When he was running the 10k in 26:17 ,do you think he would have been able to run sub 2:01 in a regular race?
At 37 what he is doing is extraordinary, but I think that if he ran marathon in his athletic prime he could have done much better and be easily the world record holder.
This would not have been possible without running in next's%.
Its a 4% faster.
Shoes+hydration in 2019=probably make an athlete 5% faster than 2005/2006
Could he have run sub 2:01 back then? Maybe. He wouldn't have requested that pace. People's expectations of what was possible in the marathon were a lot different back then.
I'm not sure how much age matters in marathons. After all, Eliud Kipchoge broke the world record at 53 years old.
MarathonGreat wrote:
When he was running the 10k in 26:17 ,do you think he would have been able to run sub 2:01 in a regular race?
At 37 what he is doing is extraordinary, but I think that if he ran marathon in his athletic prime he could have done much better and be easily the world record holder.
Nope, that’s why he needed to wait until now.
the way the human mind works, no way. He could have smashed the record, YES. But he would not have taken the record from 2:05 to 2:01.
But maybe had he and Geb been doing them at the same time, for a few years, they could have pushed each other to ridiculous heights.
The speed and mental strength he has now is a result of his younger track and xc career. If he had gone straight to the marathon he could have ended like many young talents who brake apart after three marathons. The problem with let’s runners is that they think 25 is the end of your life, when actually there isn’t any significant change in the body up until 40 and even further. Probably after 40 you start to lose a bit of power and records are out of reach for professionals, but significant fall starts only in your 60’s and sometimes later even. Up until then you are still a strong man capable of training hard.
That's not an insult to say that you start to decline a little before your 30.
Bekele went for Marathon when he couldn't do anymore what he was able to do on the tracks. He had lost his cutting edge speed. Marathon is a different beast so you can perform very well even after 30, but still, being in your physical prime always happen before 30, not after.
There is no doubt Bekele declined well before going to marathon and was not able run the 10k like he used to.
I understand that the record was slower at that time and that the runners have progressed since. But I would have loved to see a prime Bekele unleashing his full potential on the marathon.
Who says that he was in his prime ? Marathon perfection needs a very mature athlete ! I think for that distance he is actually in his prime !!!
Levi.Run wrote:
Who says that he was in his prime ? Marathon perfection needs a very mature athlete ! I think for that distance he is actually in his prime !!!
I understand the argument, but you can't be physically stronger in potential at 37 than at 25 unless you are Mo Farah and you are suspicious.
Bekele was already extremely accomplished in the tracks and cross at 25, if he had turned into Marathon at this age, he could have reached unprecedented levels.
Ggggg wrote:
significant fall starts only in your 60’s and sometimes later even. Up until then you are still a strong man capable of training hard.
Spoken like a true young whippersnapper. Wait till you're 60 and then see how you feel.
dunes runner wrote:
Ggggg wrote:
significant fall starts only in your 60’s and sometimes later even. Up until then you are still a strong man capable of training hard.
Spoken like a true young whippersnapper. Wait till you're 60 and then see how you feel.
Ditto, I was about to post the same.
The Vaporflys weren't around when he was 25 so I don't believe he would run as fast
Bekele's 26:17 is one of the most suspect, outlier records left. It was a huge doping era with at least a few runners in the all-time top 10 times for 10k who most people never heard of, and never did anything else.
He would of ran like a 1:55.
DC Wonk wrote:
Bekele's 26:17 is one of the most suspect, outlier records left. It was a huge doping era with at least a few runners in the all-time top 10 times for 10k who most people never heard of, and never did anything else.
How it is an outlier as he ran 26:20 the year before and overall has 4 of the 6 all time best performances??
DC Wonk wrote:
Bekele's 26:17 is one of the most suspect, outlier records left. It was a huge doping era with at least a few runners in the all-time top 10 times for 10k who most people never heard of, and never did anything else.
The top ten times for 10,000m are all within fifteen seconds of one another, and were run over a period of more than a decade. The two most obvious reasons that those times have held up so well are (1) there have been almost no world-class 10,000m races in recent years, outside of championships without pacers and (2) runners like Bekele, Geb, and Tergat (the three fastest 10,000m runners ever) don't come around that often.
Film Rep wrote:
He would of ran like a 1:55.
I agree with this, and will add that Geb and several others could have done this when they were young, had the managers and coaches moved them in that direction.
Vital Energy wrote:
Film Rep wrote:
He would of ran like a 1:55.
I agree with this, and will add that Geb and several others could have done this when they were young, had the managers and coaches moved them in that direction.
No, that's 27:13 per 10k.
Avocado's Number wrote:
DC Wonk wrote:
Bekele's 26:17 is one of the most suspect, outlier records left. It was a huge doping era with at least a few runners in the all-time top 10 times for 10k who most people never heard of, and never did anything else.
The top ten times for 10,000m are all within fifteen seconds of one another, and were run over a period of more than a decade. The two most obvious reasons that those times have held up so well are (1) there have been almost no world-class 10,000m races in recent years, outside of championships without pacers and (2) runners like Bekele, Geb, and Tergat (the three fastest 10,000m runners ever) don't come around that often.
Yep, Farah could have run within 10 seconds of that if the race was right.
Bekele would not have run faster at 25 because the shoes were not around yet. Plus undetectable drug technology has come a long way.