We probably shouldn't be that surprised by Kenenisa Bekele's 2:05:02 marathon debut in Paris this morning. He is, after all, probably the best distance runner ever to take the track. But the 31 year-old hasn't performed to that title in about a half decade. From the 2009 World Indoor Championships (in which he won gold in the 5,000 and 10,000 meters) to 2011, he didn't even run a track race. Since then, he's been near the top pack in a handful of 5ks and 10ks, but never leading it. This morning, Bekele ran alone for the last 45 minutes en route to a near two minute win and one of the quickest first marathons ever run, letsrun reported. (The record for best debut is 2:04:16, set by Dennis Kimetto in 2012).
Bekele's 2:05 was also the fastest for a runner over 30 years old. He was the only participant to come close to matching the race's hot start, including a 14:43 opening 5k (2:04:12 pace) and 62:09 half-marathon. Behind him was countryman Limenih Getachew in 2:06:49 and Kenyan Luka Kanda in 2:08:02.
Because of his two world records, Bekele remains something of a household name amid an event with a seemingly revolving cast of elites -- at least from an American's perspective. Of the race, he said it was "tough" but mostly as expected. Bekele was also optimistic about future races.
"It was very tough but it was the time I expected. After 25km I pushed alone but it was very tough."
"The hamstring wasn't good after 25km. It was cramping but it's okay. I'll feel it more in the morning. 5km from the finish, my hamstring cramped up again and I couldn't accelerate. I think in the future, I'll do better but it's very positive."
It'll be exciting once Bekele enters a race with more of the sport's elites. Probably, he would have run faster had he had someone with him.
