Farah to run first half of 2013 London marathon

TRR

story on bbc website

I can't see the reasoning behind this. Maybe he is getting some sort of appearance money. Surely running 62-63 minutes for a half is relatively easy for him. Can't see what he'll gain. He hopes it will help him understand the course etc for his 2014 debut but just doesn't stack up for me! Maybe he will go with the leaders if he is feeling good and spring a surprise?

RayCun

Linda Byrne ran the first half of DCM in 2011, didn't she?

TRR

RayCun wrote: »

Linda Byrne ran the first half of DCM in 2011, didn't she?

yes you speak the truth but at the time I thought that was a bit odd too Anyway it seems myself and Radcliffe are in agreement. She thinks it a bit strange too.

Rhys Essien

He just said now on BBC1 that he is running the New Orleans half marathon next week.

http://runrocknroll.competitor.com/2013/02/new-orleans/mo-farah_44120

TRR

Rhys Essien wrote: »

He just said now on BBC1 that he is running the New Orleans half marathon next week.

http://runrocknroll.competitor.com/2013/02/new-orleans/mo-farah_44120

yeah that is stated in the BBC page also. He has already ran a couple of halfs and has a pb of 1hr 23 seconds

robinph

So is he running as a celebrity pacemaker?

YFlyer

He said his running it to get the feel of the preparation for a marathon. With what to eat, the media, the crowds etc.

robinph

YFlyer wrote: »

He said his running it to get the feel of the preparation for a marathon. With what to eat, the media, the crowds etc.

Yeah, 'cos he's not run in front of a big crowd before?. Seems very odd. Are they putting him in a Shaftesbury and Barnet kit?

YFlyer

Don't know, lol

overpronator

And the full in 2014. Interesting article here quoting Paula Radcliffe who seems to be wary of this approach

http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2013/feb/17/mo-farah-marathon-paula-radcliffe

Krusty_Clown

It has the potential to be quite off-putting for the other runners. I mean if he's part of the leading pack (and one would imagine that it would be pretty comfortable for him) then he could exert some influence on the outcome of the race. If he pushes ahead of the front pack, the other runners will wonder whether to track him or not, as there's no reason that he has to stop at 13.1 miles. No reason he couldn't just keep going.

Personally, I'm not going to give out too violently, as it'll be great to tell the grand-kids that I beat a two-time Olympic gold medal winner in VLM 2013.

robinph

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

It has the potential to be quite off-putting for the other runners. I mean if he's part of the leading pack (and one would imagine that it would be pretty comfortable for him) then he could exert some influence on the outcome of the race. If he pushes ahead of the front pack, the other runners will wonder whether to track him or not, as there's no reason that he has to stop at 13.1 miles. No reason he couldn't just keep going.

Personally, I'm not going to give out too violently, as it'll be great to tell the grand-kids that I beat a two-time Olympic gold medal winner in VLM 2013.

I'm hoping they stick him in a Shaftesbury vest and make him stop so that I can claim to have beaten him as well.

It all seems incredibly odd. Plenty of half marathons about for him to have a go at running a half in, and any of hem would be happy to give him a place at the last minute. Running a full marathon and stopping half way doesn't teach you anything about running a marathon though, he's done mass participation races before, he's run in front of huge crowds going nuts for him and doing the Mo-bot. The only positive I can see would be that this way he gets to do a half but with the guarantee of not getting beaten which keeps his marketability intact for then doing the full London marathon the following year, but if he does a proper half and gets beaten then his appearance fee might drop by a couple of pence.

Krusty_Clown

robinph wrote: »

but if he does a proper half and gets beaten then his appearance fee might drop by a couple of pence.

He's doing one next week (though it is of the Rock 'n' Roll variety).

myflipflops

Athletics wise it does not make much sense but financially it does.

Mo gets a nice cheque to do a tempo run and increase his profile (therefore his appeal to sponsors) in Britain during a non Olympic year while the London marathon gets to wheel him out for interviews and media events thus attracting more press for themselves.

Ricky Simms is a pretty good agent!

ecoli

myflipflops wrote: »

Athletics wise it does not make much sense but financially it does.

Mo gets a nice cheque to do a tempo run and increase his profile (therefore his appeal to sponsors) in Britain during a non Olympic year while the London marathon gets to wheel him out for interviews and media events thus attracting more press for themselves.

Ricky Simms is a pretty good agent!

Was thinking the same myself coupled with the fact that it should jack up his appearance fee when he does finally step up to the full

plodder

Doesn't do much for the event itself as a competitive spectacle though if he's going to be up there with the leaders with TV cameras focused on him, knowing he's going to drop out.

overpronator

plodder wrote: »

Doesn't do much for the event itself as a competitive spectacle though if he's going to be up there with the leaders with TV cameras focused on him, knowing he's going to drop out.

I don't think the BBC coverage will mind too much, they will just gush about him for each and every mile and talk about how comfortable and not out of place he looks at the front with ( his fellow) Africans. Par for the course really.

He's gonna make a nice few quid out of it for himself so fair play to him I say, plus all of you running it get to beat him. Result.

nerraw1111

Could make a drinking game out of it.

A bottle of vodka if (when) BBC commentators say at 13.1 miles "He's looking so comfortable, he could do another 13.1 without breaking a sweat."

Appears a bit crass to turn the marathon into a PR stunt for one athlete.

brandon_flowers

Mo money for Mo.

I doubt there is any other reason for it really. The Rock n Roll are purely a money making event, I did the 10 miles one in Nice the weekend just passed and it is purely a money maker for the organisers. Having Mo do one in New Orleans is a way of bumping up the crowd. Similarly in London, it will be advertised as run with Mo. Great for Mo and great for the sponsors.

It will be interesting to see if he does stop and at what point. El Guerrouj did a 10K race in Nice a few years ago post retirement where he trotted along with the leaders for 7K and then put it in reverse so he could chat to and cheer loads of people who were passing him out. He finished something liked 150th. It was a publicity stunt by the organisers as he is an ambassador for the IAAF who just happen to be based in Monaco.

Clum

nerraw1111 wrote: »

Could make a drinking game out of it.

A bottle of vodka if (when) BBC commentators say at 13.1 miles "He's looking so comfortable, he could do another 13.1 without breaking a sweat."

Appears a bit crass to turn the marathon into a PR stunt for one athlete.

And no doubt when the leaders have about 2 or 3 miles to go and are running sub 2.05 pace Brendan Foster will throw in a "What a shame Mo stopped when he did. These athletes are stuggling now. I'm sure if Mo stayed in the race he would have gone on to win. We could have had a British champion here at the London marathon".

robinph

The sooner they find someone to replace Foster the better.

theboyblunder

Like others here I think its a bit ridiculous. Dont worry about the media and crowds Mo, its the glycogen depeletion, screaming muscles, stomach cramps and blisters you need to get used to....and that magic only happens 7-8 miles after youve dropped out.

Ive no problem with someone dropping out of a race, but he should be made pay an entry fee (come to think of it he doesnt have a qualifying marathon time, right?), queue for the jacks and start with the masses.

plodder

Both Farah and the London marathon are sponsored by Virgin apparently. Maybe, that's where it's coming from. A nice cheque would sweeten it for Mo no doubt.

ThePiedPiper

Unfortunately, its a complete sideshow to a marathon that will have the strongest and best field ever assembled in a race. I can understand the reasons why Mo would do it, but the organisers I think have misjudged this one. Mo will be a distraction. The only good result would be if he were to somehow contrive to keep going and give a podium finish a lash. Highly unlikely though.

rovers_runner

Mandatory drugs testing for all elites at finish line maybe......

theboyblunder

rovers_runner wrote: »

Mandatory drugs testing for all elites at finish line maybe......

ecoli

Farah 61.00 in New Orleans today for the win beating a field including Gebremariam and Lel.

Defar winning the womens

http://running.competitor.com/live-results#b=na&v=lboard&c=top-women-halfmarathon&l=FINISH-H

thirstywork2

http://www.letsrun.com/news/2013/02/top-results-2013-rock-n-roll-new-orleans-half-marathon-mo-farah-and-meseret-defar-win/