Editor's note: Yes, Mo Farah has decided to drop in distance due to a virus. He will be running the 5,000-meter run. Here were our thoughts about the 10K race before that decision was made. 

They may be two kings of distance running, but not every reign is the same. Mo Farah is set to take on Kenenisa Bekele over 10,000-meters at the Prefontaine Classic on Friday night. 

Farah holds the upper hand in match-ups between him and Bekele as he has won both prior contests in which they have faced each other. One of those races being the Summer Olympics in London last summer. Farah not only triumphed over the Ethiopian, but the entire field as he won his second gold medal of the games. 

At 30-years-old Bekele heads into Saturday’s race with a legendary resume. 

 

  

Yet all he has done in 2013 is win April’s SPAR Great Ireland Run in Dublin in 28:51 under windy conditions. He said he felt “fantastic” after his race, which is a positive sign after a calf injury hampered his 2012 season. 

Last year, he opened his season with a 3,000-meter run in Doha running 7:40.00, so this is a much different beginning to his year. 

BYU track manager Isaac Wood made a great comparison of this match-up on Twitter calling the hype around it similar to that when Kobe Bryant faced off against Michael Jordan in the NBA. One was a rising star and the other was nearing the end of his career. 

  

@runliao @statman_jon its kind of like when Jordan played Kobe when Kobe was rising in stardom and Jordan was almost done. Kind of

— Isaac Wood (@isaacegbertwood) May 29, 2013

Both runners have been competing since 2001 when Bekele set the 3,000-meter world junior record in Brussels and Farah won the 5,000-meter run at the European Athletics Junior Championship. 12 years later Farah managed to hold up better than Bekele and run injury-free. There is more to Farah than just being fit as this off-season he also managed to find fun in what he does. 

Farah spent his offseason training in Kenya, running a half-marathon (New Orleans, 1:00:59) and half of a full marathon (London, 58:28 at 20K). On May 17, Farah won the 5,000-meters at the Oxy High Performance meet in 13:15.68, but fell short of the IAAF “A” standard of 13:15. So Bekele spent his off-season doing less racing, while Farah took the opposite approach. 

If there is one active World Record holder in a track race that is beatable, it is Bekele. He has not been the same in recent years and Farah has to be the favorite since he has not lost in an outdoor final since the IAAF World Championships in Daegu. Ibrahim Jelian, the Ethiopian that beat Farah, will be in the 5,000-meter run on Saturday. 

Will Farah only be challenged by Bekele? No. Are the athletes as serious threats as Bekele? No. 

Kenyan Vincent Chepok just finished second behind Ethiopian Hagos Gebrhiwet at the Adidas Grand Prix’s 5,000-meter run and beat Dejen Gebremeskel, a rising 23-year-old threat to Farah. 

The other threat being Sileshi Sihine of Ethiopia. He’s the same age as Farah and Bekele, but did not compete at the 2012 Olympics in London. The husband of Tirunesh Dibaba has five silver medals to show for his career (two from the Olympics and three from IAAF World Championships.) Much like Bekele, his prime may be behind him with no personal bests on the track since his 13:06.72 5,000-meter run at the Stockholm GE Galan in 2006. 

Farah’s ticket to Moscow is already punched in the 5,000-meter. His fitness is there. Now comes his first test on Friday night. 

Chris Chavez is a staff writer for Flotrack and a journalism major at Marquette University. He once beat Joey Fatone of NSYNC in a half-marathon. Feel free to to reach him with any questions, comments, or feedback on Twitter or by email.