So much for wanting to win all the majors and prove he can win a non-flat course: Kipchoge to Berlin

WR attempt - Boston - NY - Paris - blackjack and hookers

He’s scared to run a real marathon. Just wants to time trial or run a cheater race to have the general population think he legitimately ran under 2hrs.

Nothing to gain from Berlin ( other than a payday). He should run NYC

I don't think he would do this if he didn't think he was WR-capable now. Money certainly can't be a concern for him at this point.

Hope the weather cooperates. Worst case, he can tie Geb's legendary Berlin x4 record.

Double posting, but I'm pretty sure Rojo or someone just edited/sensationalized the thread title while I was posting that, lol

I'm HUGELY disappointed. Yesterday, I was thinking he was going to London and was still pissed about that. Berlin? What a joke.

Mark my words, he will lose Boston or New York the first time he ever runs them (if he ever tries it).

I was arguing with Jonathan Gault about this last night. This would be like a tennis player refusing to play Wimbledon or the French Open. We know Kipchoge is the best in the world on pancake flat course - rabbitted or not. But can he run a legit race on some hills?

How is he on clay or grass? And even that analogy may not be perfect as a marathon course really shouldn't be pancake flat. Think about it. The original marathon was not flat. Yet now the majority of the marathons are pancake flat. for all we know he's a clay court specialist or grass specialist but is lucky all the tournaments are on clay/grass.

PS. I changed the title of the thread to express my feelings. It was initially entitled, "Kipchoge to Berlin"

PPS. This is what a marathon course was initially like:

The course is the same, beginning in Marathon at 131 ft. above sea level, declining for the first 10 kilometers to 33 ft. before beginning a gradual and then steeper climb to a peak of 753ft. at the 32K mark before descending the last 10K to the finish at about 301ft. This is a tough course.

“Berlin is the fastest course, it’s where a human being can showcase its potential to push the limits."

Running a course that isn’t pancake flat would actually be pushing your limits. I’ve done the Maryland (very flat) and lake placid (extremely hilly) Ironmans. Lake placid pushed my limits, not Maryland

Agree. So disappointing and, frankly, "lame." I'll give him one out: If he earnestly believes that he'll be as competitive two years from now as he is now: Not likely, sorry. Nevertheless, I agree. Gretzky never picked the teams he played against to set records and win cups for the Oilers. Nor did Jordan, etc. etc, etc. you get the point.

If he ran both NYC and Boston and won (then the Olympics), I would have said that he was the greatest ATHLETE of all time. Not now. Winning on a flat course with super shoes just isn't comparatively more difficult than the achievements of greats in road racing or other sports.

Sorry, he goes down many rungs on the ladder of greatness. I hope he proves me wrong, though. He seems to be a great person off of the "roads" so my criticism is strictly under the lens of OVERALL and all time athletic greatness. Call me disappointed but forgiving.

money, money, money, I guess.

Agree 100%

You’re one negative Nancy.

Because I’m a fan of the sport and want to see the 🐐 marathoner do something different before he’s completely out of his prime? Running Berlin does nothing for me. Would have been extremely excited to see him run NYC

I summarized that rant for you.

I was thinking the same thing. If he wanted to push his limits, he would run New York.

I think this actually is about the money. He was going to do another marathon but Berlin made him an offer he couldn’t refuse.

When people think about testing their limits in the way he does, the clock is the measuring stick. (Also think of the Olympic motto: citius.) I can’t knock him for this. He can win Boston or NYC without being the fastest marathoner in the world, but if he wants to cement his legacy as the fastest marathoner in the world then it needs to be now, on a fast course. Who knows, maybe he thinks he can go sub-2 (even sub-2:01 would be something) without all the help.

No one remembers who won a random slow marathon. People remember world records.

Doubt it's the money,London could have offered him more than Berlin.

He must feel he can get the world record and possibly sub 2.If he is in that shape he can still win NYC and Boston next year.

Exactly, why not?!
Eliud knows best what's good for him, and that's why he's best. He wants to try WR in the race setting, cool. Let's see how fast he can go. He chooses to race Boston and NYC next year, great!

Roja may have a point with flat course argument. But you can also argue, Eliud only runs well in good weather marathons, which he proved twice that's not true. So until he tries Boston or NYC courses we can't never know.