Good job mods keeping this thread clean!
GEB is a badass! Arguably the true GOAT.
Good job mods keeping this thread clean!
GEB is a badass! Arguably the true GOAT.
What a legend. He'll still do great things no doubt, just not by putting one foot in front of the other.
While in Addis Abbaba 5 years ago (adopting 2 children) I was driving to church on a Sunday morning when a dusty older blue mercedes benz pulled up next to me. It was GEB! Got so excited I wasn't thinking straight. Took off one New Balance shoe & held it out the window pointing to it (I think I was just trying to let him know I was a runner too). He motioned for me to pull over (thinking I wanted him to autograph it?) and he got out & we chatted for a few minutes. I knew he was 4 weeks out from Dubai so we talked about that. Got a passerby to take a couple of photos & then me & my wife were off. Driving away I watched Geb continue to smile that big wide grin as he was being mobbed. I love Seb, Meb & Webb, but Geb is still the main man.
Hermens is saying that Geb isn't really retiring apparently.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/05/10/us-athletics-gebrselassie-idUSKBN0NV0SN20150510
A great runner...the best ever in my eyes....and even greater Human Being. Truly the end of an era...sad to see him leave.
Enjoy your retirement Haile, you've earned it!
PhillyRunner15 wrote:
Haile is the greatest of all time, if for anything, just his smile. No one has done more for running than Haile has and it's a sad day to see him finally hang it all up.
He deserves a blackout page
+1.
Such a great ambassador for the sport. On the surface, Bekele was arguably better, but Haile's personality was so engaging. He's already missed.
Geb and I share a birthday. when i first started running in high school 2001, I remember getting pretty decent my freshmen year (low 17s), and looking up the world record to see how far off i was. i did not think i was running the same 5k event when i saw that the record was sub 13. needless to say, i needed to learn all about who haile gebreselassie was after that. i loved watching the movie endurance. what an amazing and charming human being.
it really would be an honor to meet him one day. i think i'll try to somehow even if i need to take a trip to ethiopia. i would like to go.
love to see those pictures if you can share! its cool image of you stopping on the side of the road in addis abbaba. sounds like an amazing experience.
wejo wrote:
It's official this time:
http://www.letsrun.com/news/2015/05/the-great-haile-gebrselassie-retires/Thank you Haile. I'll never forget being at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics after the 10k and reaching out over a railing to congratulate Geb as he went into the tunnel. He put up his hand and it nicked my hand. I thought it was the coolest ting.
Geb were an inspiration to myself and millions. Without that inspiration I'm not sure LetsRun.com would exist.
Share your thanks in this thread.
All hail the founder of letsrun.com
The best ever and proof that you don't need drugs to beat dopers
Haile I salute you
flent wrote:
Hermens is saying that Geb isn't really retiring apparently.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/05/10/us-athletics-gebrselassie-idUSKBN0NV0SN20150510
He's retired from competitive running.
Jos just confused everyone with that statement. Here is a press release from Jos' agency saying he has retired:
http://www.letsrun.com/news/2015/05/press-release-confirming-haile-gebrselassies-retirement/I think Jos just was trying to say you may still see Haile show up at events and run like the Great Scottis Run (but he won't be going for the win as a competitive athlete).
I drove to the NYC Marathon from Minneapolis to see Geb in action, just one time. He dropped out before he got to where I was standing, then "retired." I was really bummed...but so glad he went on to do even more great things, running or otherwise.
The battles with Tergat are where the magic is. If you want to show a person what it really means to be a mental warrior, show them those races.
If being a kind man, a serial winner, and friend to all is was not enough, you had the mental strength that I think is the pinnacle of human achievement.
Thanks Geb, for everything you have done, and everything you will do.
Watch the Haile movie Endurance if you haven't done so already.
So much respect for this man.
We'll never forget you, Haile.
We all know how amazing of a career he had. 27 WRs, 6 golds, 3:31, 12:39, 26:22, 2:03:59. Those numbers speak for themselves.
What's significant for me is the fact that Geb is the true, undisputed GOAT lover of running. Without a doubt in a Gebless world I would still be a 220lb chubster sitting around on the sofa. Discovering competitive running, and especially Geb, shortly after starting is what got me hooked. Watching both the beautiful way the guy ran, and then especially listening to him talk about running...it's just impossible not to get a massive smile on your face and want to go run.
Both one of the best runners and one of the best human beings and ambassadors in the sport. So long and thanks for all the memories!
wejo wrote:
It's official this time:
http://www.letsrun.com/news/2015/05/the-great-haile-gebrselassie-retires/Thank you Haile. I'll never forget being at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics after the 10k and reaching out over a railing to congratulate Geb as he went into the tunnel. He put up his hand and it nicked my hand. I thought it was the coolest ting.
Geb were an inspiration to myself and millions. Without that inspiration I'm not sure LetsRun.com would exist.
Share your thanks in this thread.
What a incredible career! He was a runner who had incredible range and was the very best in world at the 5000, 10000, and the Marathon at different points in his career. I am not aware of another runner who was the absolute best at the 5000/10000 and then became the very best at the marathon. Because of this, he is the GOAT in my opinion. Unless Bekele starts really busting it in the marathon, I think it will be hard to argue that Geb is not the greatest until we see someone else come along probably many years from now. I don't see anyone on the scene that can possibly challenge him for the GOAT except Bekele. And I have serious doubts that Bekele will ever be great at the marathon. Geb goes out at the right time. He is still world class and is the best ambassador that running has ever had.
I never met the man, but did watch the 1996 Olympic final in person. My ticket was a lottery selection, sat down next to a guy from Littleton, CO (I was living in Castle Rock, CO at the time). The guy said to me, I've never been to the Olympics and am generally not a fan of track, but, if you go to the Olympics, you need to go see a night of track. The 10K was about ready to start. I had run the 10K in college and the trials in 84, so gave him a few pointers:
1. If the runners are in a bunch, its slow; 2) if they are strung out, its fast; 3)The Kenyans will run as a team to get one a gold (back then); 4) the pace will dawdle until 5K at around 14 min; 5) the Kenyans will take over at 5K and really push the pace; 6) Hissou (sp?) from Morocco is good, I think 3rd; 7) Tergat is the main Kenyan, his teammates will help him and he will try to take it with 4 to 6 laps to go; 8) Geb is the MAN. He will sit on Tergat and kick him down.
When the race was over, and played out exactly as I had called, the guy leaned over to me and said: you should have had money on this.
I salute you Geb. That was the best race I've ever personally witnessed.
That same night I saw Lewis win the LJ on his last attempt, and Johnson set the WR in the 200. When that night was done, I looked at my wife and said, I can die now, I just witnessed the greatest night of T&F in my life!
Haile, what an inspiration you have been and will continue to be. I have followed your career with interest since I was a young miler in 1997, right through to the present. I wish you nothing but the best, you are an unimpeachable example to us all in every fiber of your being. Thank you.
A legend has retired. I am seriously choked up about this. When I read the news I went out and ran a 10,000 out of respect, and in celebration of his career and the distance that made him. I hope he continues to hold the marathon that bears his name at Lake Hawassa; I'm aiming for 2017 if it's still around.
Haile's Outdoor PR's (WR = World Record):
1500m - 3:33.73
1 mile - 3:52.39
3000m - 7:25.09 (formerly 2nd all-time, currently 4th all-time)
2-mile - 8:01.08 (former WR, currently 2nd-fastest person / 3rd-fastest time all-time)
5000m - 12:39.36 (former WR, currently 2nd-fastest all-time)
10,000m - 26:22.75 (former WR, currently 2nd-fastest person / 3rd-fastest time all-time)
10k (road) - 27:02 (former WR, currently 3rd all-time)
10-mile (road) - 44:24 (current WR)
20,000m - 56:26.0 (current WR on the track)
1 hour run - 21,285 m (current WR on the track)
half-marathon - 58:55 (former WR, currently 10th-fastest person / 12th-fastest time all-time)
marathon - 2:03:59 (former WR, currently 5th-fastest person / 8th-fastest time all-time)
Haile's Indoor PR's (WB = World Best):
800m - 1:49.35
1000m - 2:20.30
1500m - 3:31.76 (still 2nd all-time)
2000m - 4:52.86 (former WB, currently 2nd all-time)
3000m - 7:26.15 (former WB, currently 2nd all-time)
2-mile - 8:04.69 (former WB, currently 3rd all-time)
5000m - 12:50.38 (former WB, currently 2nd all-time)
Notable & Interesting Achievements:
~ Haile won a medal in 6 straight outdoor World Championships.
~ Haile won a GOLD medal in 4 straight outdoor World Championships.
~ Haile won a GOLD medal in 2 straight Olympics.
~ Haile competed in 4 straight Olympics, which is a feat, considering that he was qualifying for the ETHIOPIAN team at the distance of 10,000m (and dually for the marathon in 2008).
~ Haile won 4 indoor World Championships GOLD medals (3000m in 1997, 1999, and 2003; 1500m in 1999; NOTE THE 1500m/3000m DOUBLE!).
~ Haile won the Golden League jackpot in his distance category (3000m/5000m) in 1998.
~ Haile won GOLD at the 2001 World Half-Marathon Championships.
~ Haile won the Berlin marathon 4 years in a row.
~ Haile won the Dubai marathon 3 years in a row.
~ Haile has run 27 all-comers world records, and at least 2 masters world records (that I know of).
~ One of my personal favorites: Haile has run a 2-mile in 8:01 on 3 different occasions.
...and that is just an extremely abbreviated list of his accomplishments.
Some may have bested one, two, or a few of his times, but NO ONE has put together a more comprehensive, extensive, and wide-ranging resume of distance-running. That's one of the reasons they call him THE GREATEST.
To understand how he could be so great, know what he did and what he said:
~ Haile ran a 10k to school, and a 10k home from school, all the while carrying his books. He said it was the only way to get there on time, and being late carried either reprimand, expulsion, or both. After school he would have to tend the fields and animals by hand.
~ When asked how he could push himself to do such great things, like win gold medals with Achilles tendon injuries, Haile revealed that for him winning is a compulsion-type mindset: "I HAVE to win. I have to win."
~ Haile had a lightning-fast 200m kick in his early-to-mid 20's. At the 1995 World Championships, one commentator was heard saying, "I can scarcely believe my watch, Steve. Haile Gebrselassie ran the last 200m of the 10,000m race faster than Wilson Kipketer ran the last 200m of the 800m race." For those who don't know, Wilson Kipketer that race, set a world record 2 years later, and still today is the 2nd-fastest man ever across 800m.
~ Haile didn't just sit on his fortune, he grew it even larger, and enhanced the economy of his country and quality of life of the people in his country. His business ventures to date include (but are not limited to) a coffee plantation, hotels, real estate, automobile distribution, mining exploration, and, one of his first ventures, Ethiopian cinema. "When we started, no one wanted to see Ethiopian movie. Now no one wants to see foreign movie."
~ In addition to being an ambassador for running, Haile has become a crusader for health, with specific focus on combating the rising obesity rates across the world. His recommendation is that everyone needs 30 to 40 minutes of AEROBIC exercise (not just walking) every day. As he put it, "the people have to sweat. The children have to sweat." I love you, Haile.
~ Even while retiring, Haile said, "I am retiring from competitive running, not from running. You cannot stop running, this is my life." He has said before, and he still says now, that he will run for the rest of his life.
The miniature biography above is something I put together for new or young readers of the forums. All the seasoned guys know about Haile's greatness because they saw it happen, in images that are etched onto their brains forever, mine included. At the very least, everyone who can should watch videos of his races: Haile's Olympic duels with Paul Tergat (in 1996 & 2000) over 10,000m and his duel with Daniel Komen in Zurich (in 1997) over 5000m are just epic.
For me, the 3 most-motivating quotes from Haile:
#3: "Age for me is just a number."
#2: "Impossible is nothing!"
#1: "A day without running is not a day."
Thank you, Haile, for all the inspiration, and for all the memories. You've given us a lifetime of motivation to do our best.