implying that he has been doping since he was a junior.

Ya

since he hooked up with hermens

generally they stay on the sauce the whole time

It pays to do so

remember lance

I understand how Lance's scandal and his repeated denial has tainted sport in general. However, as a diehard long distance running fan, I would like to believe that not every great athlete is a cheater. Otherwise, why do we even bother to visit LetsRun?

He needs a good, fast, modern, official marathon, which Paris is.

Boston is an old, unofficial marathon. So the time Bekele will do there could be questioned.

Nutella1 wrote:

- Bekele is virtually unknown in the US to anyone except hardcore T&F fans. Far more people know Kim Kardashian.

\

You can cross out hardcore from that part. Track and field fans know Bekele.