Tag: Haile Gebrselassie

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The GOAT…

Who is the distance running GOAT, or the Greatest of All Time? Now that the 2018 New York Marathon is in the books, mainstream running events are largely done until the Dubai Marathon in January. The next event that is most likely to help define the discussion around the GOAT is the London Marathon in April.

So who is the distance running GOAT? The argument recently has come down to three people: Haile Gebrselassie, Keninisa Bekele, and Eliud Kipchoge. Traditionally, someone in contention for the GOAT title is prolific at the 5000M, 10000M, and marathon.

Let’s look at each candidate.

Eliud Kipchoge. His name gets included now largely due to his dominance at the marathon level. Besides crushing the world record at Berlin this past September and almost going sub-2 hours, only one person has ever beaten him head-to-head at the distance. All of his marathon wins, except for one, have come at marathon majors, the Olympics, or the highly selective Breaking 2 project. To maintain this kind of dominance for several years at this distance is phenomenal, possibly unprecedented. He also earned bronze and silver medals at the 5000M distance in two Olympic games and has posted times in the top-25 all time for the 5000M and 10000M. Because he has not set world records at either distance and did not earn gold at the Olympics for those, his inclusion in the GOAT argument is very recent and more complicated, but well-deserved. The fact that he doesn’t have as many medals and accolades at the 5000M and 10000M distances would make it difficult for some people to say he should get this title over these other two contenders.

Keninisa Bekele. He holds the current world records in the 5000M and 10000M and has posted the third-fastest marathon time of all time (and it was the second-fastest when he ran it) which he earned when he won the 2016 Berlin Marathon. He has three Olympic gold medals (2004 10000M in Athens, 2008 10000M and 5000M in Beijing) and 1 silver (2004 5000M in Athens). He owns six world championships on the track and eleven world cross-country titles. However, his marathon career has been inconsistent. He frequently DNFs and though he has posted fast times, his performance when he’s been in the same race against Kipchoge and other current greats has been disappointing. He has raced nine times against Gebrselassie and came out ahead of him six times. That being said, Bekele was getting into the prime of his career and Gebrselassie was coming towards the end. Bekele’s dominance on the track and in cross country cannot be doubted and puts him as the GOAT for many people. His inconsistency at the marathon keeps me from saying he’s the GOAT.

Haile Gebrselassie. He held the world records at 5000M, 10000M, and the marathon at different points of his career. He has two Olympic gold medals, both at 10000M at the 1996 Atlanta and 2000 Sydney games. He doesn’t have as many world championships as Bekele and has zero cross-country world championships. However, Gebrselassie took monster amounts of time off the 5000M and 10000M world records and though Bekele’s records are technically faster, they’re not as big of a drop from the prior ones. Furthermore, besides setting the world record for the marathon, he won four straight Berlin Marathons and a Dubai marathon. It’s a very difficult call between Gebrselassie and Bekele, and Bekele’s track and cross country career obviously includes many more championships. However, given that Gebreselassie took the 5000M and 10000M into a new stratosphere and that his marathon career was more decorated, I would say he gets the edge for GOAT.

One similarity that Bekele and Kipchoge share is that they have been prolific in one area but not as decorated in the other. The advantage Kipchoge has, in my mind, is that his consistency at the marathon level is unparalleled. He doesn’t lose despite the fact he’s always running against the world’s best. In terms of someone being the greatest, I would argue that consistency is a big factor.

So what could change these arguments, either for me or someone else?

Haile Gebrselassie: Nothing, as he’s retired.

Eliud Kipchoge: If he wins the 2020 Tokyo Olympic marathon or were to go under two hours for the marathon, I would say it makes him the GOAT. Elite marathoners typically can stay at a high level for a few years. Kipchoge won his first marathon major in 2014, two years before the Rio Olympic games. To win a second gold six years and multiple major wins after the first would be nothing short of incredible. If Kipchoge were to win additional multiple majors and break his own world record, that might also be enough to make him the GOAT.

Keninisa Bekele: If he were to set the world record in the marathon, I would say he gets GOAT status. Given how difficult world records are to achieve and his dominance at other distances, two or more additional major marathon wins might also push him into that status, especially if he posted times in the 2:02 or low 2:03 range. His resume at the 5000M and 10000M distance, as well as cross-country, is so far above other runners’ that he doesn’t necessarily need a long, prestigious marathon career. But, while he’s had a marathon career that 99% of runners would gladly take, compared to Gebrselassie, he doesn’t have consistent excellence (relatively) at that distance.

Comparing these three runners is like comparing three five-star similar-fare restaurants. There will be little things that move people to choose one over the other but they’re all incredible. However, the argument is fun, there’s no definitive answer, and it keeps going.

At the present, there’s no other current runner who looks like they will be able to challenge these three but someone will come along. When they do, one of these runners will move off the list, or it will get more crowded and complicated.

In honor of a holiday revolving around food, here are three running food reviews.

Running food reviews of the week: (note–gels, bars, chews, and other items affect everyone differently. Try them on a short run before using them for a key training run or race):

Gu Campfire S’mores: Note that it’s not oven s’mores or microwave s’mores. Campfire S’mores. To maximize the flavor, I tried this on a cold, rainy morning. It tasted good (maybe the weather helped) and it had a positive energy boost. I actually ate this on the first morning after taking 9 days off and it helped me run through any rust buildup.

Gatorade Cucumber Lime: If you ever wondered what it would taste like to drink a cucumber that’s been seasoned with lime, here’s your answer. I used this on a cold, snowy day though it had a “summery” taste. One thing that I liked was the lightness of the flavor. If you were feeling full but you needed hydration, taste-wise this might feel better going down. Technically it may fill you up the same way but the placebo effect could be there. I was not a fan of the taste but I could see value in using it for sustained energy. If you like the taste of drinking a cucumber, that’s an added bonus with this one.

Jelly Belly Sport Beans Lemon Lime: These taste like you would expect lemon lime jelly beans to taste, which is to say pretty good. For the energy boost, I did feel better on last two-thirds of my run so I would say they did their job. No caffeine in this one so they are better if you’ve already had your morning caffeine.

Sources used:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eliud_Kipchoge
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haile_Gebrselassie
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenenisa_Bekele
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/5000_metres
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/10,000_metres

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Being a running fan/spectator part four…

Middle distance and more long distance…

When you watch middle distance, 800M to 3000M, you see races where more strategy is involved but there is still little room for error. Though it may not be as common as sprints, you can see world records at the Olympics in a middle distance race. David Rudisha set the current world record for the 800M, 1:40.91 at the 2012 Olympics (Rudisha record source).

In the 1500M or mile, the total race time at the professional men’s level is under four minutes. For the 800M, it’s under two minutes. There are a couple of basics at these distances to keep an eye on. One, runners don’t want to get boxed in at the beginning of the race. They may give a short burst at the beginning to try and establish position. Two, they will want to maintain a relatively even pace. In other words, besides establishing position at the beginning, they won’t continue an all-out surge then hope to hold on, nor will they conserve excessive energy and hope to make up lots of ground at the end. When you look at their splits (an evenly divided number of segments in a race, such as the four 200M portions of the 800M), they will be somewhat evenly distributed throughout the race. Occasionally, you’ll have someone who puts on an electrifying finish but for the most part, the times will not deviate much. If an 800M runner is capable of a 1:42 but they hit the final 200M at 1:20, they will not be running 1:42 that day. In fact, they’d be lucky to break 1:45.

Long distances, 5000M to 10000M, become even more about strategy. The world records for the 5000M and 10000M are 12:37 and 26:17, respectively. Until this past Friday, August 31, no one had gone under 13:00 in the 5000M in 2018 (5000M time source).  This points to how tactical the distance races are and how the wins are so important. When you watch the Olympics or another track meet and see that they are way off a of a world record pace, this is due to tactics. There have been some races at big meets where people complained that the race was too slow, in that you had people there capable of a low 13:00 or high 12:00 5000M time but were conservative in playing for the win.

Runners will go into a race with a strategy. This may seem obvious but it gets tricky. One, you need to plan according to what you are capable of. Two, you need to plan according to what your opponents are capable of. Three, you need to plan for wild cards, like unusual weather or your opponents doing something unorthodox. At the 2001 USATF 5000M final, Bob Kennedy, the best 5000M American runner who had held that title for several years, raced against Adam Goucher, who many considered to be Kennedy’s heir apparent. Kennedy employed an unexpected strategy of alternating very fast laps with laps where he backed off. This threw off Goucher and Kennedy won the race. This wouldn’t be how one would race if they were interested in setting a record, but Kennedy wanted the win, and he got it (Kennedy win source).

While you will have some people move from middle distance into long distance, that will largely occur at 1,500M and up. Otherwise, similar to sprints, runners will stay in their categories. When you have someone dominant like David Rudisha, then the distance is a little easier to follow as they become a comparison point for other runners at the same distance. One notable middle distance runner to keep an eye on is Jakob Ingebrigsten. At 17 years old, he has won professional championships in Europe and already has run a 3:52.28 mile.  For comparison, the national high school record for the mile in the US is 3:53.43, posted by 18 year old Alan Webb in 2001 (Ingebrigsten source; Alan Webb source).

In the 1990s, Haile Gebrselassie was a dominant figure on the track, holding the world record at the 5000M and 10000M distances and winning two Olympic gold medals at in the 10000. Recently, it’s been a little murkier, in my view. Kenenisa Bekele holds the world records for the 5000M and 10000M, but Mo Farah dominated the 2012 and 2016 Olympics at both distances. However, he has not posted one of the top 25 fastest 5000M times of all time, and his personal best in the 10000M is the 16th best of all time. Bekele has faster times but Farah is an outstanding tactical runner. While their careers did not directly overlap, there have been other 5000M runners who are faster than Farah but for whatever reason, have not dominated at the championship level. In some ways, this can make the sport more fun but it can also make it more difficult to keep track of (10000M source; 5000M source).

Similar to sprints, Track and Field News and LetsRun will allow you to keep track of what’s going on in the middle distance and long distance categories.

The fifth and final post on how to follow running will cover ultramarathons. However, the Berlin Marathon is in ten days so next week’s post will offer a brief preview of that, as well as some broader thoughts on how soon the two hour marathon barrier will fall.

Running food review of the week: (note–gels, bars, chews, and other items affect everyone differently. Try them on a short run before using them for a key training run or race): Clif Bloks Ginger Ale: I was concerned that eating this product would be similar to eating mushy-textured blocks that tasted like stale ginger ale. They were nothing like that. The ginger taste was sharp. Not quite as intense as the ginger out of a sushi tray, but more flavorful than a can of ginger ale. I used it before a six mile run on a morning when I’d had lots of coffee, not much breakfast, and had been running errands for a couple of hours. My run went well, so I like this product.

Sources used:

https://www.iaaf.org/news/news/stunning-rudisha-14091-world-record-in-london
http://www.letsrun.com/news/2018/08/legendary-company-selemon-barega-runs-1243-4-time-brussels-join-bekele-geb-komen-sub-1245-club/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Kennedy_(athlete)
http://www.european-athletics.org/news/article=ingebrigtsen-smashes-year-old-european-u20-mile-record-eugene/index.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Webb_(runner)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/10,000_metres
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/5000_metres