Why is Bekele running in Dubai AND London?

OMFG!!! How the hell is he going to cope with 2 hard two hour runs only 3 months apart?

because that "wisdom" is bs

Two pay days. He is frustrated that Haile Geb is richer and more successful than he is.

As a fan of the sport, I'm really excited that he's doing both.

Has anyone really tested this theory and failed? That is the question.

I think its interesting to see two commitments of high quality races with relatively close time-frames. Personally, the Marathon has changed so much in how they race it, it wouldn't surprise me if the race frequency starts to change as well.

For instance, Bekele has a bad day in Chicago at 2:06 > recovers within 2-3 weeks > goes back to higher mileage for 2-3 months > runs 2:04:20 for win

After 2-3 week recovery, goes back to higher volume of long runs at MP quality for 3 months and repeats. Who's the say he doesn't come and whip the field because now Bekele is adapted to the Marathon?

I would like to see how Canova is treating the training of Bekele around the two Marathons. It seems very interesting for choices...and possibly a genius one.

If Bekele is having a bad day, or he's not going to run a PR, he can cut the intensity in the last 6 miles and treat it as a training run.

I wonder if Renato will be inclined to post the training.

May - Paris

Oct - Chicago

Jan - Dubai

Apr - London

So his first 4 will be within a year. Hmmm...I'm starting to worry. Perhaps he knows he will be "done" in 2016.

$$$$

Lelisa is doing the same. NYC 2nd in Nov, doing Dubai next week and then in the field for Boston in April.

I really hope he runs both and performs well at each, but there is a chance he won't actually start both races.

quicker turn arounds with marathons does happen. Which woman was it that raced on very short recovery to win the WMM a few years ago?

What's the reasoning behind the received wisdom? Running two per year gives you... what? The longest career? The most high quality races? The least chance of injury?

Let's say he wants a WR and doesn't care so much about having a lengthy career in the marathon. What would you recommend?

DontFeedTheTroll wrote:

Let's say he wants a WR and doesn't care so much about having a lengthy career in the marathon. What would you recommend?

Well, I wouldn't recommend 4 in 11 months.

jay walter weatherman wrote:

$$$$

Pretty much.

Better question is why some Americans "marathoners" are afraid to race them less than 9 months apart

3 months is plenty of time.

I would also not recommend 11 in 4 months. If we are seeing one thing hold true, the Marathon is now a fully specialized event with top talent.

Perhaps the only "top talent" away from the Marathon is Mo Farah and Galen Rupp, for reasons that London 2014 proved right. It takes time to adapt to full Marathon abilities, but once the adaption is made, the cost of building up and recovery become less. Now, it is possible to have 4 per 12 months, rather than 3 per 12 months. I am still interested to see how his body holds up.

If he wins at Dubai, I do think he can go into London with no pressure. That can be a huge advantage for Bekele..

Didn't Bill Rodgers regularly run 3 marathons a year?

I've seen Kenyans run 3 sub 2:10s in a year.

It's not a crazy thing.

And 4 in 12 months only looks crazy if he does another in May (the next 12 month cycle).

If he ran in April last year instead of May, it would just look like a 3 a year cycle.

Dubai may just be a 26 mile tempo run, anyway.

Because he's a f*cking baller. That's why

By contemporary standards, Bekele's plan to run Dubai and London is surprising (Yuki Kawauchi not withstanding). However, there was a time when some of the elites raced more often. In 1977 Bill Rodgers won New York in late October and Fukuoka in early December (and finished a total of five marathons that year). I could see Bekele getting on a roll and pulling off a great performance at both races. It could also not go well, but it doesn't seem like an insane endeavor for someone with his accomplishments.