Bekele wants to set marathon world record before retiring

Kolkata, Dec 15 (PTI) Having forced the world to sit up and take notice after switching to marathon, Ethiopian milestone man Kenenisa Bekele says he now wants to set the world record before calling it quits.

His 'idol' Haile Gebrselassie held the marathon record for two years till 2008. Kenya's Dennis Kimetto now holds the record with a timing of 2 hours 02 minutes 57 seconds.

A winner of eight gold medals in Olympics and World Championships, the 5000 and 10,000m world record holder made his marathon debut in Paris by winning in 2:05:03.

Two years later in Berlin 2016, he set a new Ethiopian record of 2:03:03, only six seconds shy of the world record.

"My plan is to become the world record holder in marathon before I retire," the 35-year-old who is the star attraction in the upcoming 25K run on December 17 said today.

"My timing is second fastest in the world right now," he pointed out.

"I feel I have it in me to do faster than this and become the world record holder."

Bekele will get an opportunity in next year's London Marathon in April where the current long distance sensation Mo Farah might challenge him.

"I'm looking forward to a good competition from Mo at London. I wish I competed in the track running now but I'm happy that he will be switching to road races and looking forward to that."

A father of a boy and two girls, Bekele said it's not easy to wake up early everyday for his training sessions.

"At times, I don't enjoy running twice everyday. It's not easy. It's really hard work to wake up early and train everyday. You may not enjoy it all the time. I feel I'm really getting close to retirement."

A legend in long distance running, Bekele was plagued by injury woes and stopped running in 2009. He then made a comeback in the 2011 World Championship but without any success.

Having struggled in his comeback due to a knee injury, Bekele finally decided to switch and follow his idol Gebrselassie's path and he made a competitive marathon debut at the Paris Marathon on April 6.

"Haile has been my role model before I started competing in Olympics and World Championships.

"Marathon is tough and I'm not just running for my feeling it's because of the support of my fellow Ethiopians and all the fans who are behind me, I've able to come this far.

"They all encourage me to keep running and I'm happy to be best in every races. They all matter a lot to me and keep me motivated all the time," he said.

The long-distance running legend will for the first time compete in a 25K race and the Ethiopian great's best 25K effort is 1:12:47, an intermediate time en route to winning the Berlin 2016.

The existing 25K world record is held by Kimetto (1:11:18 in 2012).

"As of now I'm really tired as I could not sleep well," Bekele who arrived this morning from Addis Ababa said.

"But I'm happy to be here and looking forward to a good race. ant to take it easy