Gebrselassie Running for Another World Record
Haile Gebrselassie is a legend in his own time. But the most decorated long-distance runner in history—with 26 world records to his name—isn’t finished by a long shot. Tomorrow, he’s returning to the NYC Half-Marathon—where he owns the course record—for another shot at the half-marathon world record.
Geb, 36, holds the marathon world record—a blistering 2:03:59. But the Ethiopian and Kenya’s young Sammy Wanjiru have been in a trading war over the half since 2005 when Wanjiru first broke the record. Geb took it from him in 2006, but Wanjiru won it back in 2007. Now, Geb wants a 27th record. He posted as much on his Twitter account on Jan. 25th.
“I still feel I can run the WR, so I start focussing on my next race (Half Marathon) in New York in preparation for a new attempt!”
The bar is set at 58:33—22 seconds faster than Geb’s personal best, and 51 seconds faster than his course record.
But if anyone can do it, Geb certainly can. He’s won nine out of 10 career half-marathons. He may not go for the half record in New York, instead focusing on lowering the marathon bar even further later in the year.
Either way, he’s always an exciting runner to watch. The race starts at 7:35 am in New York City’s Central Park. Runners travel through Times Square and finish within view of the Statue of Liberty along the Hudson River. The race will air live on Universal Sports at 7:30 am EST.
