So sad that Kipchoge won’t double back this fall

He’s being a wise old man. He’s dominated marathoning. He’s stuck to at most two a year 6ish months apart. He’s stayed amazingly injury free. Why mess with what works and take an unnecessary risk. He’s already skipped major marathons twice to attempt non sanctioned sub 2 attempts. His legend doesn’t need a New York. Plenty of opportunities for stuff like that over the next few years.

That's exactly what separates the Master from the rest.

Wise Old Man wrote:

Is the goat so delicate that he can’t double back this fall after the Olympics? Wouldn’t this have been the perfect year for him to run NY and grab the win and the course record? The sport needs him on the biggest stages as often as possible in the few years he has left, and nothing would have equaled the media frenzy of Kipchoge running NY on the heals of the Olympics, with or without Bekeke. It’s a true missed opportunity. Who cares if he wins Tokyo in the spring….by then the world will have forgotten.

He’s 37 years old. Nothing more needs to be said. If you know, you know.

Wise Old Man wrote:

Is the goat so delicate that he can’t double back this fall after the Olympics? Wouldn’t this have been the perfect year for him to run NY and grab the win and the course record? The sport needs him on the biggest stages as often as possible in the few years he has left, and nothing would have equaled the media frenzy of Kipchoge running NY on the heals of the Olympics, with or without Bekeke. It’s a true missed opportunity. Who cares if he wins Tokyo in the spring….by then the world will have forgotten.

If he wants to do a marathon and go for a win he should do Chicago, Valencia or even Boston. Bekele will be in New York and winning that race with hopefully a course record so better for Kipchoge to skip New York

Trucker Hat wrote:

He’s being a wise old man. He’s dominated marathoning. He’s stuck to at most two a year 6ish months apart. He’s stayed amazingly injury free. Why mess with what works and take an unnecessary risk. He’s already skipped major marathons twice to attempt non sanctioned sub 2 attempts. His legend doesn’t need a New York. Plenty of opportunities for stuff like that over the next few years.

His legend indeed doesn’t need any single major in particular. But NYC would be nice and a big boost to the millions of hobby runners (and grade school runner kids) in the US. He’s run in the US exactly once, in Chicago 7 years back. Hope he comes back to run here again.

Banana Bread wrote:

If he wants to do a marathon and go for a win he should do Chicago, Valencia or even Boston. Bekele will be in New York and winning that race with hopefully a course record so better for Kipchoge to skip New York

I don’t think there is any truth to those two trying to not compete against each other. They have competed in 3 marathons previously with Bekele coming 3rd, 4th, and 6th in them respectively. It is also unlikely that the race organizers don’t want to splurge on appearance fees for both as that money would likely just pay for itself.

Bekele has had only one goal lately: to own the marathon WR, and that and his injuries dictated his recent race choices. Kipchoge runs only two marathon races a year and sticks to that religiously (with exceptions for non-races like Breaking 2). One could speculate that Bekele might be concerned that if he competes against Kipchoge, it’s unlikely that he’ll break the WR as that race will likely become tactical or Kipchoge would make it so, but it would just be speculation. I doubt either of them works like that.

Dickson street days wrote:

Wise Old Man wrote:

Is the goat so delicate that he can’t double back this fall after the Olympics? Wouldn’t this have been the perfect year for him to run NY and grab the win and the course record? The sport needs him on the biggest stages as often as possible in the few years he has left, and nothing would have equaled the media frenzy of Kipchoge running NY on the heals of the Olympics, with or without Bekeke. It’s a true missed opportunity. Who cares if he wins Tokyo in the spring….by then the world will have forgotten.

He’s 37 years old. Nothing more needs to be said. If you know, you know.

I get it. He is a very disciplined man and that has worked for him. At the same time, it's sad for the sport that he is not appearing again this fall. I don't think he has any more world records in his future and he is the goat does not owe anybody anything, but it would be a gift to the sport and the masses if he ran NY. I do not think any other major would move the needle as much. Yes, of course, London has the best competition and has morphed into the de facto world championship. He does not need to run that again. Running and winning in NY would be next level in terms of generating hype and interest. Maybe I am too NYC centric, but Kipchoge seems all about inspiring now and entertaining and NY is the place, not another Berlin run and respectively, not a win in Tokyo, Chicago or Boston. The NY field is pretty weak this year and it would be no sweat for him. Bekele is not going to test him, especially on the heels of Berlin. Oh well, I think it is an opportunity lost for the sport, a big one.

If Bekele has only one goal, why is he running NY? No wr is falling in NY. As far as ROI, investing big on an appearance fee for Kipchoge seems like a no brainer. There has to be a way for the NY race director to monetize Kipchoge's participation that would make any investment seem like small change. To running geeks, having Bekele is a BIG deal, but not to most people. Kipchoge is at a completely different level in terms of generating interest and generating money. To the non fans, or casual fans, Kipchoge dwarfs Bekele. My mother would turn out to see Kipchoge, she's not going to turn out for Bekele or anybody other sub 2:04 runner.

Kipchoge is smart. He knows that there are a bunch of young marathoners out there who are capable of running sub 2:04 who want to beat him to lay claim to being his successor. Running this fall with a short turnaround would just put him at risk of being dethroned too soon.

It's not that sad.

Nothing sad. Right now would honestly be a perfect time to retire even.

Bekele won't last 30km after having run Berlin in hot conditions. I'll be surprised if he makes it halfway even. The decision to run there after that might force him into an earlier retirement.

cecevans wrote:

Nothing sad. Right now would honestly be a perfect time to retire even.

Bekele won't last 30km after having run Berlin in hot conditions. I'll be surprised if he makes it halfway even. The decision to run there after that might force him into an earlier retirement.

I hope Kipchoge doesn’t retire quite yet. He still looks like he has a good race or two left even if the wr is out of reach. I don’t want to say he’s bigger than the sport, but he’s close right now. I hope he will continue to run and be an ambassador for the sport even if he’s not up to winning every race. He won’t tarnish his rep, he will burnish it if he does the end of his career the right way. Winning every time is not required. Bekeke seems sour and disgruntled and his runs are hurting his legacy. It does not need to be that way.

Wise Old Man wrote:

If Bekele has only one goal, why is he running NY? No wr is falling in NY. As far as ROI, investing big on an appearance fee for Kipchoge seems like a no brainer. There has to be a way for the NY race director to monetize Kipchoge's participation that would make any investment seem like small change. To running geeks, having Bekele is a BIG deal, but not to most people. Kipchoge is at a completely different level in terms of generating interest and generating money. To the non fans, or casual fans, Kipchoge dwarfs Bekele. My mother would turn out to see Kipchoge, she's not going to turn out for Bekele or anybody other sub 2:04 runner.

No disagreement with anything you state. As for your question, I suspect either (1) he’s in his heart given up hope of cracking the WR after his recent Berlin performance; and/or (2) he’s injury free and is simply using NY to stay in fitness until Spring when he might give it one more last push. He figures he’ll probably make enough in appearance and prize money for NY to be worth his time in any case.

My point only was that avoiding each other doesn’t appear to be dictating either’s choice of races.

Kipchoge's not running any American marathon because you want him to. Eight weeks isn't enough time for a buildup, but more importantly no American marathon has the cachet or pays like London/Berlin. Complain to the New York/Chicago/Boston race directors to offer Kipchoge similar appearance fees to what he gets for London/Berlin. American marathons are second tier marathons which is why Rupp only runs American marathons because he gets the most money and has the best chance to win.