IF Bekele were to race Farah next year, what strategy could he use?

Intelligenced wrote:

2:03:03 wrote:

Bekele just dropped a 2:47 final k at Berlin. That is 1:57 marathon pace. He wasn't supposed to be able to do that until he did.

Yes, very astute...

3/10>>1/42

Indeed.

doot doot wrote:

well,. wrote:

Tergat has said that when he broke the marathon WR he would not have been able to break 27.30.

Also KB has said that marathon training is completely different than 10k training for him. He went from high intensity/moderate mileage to up to 250 km at 4 min/km which he found incredibly boring but necessary.

Yeah but Tergat is not Bekele.

If Geb was trashing Paul then let's not even waste our time entertaining a comparison between he and Bekele.

There is no way 26:45 isn't in Bekele's wheelhouse after 2:03 at any time.

(26:57 championship time with a 5:00 flat last 2k)

Of course KB is supremely fit, but 2.03 marathon fitness doesn´t say anything about his ability over the last laps in a 10000 race. Geb had well below 27 capacity in both 2004 and 2008 Olympics but couldn´t follow in the end.

well,. wrote:

doot doot wrote:

Yeah but Tergat is not Bekele.

If Geb was trashing Paul then let's not even waste our time entertaining a comparison between he and Bekele.

There is no way 26:45 isn't in Bekele's wheelhouse after 2:03 at any time.

(26:57 championship time with a 5:00 flat last 2k)

Of course KB is supremely fit, but 2.03 marathon fitness doesn´t say anything about his ability over the last laps in a 10000 race. Geb had well below 27 capacity in both 2004 and 2008 Olympics but couldn´t follow in the end.

I think that's what would make this race intriguing...I do think Bekele would have more of a Kick than Geb had in 2008 where he just fell off the last lap and would be definitely be fit enough for a sub 27. Would it be enough to beat Mo is the question? and i do think he could...if he plays his cards right

rjm- love the pic of Sleazar's o-face holdin' his boisKeep up the good fight.

well,. wrote:

doot doot wrote:

Yeah but Tergat is not Bekele.

If Geb was trashing Paul then let's not even waste our time entertaining a comparison between he and Bekele.

There is no way 26:45 isn't in Bekele's wheelhouse after 2:03 at any time.

(26:57 championship time with a 5:00 flat last 2k)

Of course KB is supremely fit, but 2.03 marathon fitness doesn´t say anything about his ability over the last laps in a 10000 race. Geb had well below 27 capacity in both 2004 and 2008 Olympics but couldn´t follow in the end.

I see what you're saying. I choose to believe Bekele will be race sharp with a 5:00 2k if he's gonna go up against MoMo the Slow Broâ„¢ at 10k.

He doesn't need to close in 53 to win. And he shouldn't try to leave it open like that.

He needs to grind that grifter MoMo the Slow Broâ„¢ into nothing. 2:03 marathon strength makes the 5:00 strategy more plausible because Bekele...

>the face when you just split 1200m in 3:01 but Bekele's pulling away and there's still 800m left in the race 😬😩

totally agree! he doesn't need to close in 53 (otherwise this wouldn't be an issue as he would beat Mo in a slow race as well).

When Bekele closed the final 2km in the 2008 5,000m he still finished with 53 which made him utterly dominant....Now maybe a 55 could still do it off a fast pace. What do you think Bekele could close out a lap these days?

to be fair to Bekele, he was not great for a bunch of years because of injury but he had to be almost all of the way back to run 2:03:03.

jjjjj wrote:

to be fair to Bekele, he was not great for a bunch of years because of injury but he had to be almost all of the way back to run 2:03:03.

Almost all the way back to what? 26:17? Do you think Kimetto could run that fast?

I agree that he could do 55 and that would seal the deal off a couple hard final kilometers. He looked absolutely sublime closing in Berlin.

((Corollary: I think the track backgrounds for Kipchoge and Bekele give them a huge advantage (over the guys who have only raced on the roads) in the closing stages of the marathon. Even if they're not kicking like it's a championship 5k they hold themselves together so well when it's tough. I can't say for sure but I don't think the roadies have that in them like the track guys. I don't remember watching Geb run marathons. How'd he look?

Kipchoge's composure over the final bit in London was amazing.))

Remember in the 2009 race how Bekele put a 80m gap on Tadesse between the start of the bell lap and 200m to go?

If Bekele drops a 60 with 8 laps to go in the 10000m after a 13:30 first 5000m, that's what will happen to the field, and it'll be a replay of Great North Run.

50% of the field will drop out, the rest will be lapped once, twice, or more. I don't remember, was bronze in 2009 lapped? Not quite, but almost lapped if I recall. Mo and a Kenyan will keep it close enough for a wide camera angle.

Alternatively, Bekele runs 13:15 first 5000m and Farah trips and/or faints.

I see it going two ways, Bekele strings it out from the gun, race over from the start.

Or, Bekele sits in 3rd or so for the first 2-3 laps which are at something like 75 sec/lap pace as the field is inches from seizure at the idea of Bekele and Mo in the field. Mo of course will be sitting 5m off the back as usual, 60m behind the leaders. When Mo goes into lane 8 to grab some water, Bekele - ever watching the video screens - takes off with a 28 sec 200m and holds on at 62 pace for good measure. Farah is NOT making up that ground even with a sacrificial Galen or two.

It's still hard to believe that the best runners in the world let Mo spot them 60m and didn't even try to make it hard for him to catch back up. If they would have started running 61/62 with Mo 50m behind it would take an incredible effort for Farah to catch up within a mile, or even two. And then he'd be fried, no way he'd finish in under 56.

If Mo starts in the back with Bekele up front there's no way he's getting gold. His 10000m time is not going to be 5 seconds faster than what Bekele can do.

Bekele will all but start walking with 100m to go to allow Mo to catch up, and then he'll outkick Farah with 30m to go for good measure.

doot doot wrote:

I agree that he could do 55 and that would seal the deal off a couple hard final kilometers. He looked absolutely sublime closing in Berlin.

((Corollary: I think the track backgrounds for Kipchoge and Bekele give them a huge advantage (over the guys who have only raced on the roads) in the closing stages of the marathon. Even if they're not kicking like it's a championship 5k they hold themselves together so well when it's tough. I can't say for sure but I don't think the roadies have that in them like the track guys. I don't remember watching Geb run marathons. How'd he look?

Kipchoge's composure over the final bit in London was amazing.))

Do you think Bekele would race the 10,000m at next years worlds? part of me thinks he would love to bring down Farah in his home stadium....but the other side of me thinks he wants to stay on course with the Marathon and break the WR (and get a WC gold)

If he goes Marathon route, I wonder if it would be then WC london marathon and Berlin again next year and skipping the London spring marathon as can't see him doing 3 in a year

Geb was a time trialer when he ran the marathon. The race organizers always set up the races for him with pacers and relatively weak competition. I think he was a slightly different runner than KB - a little more speed and less stamina. He was a better 1500 runner than KB but sucked at XC.

@ admin, it was so frustrating watching the leaders lope along while Farah jogged in the very back. "What the fvck are they thinking?" Even if they couldn't see him fall (hear the crowd reaction, look at the jumbo-tron) they needed to shake shit up. Total, utter failure in tactics. I remember watching the Kenyans and Ethiopians jostle and shove and vie for the opportunity to take the lead so they could throw down a surge. Now every dipshit in a pair of Victories is racing for second OR actually thinks they have a chance to kick against a 3:28 guy. Hard to say which more dumb.

The difference between Mo and Bekele is that Bekele seems to need to dominate running in all aspects. Times. Medals. Surfaces. Competitors.

Bekele cannot be satisfied watching this grifter cop these easy medals while he's sidelined with injuries.

Was it Canova who said that Bekele has a ferocious competitiveness that is beyond even other elites? Hermens only speaks about Bekele in superlatives.

I hope he dabbles in 10k training. If it goes well he'll beat Farah and we can ban Tony the Tiger (and maybe Metric Miler, too) for his/their blasphemy. Bekele has time to break the marathon WR but only one Mo' shot at taking MoMo down at his "signature" distance.

True.

But did he look relaxed?

well,. wrote:

He was a better 1500 runner than KB but sucked at XC.

False. Bekele is just as good (or just about) at 1500m as Geb.

do you guys think Geb could have run faster at 5k and 10k if he was in his mid-late twenties when bekele set the current world records?

Mo Farah will spank Bekele in the 10k if Bekele were 2 step 2 the track n face Mo ...u will b vomiting all over here crying that Bekele is 90% shape n what not lol

tony the tiger wrote:

Mo Farah will spank Bekele in the 10k if Bekele were 2 step 2 the track n face Mo ...u will b vomiting all over here crying that Bekele is 90% shape n what not lol

Take a look at this

That's a 26:45 10000m with an easy 56 last lap, while waving and jogging it in the last 200m.

Mo Farah has a PB of 26:46, with the last lap at a ~55 max effort.

Take it down to 26:30 and Mo isn't running any faster than 58 for the last lap, while Bekele probably still manages a 55. That's the finishing kick that a 30 second better PB in the distance affords you.

And you expect to see 2009 Bekele toeing the line next year?

tony the tiger wrote:

Mo Farah will spank Bekele in the 10k if Bekele were 2 step 2 the track n face Mo ...u will b vomiting all over here crying that Bekele is 90% shape n what not lol

Here is another Bekele Destroyer Strategy that can also be used at the end of a race to make things very unpleasant for SloMoNoâ„¢.

For example:

In this race Mr. Bekele ran the last 3 laps in 58.84, 58.35, and 57.08 (2:54.27 last 1200m)…for a final time of 7:26.69.

Mobot did not have his Mobot™ at this point in time. Mo is in this race (sort of)…but it is hard to see him...because he is so far behind Mr. Bekele.

Mo placed 6th in 7:42.83 in this race…which ended up as more soggy frosted flakes... with no Mobot™ for Tania tiger kitten…again.

That was not a fun race for MoNo or Tania tiger kitten.

I