Kenenisa Bekele Shows the Marathon is Not Just About Eliud Kipchoge

By Adam Kopet

Two seconds. That was all that separated Ethiopia's Kenenisa Bekele from the marathon world record Sunday when he won the BMW Berlin Marathon for the second time in his career.

RESULTS

The odd thing about Bekele's race in Berlin was the similarity to his 2016 win. To start with, were the times he ran. Three years ago, he won in 2:03:03. At the time it was the second-fastest marathon performance ever and stood only six seconds off the world record.

This time, Bekele ran 2:01:41. Again, it is the second-fastest marathon performance ever, but this time he was even closer to the world record, finishing two seconds adrift of Eliud Kipchoge's world record time from the 2018 Berlin Marathon.

Bekele has been an enigma at the marathon since he transitioned from the track in 2014. He won his debut marathon in Paris that year, running 2:05:04. That ranked him ninth in the world.

In the history of the marathon, 2:05:04 is tremendous. However, the 2014 Berlin Marathon featured the first-ever sub-2:03 marathon. Kenya's Dennis Kimetto ran 2:02:57 to break the world record. The bar had been raised.

After several good, but not great, marathons, Bekele finally broke through in 2016. He missed selection for the Ethiopian Olympic team, leaving him to race in his first Berlin Marathon.

It also meant Bekele would not face Kipchoge. Bekele has never bested Kipchoge head-to-head in the marathon.

The pace in Berlin is almost always fast. 2016 was no exception. However, during the race, Bekele fell off the pace. He dropped back off the lead pack and seemed to be out of it.

That should have been it for Bekele, but he battled back. Not only did he return to the front, Bekele kept pushing, going on to win in a world-leading time.

Since that race, however, Bekele has struggled. He has finished two marathons, never finding the form that carried him to the second-fastest marathon ever run.

In fact, the marathon seemed to have passed Bekele by. Kipchoge shattered the world record in 2018, slashing it by more than a minute. When Bekele started Sunday's race, he was fourth on the all-time list and it seemed like more and more men were lining up to take a crack at the 2:03 barrier.

It seems that did not discourage Bekele. He ran at the front through the first half of Sunday's race, reaching the half marathon split in 1:01:05, one second faster than Kipchoge reached the same point a year ago.

The difference between Kipchoge and Bekele, however, was Kipchoge pressed on from the halfway-point. At the 28K mark, when fellow Ethiopian Birhanu Legese put in a big surge, Bekele did not follow.

Instead, Bekele waited as he slowly increased his pace over the final 12 kilometers. The steady change of pace of Bekele made it appear he was battling back as he put his engine into high gear and started eating up the road.

When Bekele reached Legese at the front, he did not stop. He powered right by, leaving his compatriot in the dust. As Bekele ran, each kilometer split showed him getting closer to world record pace.

Suddenly, Bekele appeared to be on pace to break 2:02, something that seemed impossible a few miles earlier. When he crossed the finish line, the clock at 2:01:41, it was hard to understand what had happened.

A year ago, Kipchoge's world record run had seemed so far ahead of everyone else. He had run more than a minute faster than anyone else ever had. Now that difference is down to two seconds. With two major successes in Berlin, Bekele was appreciative of all that went into the race on Twitter.

Thank you Berlin #berlinmarathon

— Kenenisa Bekele (@KenenisaBekele) September 29, 2019

Behind Bekele, Legese finished second, more than a minute back in 2:04:48. Sisay Lemma made it an Ethiopian podium sweep, finishing third in 2:03:36. Legese now stands third on the all-time list.

Matt Llano was the top American finisher. He ran a personal best 2:1:14 for 14th. Behind him in 19th was Haron Lagat, making his marathon debut in 2:13:22.

The women's race featured a big question mark at the start. Could Kenya's Gladys Cherono win her third-straight Berlin Marathon and fourth overall?

Unfortunately for her, that did not seem to be in the cards Sunday. Cherono fell out of the lead pack of women before the halfway point and she eventually dropped out.

Instead, the Ethiopian trio of Mare Dibaba, Helen Tola and Ashete Bekere, as well as Kenya's Sally Chepyego, found themselves battling it out until late in the race.

Bekere came away the winner, running 2:20:14. Finishing seven seconds back was Dibaba. Chepyego finished third in 2:21:06.

Two Americans made their presence known in the standings with significant personal bests. Sara Hall, who featured in the lead pack through 5K, worked her way through the field in the latter half of the race, moving from ninth to fifth, running 2:22:16. That bettered her personal best from last year by more than four minutes.

This is the first leg of an impressive marathon double that Hall is attempting. She will try to bounce back in five weeks at the New York City Marathon. The hills in New York provide some simulation of the hills that runners will face in February's U.S. Olympic Trials Marathon.

Hall now sits sixth on the U.S. all-time performer list.

Also running well was new mother Sally Kipyego. The former Texas Tech Red Raider from Kenya became eligible to compete internationally for the U.S. last month. She finished seventh in 2:25:10, taking almost three minutes off her previous best from 2016.

Kipyego, who took time off due to pregnancy in 2017 and raced once in 2018, is now ranked ninth on the U.S. all-time performer list.