ShilohDoesntCare wrote:
Discus
As much as I think Bekele is much better than Farah, I don't think this is a automatic at all. If Mo's been training for the 10,000m again he will definitely have the kick advantage and not sure at this point in Bekele's build to London marathon he will take it out at pace to drop Mo....but we'll see. Last time they met in a Half Mo was favoured and Bekele pulled out the win
Does Bekele usually run a half for marathon prep?
KIPxx wrote:
Does Bekele usually run a half for marathon prep?
no...first time. Although usually he's probably still injured at this point leading up to a race so perhaps a good sign
Tron wrote:
KIPxx wrote:
Does Bekele usually run a half for marathon prep?
no...first time. Although usually he's probably still injured at this point leading up to a race so perhaps a good sign
he's only run one half ever...the great north run in 2013 against Farah
Bekele has to be favored after his berlin performance. i am very much looking forward to this. hopefully will be live streamed.
Yes! GRN 2013 is my all time favourite race to watch I can't believe I'm going to get the opportunity to watch Bekele chew up Monday Farah again 7 years on!
high school xc coach wrote:
Bekele has to be favored after his berlin performance. i am very much looking forward to this. hopefully will be live streamed.
is he though? Farah did a 59.07 last year and at this stage in their careers/focus, he will likely have better kick than Bekele.
With that said, I'd love to see Bekele hand it to him and still show him he has the wheels if it comes down to that
Really intrigued by this one. On home soil against Bekele, that's a tough ask. Bekele won't want to be 100% all in on this race if it's a prep race for London Marathon, but I don't think he knows how to do anything other than go for the win. Farah should have plenty of speed in his legs, and with the marathon miles he's done over the last couple of years there's a decent argument that he could be in the best HM shape he could be, if he's no longer a 5000-10000m specialist, and is now more of a 10000m-HM specialist.
My money would be on Bekele, if he is update.
Tron wrote:
high school xc coach wrote:
Bekele has to be favored after his berlin performance. i am very much looking forward to this. hopefully will be live streamed.
is he though? Farah did a 59.07 last year and at this stage in their careers/focus, he will likely have better kick than Bekele.
With that said, I'd love to see Bekele hand it to him and still show him he has the wheels if it comes down to that
just read about the 2013 race. they were together and Bekele took off at a ridiculous pace with a mile to go. put quite a bit of distance on Farah, but he almost caught him with a huge kick at end. 1 second. Hopefully plays out in a similar fashion again, regardless of who wins. I just want to see it.
high school xc coach wrote:
Tron wrote:
is he though? Farah did a 59.07 last year and at this stage in their careers/focus, he will likely have better kick than Bekele.
With that said, I'd love to see Bekele hand it to him and still show him he has the wheels if it comes down to that
just read about the 2013 race. they were together and Bekele took off at a ridiculous pace with a mile to go. put quite a bit of distance on Farah, but he almost caught him with a huge kick at end. 1 second. Hopefully plays out in a similar fashion again, regardless of who wins. I just want to see it.
that race is one of my all-time favourites...big difference is both were training for 10,000m at the time and Bekele's strength showed...whereas Mo probably has more strength now from his marathon training. I'd love to see Bekele still show he has a kick and beat Mo
https://youtu.be/_rDoJdVz00Q?t=345I think Bekele will win handily. He's smart and had beaten Farah the last time well before Farah left the track. Obviously he has the endurance to run the wheels off of Farah.
ShilohDoesntCare wrote:
I think Bekele will win handily. He's smart and had beaten Farah the last time well before Farah left the track. Obviously he has the endurance to run the wheels off of Farah.
I think Bekele will win but i think you're underrating Farah in this too. Bekele isn't going for a Half WR and Farah did that 59:07 in the fall so not like it will be easy to drop him. It may just come down to a sprint which could be either
Tron wrote:
high school xc coach wrote:
just read about the 2013 race. they were together and Bekele took off at a ridiculous pace with a mile to go. put quite a bit of distance on Farah, but he almost caught him with a huge kick at end. 1 second. Hopefully plays out in a similar fashion again, regardless of who wins. I just want to see it.
that race is one of my all-time favourites...big difference is both were training for 10,000m at the time and Bekele's strength showed...whereas Mo probably has more strength now from his marathon training. I'd love to see Bekele still show he has a kick and beat Mo
https://youtu.be/_rDoJdVz00Q?t=345
thanks for posting that video. TREMENDOUS. My heart was beating that last 300 meters even knowing the outcome!
also, to see 3 legends at the front, before that last mile was pretty incredible too. I've only been keeping up with this stuff for a couple years now.
Tron wrote:
ShilohDoesntCare wrote:
I think Bekele will win handily. He's smart and had beaten Farah the last time well before Farah left the track. Obviously he has the endurance to run the wheels off of Farah.
I think Bekele will win but i think you're underrating Farah in this too. Bekele isn't going for a Half WR and Farah did that 59:07 in the fall so not like it will be easy to drop him. It may just come down to a sprint which could be either
Farah is unbeatable if it comes down to a kick in the last 800 meters. If Bekele goes out at a suicidal pace, I can see Farah struggling. He barely hung on to Jake Robertson at the GNR a few years back.. and when it came to the final kick, of course Farah won.
UA Runner wrote:
Farah is unbeatable if it comes down to a kick in the last 800 meters. If Bekele goes out at a suicidal pace, I can see Farah struggling. He barely hung on to Jake Robertson at the GNR a few years back.. and when it came to the final kick, of course Farah won.
I don't think unbeatable but definitely would be tough for Bekele to win if it came down to a sprint. If at least an honest pace, I can definitely see Bekele winning in a sprint as he always could kick off a faster pace than Mo....Whether or not he's worked on any speed recently is a question mark for everyone but given he signed up for a half against Mo, I'm sure he will be prepared
Hopefully with Wanders running RAK in Late February and Farah running this race against K. Bekele Europe can get 1 or even 2 Men under 59 Minutes in the Half Marathon.
Is Bekele trying to win this race at all costs or just trying to run a desired half pace in the context of his marathon prep. The former seems like a good way to gas his London attempt.
I'd rather see Bekele win but I think smart money would be on Farah. he won't be doing marathon training and has probably already been working on his speed since deciding to run the 10k this year.
If Bekele wins, it won't be in a sprint. Farah will probably wait until the last 800m
I'm not sure Farah's unbeatable in a kick. Yes, he won a lot of championships with his one patented move -- winding it up with 500m to go, staying ahead while everyone battled each other to get on his shoulder, then kicking again in the last 100m after his closest pursuers had to run wide. But you youngsters perhaps don't know what kind of kick Bekele has always had. When he won his 10,000m titles, he didn't just barely hold people off, he destroyed them by running 53 on the last lap and winning by 20 meters or more. Learn your history. At any rate, IF Bekele is fit, a big if admittedly, he's at least a minute faster than Farah at HM, based on his 2:01 marathon. He should have no trouble kicking for the win.