The Best Runner Of All Time Revives His Career
And what his journey teaches us about not giving up.
They said he was washed up.
They said he should just throw in the towel.
They said he was irrelevant.
But on September 29, 2019, Kenenisa Bekele, the decorated world record holder over the 5000m and 10,000m, proved all the critics wrong. He ran 2:01:41 in the Berlin Marathon, just coming two seconds short of Eliud Kipchoge’s world record at the distance. And it wasn’t the fact that Bekele ran as fast as he did that was special: it was about where he came from. It was about how the race went itself. It was about Kenenisa’s journey to revive his career.
Before this marathon, the 37-year-old Bekele’s marathon career was plagued by injuries that led to Bekele not being able to finish many of his marathons. Bekele is a runner who was used to dominating the track and field world and his lack of success at the marathon on the roads was nothing other than a disappointment.
I believe it is without question that, at least in long-distance running, Kenenisa is the best runner of all time. Despite Eliud Kipchoge’s success at the marathon distance, that success is still relatively short-lived. Bekele is the reason that Kipchoge never won Olympic Gold in the 5000m…
