taabu taabu taaabu

I think he might make a shot at it this year. Berlin is in September so he has 5 months to prepare and am sure Berlin Marathon organizers would pay anything to have him.

GG, early to mid 30s is about the peak age for marathon runners, Paul Tergat was 34 when he broke the record, Haile Gabrselassie also won it at 34. Kipsang won it at 31. The youngest of the recent record holders was Patrick Makau at 26. Kenenisa is 31 so he still has a two or three year window of time on his side. He also loves Olympic glory, so can you imagine World record 2014, IAAF World Champion 2015 and Olympic Gold 2016. If there is one man in the world who can pull this off to become the greatest the world has ever seen it is Kenenisa Bekele. Having watched him run, I am convinced he is still the greatest ever even if he doesn't do it all but it would be nice for him to prove it and actually do it.

Let's wait for Berlin this year, that us where the records fall!!!!

I used to bet with a good friend of mine that if Lel and the late Wanjiru run the Marathon together, they would push each other to the world record. They did. It never happened.

I doubt that Farah and Bekele can do it either.

Every record set in the Marathon recently has been largely a lone effort. The hares take you to a sub 60 first half...followed by a lonely push from 30K where the only thing that matters is the will to run.

If Bekele breaks the world record, I expect it will be a repeat of the Paris performance, but with more even splits.

But I seriously doubt his mental fortitude.

You are very right Wakanyugi how you run a marathon depends on how you feel that day, the weather, how fast everyone else runs etc. But have no doubts about Bekeles mental fortitude. I have never seen a tougher, more controlled and confident runner than Bekele. I remember watching him in a race where he was running with Haile Gabrsellassie and another Ethiopian. They were doing the surges where they run fast and then slow down to break down the group of runners following them. At one time he realised they had dropped Gabrsellasie. He slowed down allowing other runners to pass him waited for Gabrsellasie, they talked a bit, I think Haile telling him that he was getting tired and that he should just go and then he just took off again overtook everyone and won the race. That is confidence.

Another telling sign is in the Paris Marathon the guy had been running alone for a big part of the second half of the race. As he comes to finish he sees the clock and realises he might miss his target of running under 2:05 so he pushes it a little for an almost sprint finish. To be able to summon a sprint finish at will at the end of a marathon is testament to being in control of his run. He is not exhausted and is capable of upping it as needed.

These are good points @Madollar and Kusadikika. Some record attempts do benefit from someone pushing you, especially if the hares fail. But you look at that change from 30-35K. A serious record attempter must control the race from here or else he fails, no matter who else is in the mix.

This is where the value of fitness fades and mental attitude becomes all important. GEB had mental strength in spades. So did Wanjiru but he never seriously attempted the record.

Bekele has pace, no question. But the evolution of Marathon record attempts is no longer speed but even splits. A metronomic pace that deliberately conserves energy in the first half in order to repeat the same in the second half.

Then you pray for the gods of marathon running to be in a good mood that day.

@wakanyugi what are your thoughts regarding the baby faced killer tirunesh dibaba she will be in london on sunday facing the likes of jeptoo and the kiplagats

The girls did come through but a bad way to start the season for jeptoo with that DNF
Dibaba might find the marathon a bit hard if she competes against a strong field At one point she was only 70 meters from the kiplagats but she had no strength to cut that gap given how powerful her last lap is in the 10K that was a complete surprise

Bekele must be smiling after seeing the results from london only two men ran faster than him farah ,kiprotich and the mutais were complete disasters

The next big race might be between bekele ,kipsang and eliud kipchoge

I think Tirunesh and Farah have a future in the marathon if they stick at it. I felt a bit sad for Farah though, so much was expected of him.

But for me the lesson from London is one that has been made before. The Marathon is no respecter of big names.

Our first Lady's performance was quite impressive though for a 50 year old debutant at the distance. I hope this will encourage more of our women to attempt the Marathon. I can't tell you how many of my women friends complete half marathons every year and yet insist they could never finish 42K.

I think Farah's big name is due to perfect timing and media hype. Perfect timing in that his rise coincides perfectly with the decline of Kenenisa Bekele. The only reason his name is mentioned alongside that of Kenenisa Bekele is because of winning two Olympic medals but in terms of pedigree Mo Farah is nowhere near Bekele.

Consider this in 5000 metres where he is supposed to be the king his fastest time in the distance is the 64th fastest time. Kenenisa Bekele is not only the World record holder in the distance but has also recorded 10 times faster than Mo Farah's fastest. In 10,000 metres his fastest time is 27th fastest. Bekele is again the world record holder and has recorded 7 times faster than Farah.

His marathon time would be tied for position 712 (seven hundred and twelve) fastest time in the world.

Ref:http://www.alltime-athletics.com/