Haile Gebrselassie's reluctance to run the marathon in Beijing has brought pollution back into the headlines

Over the weekend hundreds of thousands of you embraced the British spring weather and completed one or more miles for Sport Relief. No doubt others took one look out of the window and decided that the conditions were not conducive to optimum performance, with Sunday lunch and Fulham versus Everton more desirable.

Haile Gebrselassie last week also appeared to make a decision relating to racing conditions, although the attraction of the Premier League is not thought to have been a factor. The two-times Olympic champion declared his reluctance to run the marathon in Beijing because of his fear that the pollution, heat and humidity would cause him long-term harm and, as an asthma sufferer, severely inhibit his ability to perform. When a high-profile athlete takes such a view the issues involved are debated more vigorously, and Gebrselassie's comments have prompted some interesting opinions.

He himself has never seemed comfortable with the idea of running 26 miles in such debilitating conditions. In essence, no one would choose to go to Beijing in August to run a marathon. But that is the nature of the Olympic title. It is a more enthralling and unpredictable race because of its venue and timing, which is what differentiates it from any of the big-city marathons. Nonetheless the enjoyment of the contest is diminished when the conditions can inhibit the world's best to such an extent that it becomes merely a test of survival.

So is Gebrselassie right? As the world of sports science becomes more influential there are plenty who will line up to produce hard evidence that for an asthma sufferer such as the Ethiopian his chances of success in the longer events would be seriously damaged. Both British and American sports scientists have been advocating the use of anti-pollution face masks, with the Americans stopping short of competition use, but over the weekend the debate in Britain has continued.