Haile Gebreselassie, the world’s fastest marathoner, has decided not to compete in the event in the Beijing Olympics. The reason: Gebreselassie suffers from asthma, and he thinks that the pollution in Beijing poses a health threat. He’ll compete in the 10,000 meters

Without Gebreselassie, the field opens up considerably. On the other hand, perhaps other runners will follow suit.

IOC guru Jacques Rogge told reporters back in November that the IOC had set up a system to monitor pollution and would reschedule endurance events such as the marathon or the cycling road race,  if certain standards aren’t met. Rogge’s assurances weren’t enough for Gebreselassie. We’ll keep an eye on this story.

In the meantime, if you have any bad air stories to share, feel free. I wuss out on ultrahumid days. Sure it’s usually hot, but it’s so hard to breathe. Feels sort of like my lungs are bound up in Saran Wrap. Can’t imagine how tough it would be to run with asthma.