Wednesday, March 17, 2010
message from mzungo: Shaheen goes marathon
What’s the plan for this season?
I want to run under eight minutes again for the steeplechase. Last time I did that was like three, four years ago. I really like the steeple but I also like the 5k. And then I take it from there. Half marathon and even marathon!
What are you aiming at in your first marathon?
Under 2:09, maybe 2:10. I’d be happy with that.
(Saif Saaeed Shaheen is the world champion over the 3000 metre steeplechase course in 2003 and again in 2005.
He currently holds the world record for 3000 metre steeplechase in a time of 7:53:62 set in 2004 in Brussels and from 2003 through 2006 was the pre-eminent steeplechase athlete in the world. Shaheen possesses a powerful finish and notably defeated rival Ezekiel Kemboi in a dramatic World Track & Field Championships final in 2003.
Although he rarely ventures into this distance, in 2003 he ran the fastest 5,000 meters race in the world, a 12:48.81 in a meet in Ostrava in which he defeated the future 5,000 meter Olympic gold medalist Hicham El Guerrouj by two seconds.)