I agree to a point, look at Meb or Bernard Lagat! They “retired” from the pro circuit but are still competitive on the master’s level. To me it’s about “what’s Bekele’s goal?”. I don’t want to see him keep chasing the world record or gold in Tokyo only to see him drop out when the race gets away from him.

To me that is the difference, if it was reported tomorrow that Bekele was retiring from being an elite competitor but would still be racing at select races, being an ambassador to the sport I will be fully supportive… but I just don’t see that as an option for him.

But it is interesting, running is like no other sport.