He has not literally said he wont run of course but the main reason he would not run would be
the Ethiopian Athletics Federation.
1 - they would need him to run at least a couple of selected marathons and even after that, he may not get the place
2 - they are corrupt beyond belief and there is a lot of politics. I seriously think its about who pays them them most these days :)
NOTE: Haile went in to sort out the mess and failed miserably. Haile left it due to all the nonsense
Now, Derartu Tulu has taken over. I doubt she can change them much.
When asked if he would run the Olympics Kennenisa's first words were about the federation and that it's to far away
to plan or talk about now.
If i recall correct, Kebede had the fastest Marathon time before Brazil Olympics. He was not selected. The guys
they sent were miles behind Kebede. As it proved, they went to Brazil and did not even finish. They were way way out.
Haile criticized them strongly at the time for not selecting Kebede. So KB knows he has not guarantees at that end.
But like i said, i dont think he will run as they will demand he runs qualifying races and it seems staying injury free is
paramount to him. He is fearful of injuries as he has suffered a lot from them.
As for a race between EK and KB, i doubt it would produce a record breaking time. In fact i am sure it would not. It would be too tactical. If you go for a world record v a great runner, you can lose both. the record and the win.