The Best Runner Of All Time Revives His Career
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Health and Wellness

The Best Runner Of All Time Revives His Career

And what his journey teaches us about not giving up.

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The Best Runner Of All Time Revives His Career

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. Not only does Bekele hold world records over 5000m and 10000m, but he has won three Olympic golds in those events, as well as five World Championships golds. He is also the most successful runner in Cross Country history, with an all-time high six victories over the long course and five over the short course. Over the course of his career, Bekele prolifically accrued 18 global titles, a feat that might never be matched.

Kenenisa Bekele is the GOAT and Michael Jordan of distance running. And with his performance in Berlin and statement return to extreme prominence, Bekele is back. I remember watching Bekele be the God of distance running when I first got into the sport in middle school. It's hard to believe that that was so long ago, in 2009 and 2010, and Bekele has gone through adversity and hardship with injuries and failures. I read thread after thread on LetsRun, a forum for the running community, about Kenenisa being washed up and irrelevant. And it was hard to argue those statements: despite some eye-opening victories, they were largely isolated performances that were separated by Bekele dropping out after lackluster training and injuries.

The race was won in dramatic fasion. Kenenisa was beaten and had fallen behind the two leaders of the race about 3/4 of the way through the race at 30km. When the camera focused on the leaders, fellow Ethiopians Birhanu Legese and Sisay Lemma. But Legese and Lemma had sped up dramatically. Bekele stayed steady. He overtook both of them by 38 kilometers and, by that point, the fact that he was to be the victor was never in question.

His comeback in the Berlin Marathon against Legese and Lemma represented his comeback to prominence and relevance on the running stage.

"I have shown that my career is far from over," Bekele said of his race.

How he got here from a series of devastating failures and setbacks, though, is even more inspiring. According to the NN Running Team, a professional running team based in the Netherlands that includes Kipchoge, Bekele, and Geoffrey Kamworor (world record holder over the half marathon), a recent training trip to the Netherlands provided a reboot to Bekel's running career. As injury persistently derailed his progress over the marathon, and it has been incredibly frustrating for him.

"It has been a disaster," he said.

After Kenenisa dropped out of the Amsterdam Marathon last October, he discovered he had a stress fracture in his femur. He later was diagnosed with a knee injury. Then, his management company proposed and coach, Mersha Asrat, proposed a radical change in his training and lifestyle. In Ethiopia, Bekele was very busy and not recovering enough between training sessions. Like his predecessor, Haile Gebrselassie, Bekele has many business interests in Ethiopia. Also, family is one of the most important things in the world to Kenenisa.

"His children mean the world to him and he wants to be the best father and family man he can be," said his long-term manager, Jos Hermans. "But this sometimes meant he was juggling too many balls with not enough rest in his life."

Hermans then proposed to Kenenisa to spend two months in the Netherlands to receive the best medical treatment and be closely monitored. Although Bekele didn't want to leave his family and business interests, he flew to Ethiopia for a two month period between May and July. It was a necessary adaptation for the 37-year-old legend of the sport.

"I'm not a 20-year-old any more. My body and training require a different approach. But I still want to run a top-quality marathon before I retire. I'm very serious. I'm following my team's advice and doing my very best," he said.

In the Netherlands, Bekele worked daily with Peter Eemers and Armand Bettonviel, a Dutch physiotherapist and nutritionist. The two of them discovered that Bekele's injury problems were caused by imbalances in his body and being overweight. They gave Bekele individualized gym exercises and carefully prepared meals, which led to Bekele losing significant weight and increasing his training load from 45 km in his first week to 150 km in his final week.

While a lot of other people like Eemers, Bettonviel, and Hermans helped, it was Kenenisa's own talent and mental toughness that led to his success. He himself had to make the adjustment to move. He himself had to take feedback receptively and apply it. He is back living in Addis Ababa now, but maintains many of the same habits he gained while living in the Netherlands.

Kenenisa was the hero that got my into running and inspired me so many years ago. Now, he has shown that the journey isn't done.

What he teaches me are two important life lessons when faced with hardship and just getting older: don't give up, and be adaptable. Kenenisa could have thrown in the towel at any point the last nine years when his career was dramatically derailed by injury. He could have chosen to not go to the Netherlands. But Hermans being his long-term manager meant he had a relationship with Hermans, and that means Kenenisa knew that the advice would be for good.

Kenenisa shows us that when things aren't working out, when it seems like nothing is working, we need radical change and overhaul to make an effective difference. That way, we transcend even the worst of circumstances. Kenenisa Bekele has completed the resurrection of his dead career and shows us that, with enough grit and adaptability, we can do that same.

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This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
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