April is now seen as the month of the marathon and to the hopeful in the Northern Hemisphere the coming of summer. The London Marathon falls squarely into this category and it is incredible that the once considered not so fast course (due to its slower times in comparison to now), is now considered the course best suited for a World best attempt.
This of course is not accurate as the Rotterdam marathon is most certainly a course more suited for record attempts however London offers a quality laden field and is seen as one of the Big City marathons that would establish any winner as a marathoner of quality were they to win.
And this is where the title of this particular discussion kicks in, and that is the fact that Haile Gebrselassie is still not considered a marathoner of quality until he wins against a quality field. Make no bones about it, London will determine whether the diminutive Ethiopian King of Distance is a man for all distances. In 2006, London was not a success for Haile where he finished in a disappointing 9th place with a time of 2:09:05. Since that set-back, Gebrselassie had raced a further 2 marathons in 2006, and has won on both occasions setting a Personal Best of 2:05:56 in Berlin before winning in Japan at the Fukuoka Marathon in a time of 2:06:52.
Whereas, Berlin was a crack at the World Record, an attempt hindered by an almighty wind over the last 10 kilometres, it was the after the win in Japan that Gebrselassie stated that he feels he has learnt enough now to feel quite confident about the daunting distance of the marathon.
That is why London 2007, for me, will be watched with eager anticipation to see whether the Ethiopian great can conquer the field assembled and then proceed to the Beijing Olympic Games 2008 in China as favourite.
The field assembled is simply put, awesome, however I for one do not expect fireworks from Kenya's Paul Tergat as the distractions he has faced have been there, so don't be disappointed if he withdraws in the last week. But who knows, if he appears on the start line he is surely prepared to duel with the world's best over the distance.
From an American perspective the debut of Ryan Hall has provided great excitement within US running circles however to debut amongst the world's greatest over the distance and to do well is a large expectation, despite a sub 60 minute half this year.
Bring on London
