Should Haile Gebrselassie Retire?

I've been hearing many people say that Haile should retire.  I think that they should let Haile do what he wants. The man is still a 2:08 marathoner.  Should every American retire because they can't run that fast?  Haile should no longer expect to be "The Greatest" anymore but he is still a great runner who can attract a crowd and put up results.  Who would you rather go to a race to watch, the former multiple world record holder, Olympic Gold medalist, World Champion, or another random Kenyan who is going to run the same time as Haile.  Haile is definitely not at his peak but he is still among the best distance runners in the world.  Haile, if you ever read this, run as long as your heart desires.  You have had an amazing career and still can drill anyone that I know at the marathon distance.  Keep your head up and don't listen to the haters.

This Day in Running- February 20th

2004- Kenenisa Bekele of Ethiopia set a Indoor World Record in the 5000m of 12:49.60.  He set this record at the Aviva Grand Prix in Birmingham, England winning the race by 22 seconds.



1997- Haile Gebrselassie also set the Indoor World Record at 5000m running 12:59.04.  He was also the first man to go under 13 minutes indoors.



These two men are the top-two distance runners ever in the world.  Both have had recent struggles as a new wave of mostly Kenyan men take over the world stage but these two will be forever known as dominant and revolutionary.

2000- Wilson Kipketer of Denmark set the Indoor World Record in the 1000m.  He ran a time of 2:14.96. Wilson holds many mid-distance records.  Rob Druppers of the Netherlands set the same record in 1988 with a time of 2:16.40.

Kipketer in Athens, 2004

1981- Eamonn Coghlan of Ireland ran 3:50.6 to set the Indoor World Record in the Mile Run.  He edged Steve Scott of the United States by just over 1 second.  Coghlan later bested his record and his times still remain 2nd and 4th on the All-Time list.



Also 1981- Carl Lewis set the first of his World Indoor records with a Long Jump of 8.49m.  He later broke this record numerous times.

This Day In Track... Valentine's Day

1999- Haile Gebrselassie ran a then world record of 12:50.38 in the 5000m in Birmingham, UK.  Haile is known as "The Greatest" for his dominance of the track and roads in the last 15 years.  He held world records at 2k, 3k, 5k, 10k, Half-Marathon, 30k, and Marathon.  He has won World Championships at every distance from 1500 to 10000.  Below is a book that I am currently reading and have found to be quite enjoyable.  I will post a review after I finish it.  Thanks for reading!

This Day In Track History

I am a history buff and track fan.  In order to educate not only myself, but all my readers as well, I have decided to have "This Day in Track History" posts when something significant happened in the world of running.  It will probably happen pretty often.  Today, February 6th, is the 14 year anniversary of Daniel Komen's World Record in the indoor 3000m at 7:24.90.  Many a legend has attempted to break this record including Haile G, Bekele, and El G and all have failed.  I hope to do a feature on the burst of world record performances that Daniel racked up in a short period of time.  As impressive as it is to have run 1 Mile under 4 minutes, Komen has run 2 miles under 4 minutes back to back.