Mo Farah Blasts Final Last Lap to Win 5k and Then Ponders Whether Galen Rupp Can Break 10k World Record

13:23 with a 52.6 last lap???

Damn I didn't think he would get his speed back that fast after marathon training. The guy is such a baller.

TAA wrote:

13:23 with a 52.6 last lap???

Damn I didn't think he would get his speed back that fast after marathon training. The guy is such a baller.

Everyone assumed he would lose all his speed from that marathon experiment. Looks like he can still kick like a motherf***** AND he has marathon strength behind him

Anyone ready to place bets for Beijing?

And don't forget to thank yours truly for the awesome interview clip :)

wejo wrote that Mo Farah said:

I definitely think Galen can go close, a lot faster than what he has run just with having rabbits all the way."

Yes, rabbits hitting perfect splits for 23 laps is nothing. He could go way faster.

What happened to Fernandez? Nbsv doesn't sound like the otc group. Is he still sponsored by nike?

German has been toast for the last three years.

wow.

the marathon stuff was just a good build up for the track season.

guys these days are different, as if the 26 miler is as stressing as a hard 20 miler was back in the day.

maybe if moe was in the lead group near the marathon finish, he'd have gone all out and ruined the track season?

anyhow, a couple of us speculated that rupp could go much faster in 10k, and now moe chimes in too with the same basic thoughts.

its going to be fun if the boys keep it together.

wejo wrote:

Mo Farah returned to the track with a dominating final lap of 52.6 to get the win in 13:23.42 at the adidas Track Classic.

Portland Track Festival, no?

[quote]wejo wrote:

I guess it depends on what you call close, for a 10K I would call 26:25 close; if we agree on that, I will say no way.

With a lot of things going right, I can see Mo and Galen going sub-26:40, but there is notthing I have seen to suggest either one of them can do better than that. Mo wins championship races becasue he has by far the best 1500PR, but the marathon exposed his endurance limits. When KB set the 10K record, he was also in 5k world record shape, short and long XC winner and runs a 2:05 marathon 10 years latter. Galen's recent 10K was very impressive, but that would be like a 27 year yo 10 flat 100m sprinter saying he is going run 9.6, it's probably not going to happen. Also, how can you expect someone to run 2 sub-13:10 5ks back-to-back when they aren't even a routine 12:5x guy. KB was a super special athlete and no one is getting get close to the record that's currently running.

Also, where are you going to get rabbits good enough for 10K WR attempt.

wejo wrote:

Mo's most interesting comments were when he said he felt "if we can work together maybe one day we can get closer to it."

That will never happen.

They can't even lead a few laps in the middle of a race at slow pace.

Bad Wigins wrote:

wejo wrote that Mo Farah said:

I definitely think Galen can go close, a lot faster than what he has run just with having rabbits all the way."

Yes, rabbits hitting perfect splits for 23 laps is nothing. He could go way faster.

Yeah, I'm not sure what he meant by this rabbit comment either. Was he saying he thought Rupp slowed himself down by just hanging behind the rabbits? Or that if Mo/Rupp et al have each other to race when running near WR pace they'll have a chance?

It'd be fun to watch, even if they die at the end... I can't remember the last time there was a race billed as. 5/10k WR attempt.

Bubbadeeboo wrote:

Bad Wigins wrote:

Yes, rabbits hitting perfect splits for 23 laps is nothing. He could go way faster.

Yeah, I'm not sure what he meant by this rabbit comment either. Was he saying he thought Rupp slowed himself down by just hanging behind the rabbits? Or that if Mo/Rupp et al have each other to race when running near WR pace they'll have a chance?

It'd be fun to watch, even if they die at the end... I can't remember the last time there was a race billed as. 5/10k WR attempt.

maybe this quote will be a little clearer to everyone if properly punctuated:

"I definitely think Galen can go close, a lot faster than what he has run; just with having rabbits all the way".

It will become even clearer if you replace "with" with "by."

No one has trained like Galen before, had this careful progression with all the very best science (or technology, more accurately) behind him -- so you're too focused on the past/standard progressions and you think someone can't make these leaps (galen 4 min miler at age 22, 3:51 miler at 27, etc.), but the whole program has been about steady CONTINUOUS improvement. So at age 30-31, even 32 could Galen be obliterating his current PRs? Yes, if the system works the way it is supposed to. Galen's training is different from anyone's in the past, and now Mo's is too. So yes, a sub 26:30 is definitely possible, judging by how easy that 26:44 looked. Sub 26:20? Wow, that would be phenomenal. I could see Galen retiring with a 26:25-26 PR. They'll all say he was doped, but wasn't KB actually running in the EPO era? Better chance he was doped than Galen, given current testing.

hold it a min or two mins wrote:

They'll all say he was doped, but wasn't KB actually running in the EPO era? Better chance he was doped than Galen, given current testing.

Bekele ran 26:2x on a rainy day a few years ago.

what this means is that Mo knows that Rupp has the ability but may not want to say or doesn't realize that he lacks the mindset to go sub 26:30, unless he has someone to follow the whole way, namely Farah. I hope to see Farah finally go after times from 3k-10k this year and this was a very solid start, the kind of finish (total time and last lap) that frequently wins world championship 5000m races.

Farah has to know that neither he nor Rupp has any chance in hell at running 26:17. Guys their age just don't make the colossal jump that would require. I can see them holding form, maybe even improving a smidgeon, before devoting themselves fully to the roads.

I can understand, however, why Farah would be loath to say as much in an interview, as it would come across as defeatist instead of simply realistic.

Flashback to 2009:

Here's Mo getting outsprinted by, well, pretty much everyone.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=---LOIB8idE

Pacers...heh. When Bek ran 26:17, he was by himself for nearly the entire 2nd half. Finished with like a 10.5 100m.

Even if Farah and Rupp circle jerk themselves the whole way along they ain't sniffing 26:20s.

Essentially Farah is saying Rup is better than him in a non championship 10k race , no?

and that he is better at 5k than his partner