This weekend the road race of the century is going down! The worlds 3 top marathoners will toe the line in Berlin, all of them gunning for a new wr.
Kipchoge is the favorite coming in to the race, after a 2:03:05 in London last year which is usually a slower course than Berlin together with the highly controversial sub2 run. He is super consistent in marathons and has outkicked Bekele and El G once in 03. He famously told his competitors during the oly marathon "Don't worry, i'm not going yet".
Bekele is the undisputed king of track, but has had mixed success during his rr career. Last year in Berlin he fell slightly short of the wr running 2:03:03 claiming he wasn’t in perfect shape. Since then he’s had a dnf in Berlin after getting trampled and then came second in London to Wanjiru in 2:05:57. Has been known for his killer kick, though haters say it's gone.
Kipsang is the former wr holder and has run sub 2:04 4 times, he lost to Bekele last year in Berlin but now has his sights on the win.
All three are getting older, Kipsang and Bekele are 35 and Kipchoge is 32 (at least claims to be, damn he looks old!) meaning they do not have many more races to go.
All three have had some great training leading up to the race, Kipchoges agent claimed he ran a 40k run at 2:08 pace at altitude on dirt with regular trainers.
Bekele says he believes he could run 2:01:30!!
The pacers for the race are also epic; E.Mutai, Biwott, Kiptanui, G.Mutai and Chebet. Which means that among the pacers are 3 sub 2:04 guys and 2 sub 2:05. They are targeting a 60:50 half which is just crazy and definitely uncharted territory.
Looks like weather is going to be okay but not perfect, 13 at start going up to 14/15 but gonna feel like 16/18 due to humidity.
I think the race could end up going a few ways, if all three are together with a mile to go my money is on Bekele, but Kipchoge will likely try to make his move before that. Kipsang is the underdog but is still of course a real contender and if Bekele/Kipchoge go away on a crazy pace with a bunch of surges I can see him hanging back and slowly wheeling everyone in.
With the stacked field of runners and pacers, I do believe the record is going down, and it could very well be with a good chunk. Kipchoge learned the value of pack aerodynamics during the sub2 event and will likely stay in the middle/back of the pack as much as possible. If they all conserve energy this way I can see a low 2:02 finish.
So, who do you got for the win? Any ballsy predictions?
I'm gonna go for Bekele for the win in 2:02:07 with Kipchoge 2nd also under wr in around 2:02:20 and Kipsang right around 2:03
Terrible Tuesday’s Triathlon
Kipchoge is the favorite coming in to the race, after a 2:03:05 in London last year which is usually a slower course than Berlin together with the highly controversial sub2 run. He is super consistent in marathons and has outkicked Bekele and El G once in 03. He famously told his competitors during the oly marathon "Don't worry, i'm not going yet".
Bekele is the undisputed king of track, but has had mixed success during his rr career. Last year in Berlin he fell slightly short of the wr running 2:03:03 claiming he wasn’t in perfect shape. Since then he’s had a dnf in Berlin after getting trampled and then came second in London to Wanjiru in 2:05:57. Has been known for his killer kick, though haters say it's gone.
Kipsang is the former wr holder and has run sub 2:04 4 times, he lost to Bekele last year in Berlin but now has his sights on the win.
All three are getting older, Kipsang and Bekele are 35 and Kipchoge is 32 (at least claims to be, damn he looks old!) meaning they do not have many more races to go.
All three have had some great training leading up to the race, Kipchoges agent claimed he ran a 40k run at 2:08 pace at altitude on dirt with regular trainers.
Bekele says he believes he could run 2:01:30!!
The pacers for the race are also epic; E.Mutai, Biwott, Kiptanui, G.Mutai and Chebet. Which means that among the pacers are 3 sub 2:04 guys and 2 sub 2:05. They are targeting a 60:50 half which is just crazy and definitely uncharted territory.
Looks like weather is going to be okay but not perfect, 13 at start going up to 14/15 but gonna feel like 16/18 due to humidity.
I think the race could end up going a few ways, if all three are together with a mile to go my money is on Bekele, but Kipchoge will likely try to make his move before that. Kipsang is the underdog but is still of course a real contender and if Bekele/Kipchoge go away on a crazy pace with a bunch of surges I can see him hanging back and slowly wheeling everyone in.
With the stacked field of runners and pacers, I do believe the record is going down, and it could very well be with a good chunk. Kipchoge learned the value of pack aerodynamics during the sub2 event and will likely stay in the middle/back of the pack as much as possible. If they all conserve energy this way I can see a low 2:02 finish.
So, who do you got for the win? Any ballsy predictions?
I'm gonna go for Bekele for the win in 2:02:07 with Kipchoge 2nd also under wr in around 2:02:20 and Kipsang right around 2:03
Terrible Tuesday’s Triathlon