Flash Chat with Kenenisa Bekele

© 2008 The Runner's Tribe, all rights reserved.

"He is not Jesus Christ because he can't walk on water. But on land, no one can beat Kenenisa Bekele" - Jos Hermans, Manager. 

It must be true that legends help create legends. If it wasn't for Abebe Bikila, Haile Gebrselassie may still be "a farmer in the hills of Arsi", and if it wasn't for Gebrselassie then perhaps a man by the name of Kenenisa Bekele would never have been inspired to begin running. Just how many young runners are out there pounding around the streets and tracks throughout Africa, with big dreams of being the next Bekele? Only the years will tell. But the message to these youngsters is pretty clear: dream big, work hard and anything may happen.

We catch up with Kenenisa breifly during a training phase as he prepares for his 2009 onslaught.

RunnersTribe: Kenenisa, thanks for your time. How is your health and injury status going?

Kenenisa Bekele: At the moment, I am in full training. I had a slight injury at the end of 2008, but I didn't lose too much time and it is going very well. I am feeling good.

RT: What are you up to at the moment? And can you tell us a little bit about your 2009 racing schedule?

KB: The schedule for the summer season 2009 is not clear yet.

RT: You have had so many highlights in your short career to date. Do you have a personal favorite moment or race?

KB: Winning the double cross country in France after the death of my fiancée Alem in 2005. And of course the double in Beijing.

RT: The world has watched with amazement as Haile Gebrselassie has re-written the world record books for the marathon. Do you see yourself switching to the marathon sometime in the future and trying to better his times and performances?

KB: I would like to run the marathon one day. Probably after the London Olympics. But the switch will not be so easy. Of course I would like to better the world record for the marathon, but I think that the world record will surely be faster after 2012 than it is now. I will have to run much faster.

RT: What's your relationship with Haile like?

KB: We respect each other a lot. Haile inspired me to begin running. I am not focusing on Haile's career or records. We just both want to be the best long distance runner ever, so we will clash sometimes.