Kenenisa Watch

Ever since the World Cross Country Championships in Kenya back in March, it has been hard to gauge how Kenenisa Bekele may fare through the rest of the 2007 season. We got a chance to see him win the Two Miles race at Thales FBK Games in Hengelo, Netherlands at the end of May. However, there was no serious competition in that race and the winning time was quite slow, so the race did not provide a good indication of Kenenisa’s fitness level.

The next chance to see Kenenisa was at the Pre Classic in Eugene, Oregon, USA. However, that never happened because Kenenisa pulled out of the meet citing lack of fitness. His agent announced at the time that Kenenisa would compete next in Lausanne, Switzerland at Athletissima on July 10.

After anxiously waiting for several weeks, July 10th finally arrived but once again there was no Kenenisa at the meet. In fact, it looked like most of the Ethiopians scheduled to compete there had cancelled their appearance. Incidentally, Lausanne is the training base for Ethiopian born Bahraini Maryam Jamal (aka Zenebech Tola) and she had a nice victory in the 1500M in front of her home crowd. Anyway, there was no explanation as to why Kenenisa did not run the 5000M race as expected in Lausanne. Was he still feeling the lingering effect of the punishing race in Mombasa months ago?

Now Kenenisa is scheduled to run the 3000M TODAY at the Norwich Union British Grand Prix in Sheffield, England. It is interesting that Kenenisa switched from a 5000M on July 10th to a 3000M on July 15th. It could be that he needed the extra few days of training or rest but I believe the switch was made for a different reason. The last lap of the race in Hengelo showed that Kenenisa still has a blistering finishing speed. But it is still questionable whether his overall strength is as good as it once was.

A loss for Kenenisa at 5000M (his specialty) would really bring his value down whereas a loss at 3000M (not his specialty) could easily be written off. In other words, the 3000M is a safe race for Kenenisa which may be an indication that his fitness is not quite there yet. The 3000M today has a strong field including Australian Craig Mottram and Kenyan Abraham Chebii. But Kenenisa himself has sounded very confident in his comments regarding the race:

“I relish the opportunity to run against a class field, like Craig Mottram and Mo Farah , it will help me with my World Championship preparation. My focus is now to have a great summer, starting with the Norwich Union British Grand Prix in Sheffield, where I know I will be competing with strong competitors. It will be my first race at the Don Valley stadium and I am really looking forward to it. I am feeling good and looking forward to the challenge.”

I stated earlier that the 3000M is a safe race for Kenenisa where he can gain more than he can lose. But based on the above comment, it could also be that he has complete confidence in his fitness and that he wants to avenge for his loss to Mottram at the World Cup last year, and Tariku’s (his younger brother) loss to Mottram at Pre Classic and at the Golden Spike in Ostrava.

Mottram himself is anticipating the face-off with Kenenisa also. He expects that Sileshi Sihine’s performance in the 5000M at the Rome Golden Gala would give him indication on Kenenisa’s fitness. Well, Sileshi won the 5000M in Rome on Friday in the fastest time of the year so far. Therefore, at least according to Mottram, it could be an indication that Kenenisa is fit.

I will be eagerly watching this race (also the Women’s 3000M which Tirunesh Dibaba will be running) to see if Kenenisa comes out the victor over Mottram. Mottram is an undeniably talented athlete in his own right, however, his new found confidence in running has his mouth running as much as his feet. After beating Tariku Bekele two weeks ago in the 5000M race in Ostrava, this is what Mottram had to say after the race:

"And I felt (Tariku) Bekele come up with 650 to go I thought, ‘Ok, let's get it on.' I dropped his brother doing the same thing last year and figured he's not quite that good yet, I'll smash him too. I held him out. I didn't run great, and Bekele probably didn't run his best race either. But the world championship race might be like that. And you just have to make the most of the situation."

I doubt that Kenenisa’s fitness is back where it needs to be for the summer season, but I hope in the heat of competition he will find the strength somewhere to hand one back to the talking Aussie.

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Update: Women's 3000M race has just got underway. Tirunesh Dibaba was NOT among the starters although she was expected to be. Perhaps she is continuing to have trouble in her training?

*Vivian Cheruiyot of Kenya has won the race in 8:43.85. She led for almost the entire race and looked very smooth and confident throughout.

Update: Men's 3000M race has just started... Kenenisa in there. Appears nervous but trying to smile at the start. Click here for a complete update on the Men's 3000M.

Legese Strikes Gold!

In what has to be considered one of the biggest upset of the Championships so far, 17 year old Ethiopian Legese Lamiso has won the gold medal in the Steeplechase race at the 5th IAAF World Youth Championships. Legese handily beat his Kenyan and Moroccan opponents, and in the process established a new World Youth leading time. With this victory, Legese has also brought the first ever global Steeplechase title to Ethiopia. The great Eshetu Tura, who currently coaches the Ethiopian National Team, won the Bronze Medal at the 1980 Moscow Olympics.

Kenyans have had stranglehold in the Steeplechase event for decades, winning gold in every Olympic Games they have participated in starting 1968. In the 2004 Athens Olympics, Kenya took all three medals in the Steeplechase. The fact that Legese was able to easily outrun the Kenyans in their trademark event shows what a bright future he has ahead of him. Well done!

In other events, Mahlete Melese and Sule Ututra took Silver and Bronze in Girls 3000M. Henok Tesfaye nearly won Gold in the Boys 800M but a misstep on the curb during the last 200M caused him to drop down to seventh place.

Currently Ethiopia sits in 8th place on the Medal Table.

2012 Olympics Preview

In five years time, the Olympic Games will return to London, England after 64 years. Of course, Beijing Olympics will take place next year, so London may still seem far away. But some athletes, including Haile Gebrselassie, are already talking about competing in London in 2012.

Haile may or may not make it to London five years from now, but the likely stars of that Olympic are on display this week at the 5th IAAF World Youth Championships held in Ostrava, Czech Republic. The championships started yesterday and will go through Sunday (July 11-15).

Ethiopian athletes whose names may become household names by 2012 include Sule Utura, Mahlete Melese, Genzebe Dibaba (yep, that family), Abera Gutema, and Ayele Abshiro. It is worth remembering these names because past editions of these championships have produced our current stars including Kenenisa Bekele, Tariku Bekele, and Meseret Defar.

The ten member Ethiopian squad competing this week is led by the promising Sule Utura, who has recorded a meteoric rise in a short period of time. Day 2 of the Championships was concluded today and Ethiopia is currently tied for 11th place on the Medal Table with one Silver and one Bronze medal.

Best wishes for Ethiopia’s future stars.

Mestewat Tufa- Let Her Run!

Although most of the news regarding Ethiopian athletes during the past couple of weeks has been about Haile Gebrselassie’s record breaking performance in Ostrava on June 27, there was a significant event that went under the radar just one day earlier. On June 26, in Valkenswaard, Netherlands, Mestewat Tufa ran the year’s fastest 10000M finishing in 31:00.27, which is five seconds faster than the previous year’s best.

With this performance, the unheralded Mestewat earned herself a spot on Ethiopia’s National Team that will compete at the World Championships in Osaka, Japan in August. Incidentally, it is worth noting that Mestewat took second place behind Meselech Melkamu earlier this year in February at the 24th Jan Meda Cross Country which served as Ethiopia’s qualifying meet for the World Cross Country meet held in Mombasa, Kenya in March.

Despite Mestewat’s spectacular result, there were some reports that the coaches dropped Mestewat Tufa from the Mombasa line-up just the night before the race and gave the spot to Ahaza Kiros, who finished fifth at the Jan Meda trial. This decision caused a mutiny by Ethiopia’s men runners, who came to the defense of Mestewat, threatening to boycott the championship race on the following day unless Mestewat was reinstated. Mestewat herself was reportedly quite angry and took on matters literally in to her own hands, physically confronting one of the coaches. Eventually she was given back her spot and took part in the Senior Women’s race and finished 47th.

One can not help but wonder what may have initiated the coaches to undertake such a disruptive action at the last possible moment. Perhaps the heat and humidity was the least of all the problems Ethiopia’s athletes faced in Mombasa.

Now that Mestewat has once again earned herself a spot on the National Team, she should be allowed to run in Osaka without any interference. She has shown that she is the world’s best 10000M runner so far this year, and she deserves a chance to go for the gold in Osaka. Let her run!

Tirunesh in Trouble?

Leading up to last Friday’s Golden League meet in Paris, there were couple of upbeat write-ups on Tirunesh Dibaba that ranged from romance to richness. But, as the saying goes, the proof of the pudding is in the eating. And Tirunesh did not show much in Paris even though she still got a comfortable win.

Despite the win, the slow time of 15:21 she turned in for the race has many (i.e. me) scratching their head. For perspective, Meseret Defar’s recent record setting run in Oslo was more than a minute faster than Tirunesh’s run in Paris. In other words, Meseret would have finished more than a full lap ahead of Tirunesh. At the Paris meet last year, Tirunesh beat Meseret in a close race but this time Meseret looks to be a lap ahead and strong favorite for the gold in Osaka.

This is not exactly what we expected to see from the Dueling D’s for the 2007 season! Duels aside, Tirunesh may be in serious trouble for the upcoming World Championships in Osaka. She has already announced that she will not race again until World Championships. She also has not run *any* 10000M race since her victory at the 2005 World Championships in Helsinki.

Still, Tirunesh says she intends to defend both her 5000M and 10000M title in Osaka. For the time being, Meseret Defar and Mestewat Tufa appear to be the favorites for Osaka’s 5000M/10000M race.

Ambitious Haile

It seems like Haile Gebrselassie’s recent performance in Hengelo and Ostrava has put him on cloud nine. His confidence took a shot at the London Marathon in April but it looks to have restored fully… or, at least enough to take a very unusual and bold move of signing up for and making a big announcement about a marathon he plans to run after his next marathon in Berlin.

Haile is confident enough that he will be successful at Berlin and stay healthy enough to jump in the million dollar chase at the Dubai Marathon in January 2008. His agent Jos Hermens says “Ideally, I’d like him [Haile] to break the World record a little in Berlin, then a lot in Dubai.” Haile himself says “My aims are to break the marathon World record, and win the Olympic Games marathon. I’d like to break the World record here in Dubai, and my training towards that begins tomorrow.” What about Berlin, Haile?

It appears that both Haile and Hermens have practically written off Berlin and are just looking forward to Dubai. Say what you may, I think this is a huge disrespect to the Berlin Marathon. If I were the organizers, I would ask for my money back from Haile/Hermens.

Impossible is Nothing

"Some people listen to themselves, rather than listen to what others say. These people don't come along very often. But when they do, they remind us that once you set out in a path, even though critics may doubt you, its okay to believe that there is no can't won't or impossible. They remind us that its okay to believe impossible is nothing."

The above is from an Adidas commercial which has to be one of the best commercials ever made. And Haile Gebrselassie is part of a group of seven legendary athletes featured with Muhammed Ali as they set off for a long run. You can watch the commercial here.

Earlier this evening in Ostrava, Czech Republic, Haile Gebrselassie showed exactly why he deserved to be on the above mentioned Adidas ad. Haile proved nothing is impossible by setting two world records in the 20000M and one hour run.

Many people, including Haile's own countrymen, had started to doubt Haile calling on him to retire from athletics. Many opined that it is impossible for him to win again. Well, Haile has proven once again that he is truly one of a kind with a return to the track for a fast 10000M in Hengelo last month, and two more world records added to his collection tonight.

Haile's new record for the 20000M is 56:25.98 which is nearly a 30 second improvement on the previous record. For the one hour run, Haile covered 21285M which is 184M farther than the previous record.

Haile looked very smooth and comfortable all through the one hour run. He passed the 10000M mark in 28:11 which was 2 seconds faster than the winning time in the 10000M at the US National Championships last week! The last of the pacemakers for today's run dropped out at the 12000M mark which was around 34 minutes in to the race. So Haile had to run the last 26 minutes all by himself, but stayed on an amazingly consistent 67 sec per lap pace for the remaining part of the race. Haile looked amazingly fresh at the end of the run and took the time for a victory lap thanking his fans and giving high fives and displaying his beaming smile.

Tonight showed why Haile is the greatest distance runner of all time, and all indications are that it is just a matter of time before Haile breaks the marathon world record and puts it out of reach for sometime. Carol Lewis, one of the commentators on the telecast, gave perhaps the best description of Haile: "incredible talent and a true gentleman."

Thank you Haile for once again lifting the spirit of Ethiopia!

Dan or Dave

If you had a chance to watch the USA Track and Field National Championships over the weekend, you know that the event was full of drama. Some Gold Medal favorites for Osaka World Championships (Xavier Carter, Sanya Richards) failed to make the team altogether. On the flip side, there were some eye popping performance such as Tyson Gays 100M and 200M runs (Go Razorbacks!).

Xavier Carter's failure to make the team was due to injury, but I was most shocked to see that Sanya Richards, 2006 World Athlete of the Year, failed to make the US team in the 400M for the World Championships.

And that got me thinking back to 1992. I wonder how many people recall the huge ad campaign Reebok undertook leading up to the Barcelona Olympics. They hyped up two of the best decathletes, Dan O'Brien and Dave Johnson, building up anticipation as to who will take the Olympic Gold. Well, as it turned out Dan O'Brien failed to make the Olympic team entirely and Dave Johnson managed only a Bronze Medal.

Coming back to 2007, it is pretty clear at the moment that the strongest head to head competition in women's athletics is between the Dueling D's, Meseret Defar and Tirunesh Dibaba. But, after seeing the fate of Carter and Richards over the weekend, I can't help but wonder what if Meseret fails to make the Ethiopian team for the World Championships 5000M? What about Tirunesh? Well, I believe she has already secured a spot since she is the defending champion from 2005.

Cash the Czech

Tomorrow evening (June 27) will bring us the much anticipated Ostrava track meet (46th Zlata Tetra - Golden Spike - Ostrava) held in the Czech Republic. You will recall that Meseret Defar had pointed to this meet as one of two key preparation she has planned prior to the Osaka World Championships in August. The other one was the ExxonMobil Bislett Games in Oslo where Meseret smashed the 5000M World Record.

Meseret is going for another record in the 5000M tomorrow, but unlike Oslo, she will be facing strong competition from Gelete Burka and Meselech Melkamu who have also been having a great season so far. It should make for a nice race but it may be a bit much to expect two world records on back to back races. Actually, I can not easily recall anyone in recent past who has achieved back-to-back world record in track racing (not counting field events).

The women's 5000 is not the only record attempt tomorrow. Haile Gebrselassie is also going for a world record in the one hour run. Haile should easily get this record as well as the 20000m record. Incidentally, in one of my earlier posts I had speculated that Haile is likely going for two records for the price of one, which has indeed turned out to be the case. However, I had guessed that he would be attempting to gain back the half-marathon record. That turned out to be incorrect because of my wrong assumption that the one-hour record attempt would be on the road rather than on a track. Obviously there could not be a half-marathon record on the track since any race of that distance is classified as a road race.

The men's 5000M race should also be a dandy since there are seven Ethiopians and eight Kenyans entered. The Australian Craig Mottram (winner of the 2 mile race at Pre Classic) is also in the mix which should give Tariku Bekele a chance to avenge his loss to Mottram at Pre two weeks ago. The World XC Champion Zeresenay Tadesse had been announced for the 5000M but his name is not listed among the starters.

The Ostrava meet will be broadcast live on the web (subscription required) at www.wcsn.com.

Streakers... Game Over!

All good things must come to an end. And so the streak I started on April 1, to do consecutive days of running, ended on June 10 after 70 days of running every day. Actually, I came down with a flu type of illness on June 6th, but I fought hard to not end the streak and managed to get a run in for three more days, hoping that I would get better and maintain the streak. But by Sunday June 10, I was in no shape to walk up a flight of stairs let alone go on a run. So I missed my run for the day as well as the following 9 days.

I have returned to the daily run as of June 20 after making sure I was back close to full health. However, I will not be attempting another streak as I found it to be too stressful. Perhaps someday I will notice that I have passed my personal record of 70 consecutive days of running, but as the pros like to say, I will just let the record come to me rather than chase it.

Happy running!

Dadi is the winner...

... in more ways than one.

In the US, today is observed as Father's Day where tribute is paid to all fathers and the institution of fatherhood. Happy Father's Day to all father's out there, and I am proud to be the father of my own two little ones!

But, I think the following has to be the ultimate serendipity as far as running is concerned: today's Great Adama Run in Nazareth, Ethiopia was won by- are you ready for this- Dadi Urga. I wonder if Dadi is really Daddy...

They Call Her BOLD

Meseret Defar, The World's Best 5000m Runner
By Sabrina Yohannes
As featured in the June 2007 issue of Running Times Magazine

Meseret Defar was agitated. She had arrived in Boston two years after her first attempt on the world indoor 3,000m mark there, determined to finally break the record, and confident she was in shape to do so. But the day after her arrival on Wednesday, January 24, 2007, she had come down with flu-like symptoms. "My back ached, and I had to force myself to warm up and train," she said later. "At night, I couldn’t sleep. I had a fever, a headache and body aches."

On race day, January 27, she first watched as her Ethiopian compatriot, Tirunesh Dibaba, slashed her own 5,000m world indoor record. "When you see someone in your field running such a fast time, it inspires you too," said Defar. But she had been unable to ... more

Defar Breaks 5000M WR

This evening, running the 5000M at the ExxonMobil Bislett Games in Oslo, Norway, the great Ethiopian athlete Meseret Defar set a new world record with 14:16.63, almost 8 second inside her own record... more

Our Coaches Are Not Good Enough

... so says Haile Gebrselassie. He also says that "we are in trouble." Runners from the west are catching up and passing Ethiopian and Kenyan runners who have looked invincible for the last two decades. Time is running out, says Haile ... more

Geb Headed Back to Berlin

Haile Gebrselassie has chosen Berlin Marathon as his fall marathon for 2007. I would have guessed he would try the Chicago Marathon to get a fast time, but he has decided to return to Berlin where he won the race and posted the fastest time for the marathon in 2006.

Berlin Marathon is where Paul Tergat set the current marathon world record of 2:04:55 in 2003 and where the Brazilian Ronaldo da Costa broke Belayneh Dinsamo's 10 year old world record in 1998. It must be that Haile thinks his familiarity with the Berlin course, together with the course's history of producing world records, gives him the maximum chance for breaking the current record held by Tergat. Haile missed this record only by 61 seconds in 2006... more

Meseret in Oslo

The European summer track and field season will kick in full gears starting this coming Friday June 15. The first meet of the $1 Million IAAF Golden League Series will take place in Oslo, Norway on Friday at the ExxonMobil Bislett Games.

Meseret Defar will be running 5000M at this meet, which she has pointed to as one of two key preparations for the World Cahmpionships in Osaka, Japan in August. Bislett Games organizers are hoping for a 5000M world record from Meseret.

Other Ethiopians signed up for Friday's 5000M race are Sentayehu Ejigu, Ejegayehu Dibaba, Workitu Ayanu, and Mestewat Tufa. Also running in Oslo will be Mestawat Tadesse and the Ethiopian-turned-Bahraini Maryam Jamal, both entered in the 1500M. Mekdes Bekele will be contesting the 3000M steeplechase.

Haile Still Seeking Records

Haile's 26:52 in Hengelo two weeks ago has proven to him that he still got it- speed, that is. Although he finished fifth in that the race, the sub 27 minute clocking is still very impressive. So, Haile is seeking to convert this speed in to some kind of record. And he is looking where aging track runners look on their way out- rarely contested distances or events.

Haile has announced that he will be attempting to set a world record for the farthest distance run in one hour. The current record is 16 years old and was set by the Mexican Arturo Barrios, who covered 21.101km in one hour.

Does that distance look familiar? It should because it is almost exactly half of a marathon (21.097km). And we all know that Haile set a half-marathon world record of 58:55 in Jan 2006 so the one hour record should be a walk in the park for him. But not so fast, Haile.

I think I see through Haile's thinking on this one. He is trying to get two records for the price of one. The one hour record is as sure as a guarantee based on Haile's 10K time two weeks ago. But I think Haile is also hoping that during his one hour run, he will pass through the half-marathon mark quicker than Sammy Wanjiru's 58:35 and get that record back through the back door. That is two for the price of one. After all, Haile had commented that he would like to get the half-marathon record back soon. Best wishes!

Post Race on Pre

Pre Classic 2007 was a very high quality meet were several meet records and an American Record were set and year's best times established. I watched the whole meet on TV but the men's 2 mile and the women's 1500M race were of particular interest as Ethiopians were among the competitors.

The women's 1500M was won by Gelete Burka in 4:00.48, which is a new meet record for Pre. This was one gutsy race won by a very gutsy young woman (age 21!). Running a four minute 1500M is about as good as it gets in international competition, and the fact that a 5000M runner who stepped down in distance achieved this is simply astounding.

As the race started, Gelete was the only runner willing to go with the pace makers who set out on a fast pace. The rest of the field dropped back immediately by some 20 metres judging the pace to be too quick and assuming Gelete will simply run herself to the ground towards the end of the race by following such a fast pace. When the last pace maker dropped out at the 800M mark, Gelete was at the front of the race by some distance and the rest of the field started their attempt to reel her in. With 300M to go it appeared that the Russian Chizhenko (2006 World Indoor Champion at 1500M) was significantly cutting into Gelete's lead, but Gelete managed to maintain, and even expand, her lead in the last 200M to get the win and post an amazing fast time for the race. It looked as if the 1500M specialists were a bit dejected that an "outsider" walked into their race and walked away with the win.

Gelete enjoyed her victory with a slow jog giving high fives to spectators in the stadium who were reaching out to touch her. You will recall the commanding victory Gelete took two weeks ago at the 5000M race in Hengelo, Netherlands. It is not hard to imagine that Gelete could become the face of Ethiopian athletics in the near future. She is a very talented runner who looks very natural at her trade. She needs to seriously consider competing in 1500M or 3000M at the World Champs and Olympics rather than join the crowded field in the 5000M with Tirunesh, Meseret, and Meselech and miss out on her medal chances.

As for the men's 2 mile race, the late withdrawal of Kenenisa from the race had dampened the spirits a bit but the race was still well contested. The other Bekele brother in the race, the younger Tariku, appeared to be taking the race by the horn while the rest of the field (loaded with talent) were content to stay in the background. It appeared that they went by the first mile in a fast 4:03. By the time the pace makers dropped out of the race, Tariku was at the front pushing hard but the tall Australian Craig Motram was doggedly following Tariku only a step behind. The pace was upped at the bell lap and with 250M to go, Motram got a jump on Tariku and opened a gap quickly. Tariku gave good chase but did not have enough in the tank to overtake Motram who won the race in 8:03.50 establishing a meet record. Tariku was one second behind in 8:04.83 for a very solid second place finish.

Running a 4:03 and 4:01 mile back to back is an amazing stuff. Tariku did his 2 miles race nine seconds faster than Kenenisa did two weeks ago in Hengelo. Also, Tariku's 13:04.05 at the Reebok Grand Prix in New York last weekend was the fastest 5000M run on American soil. Once again, Tariku has shown he is a highly talented runner in his own right and will be a medal contender in Osaka this summer and Beijing next year.

One final note: Zeresenay Tadesse, the 2007 World Cross Country Champ from Eritrea who dethroned Kenenisa in Mombasa, finished the 2 mile race in 7th place in a time of 8:19.34.

Kenenisa Scratched from Pre

I watched the 2 mile race in Hengelo late in the day two weekends ago, so didn't provide a timely update at the time. The results were all over the news the following day so I didn't bother to add an entry.

Watching the race in Hengelo, two things stood out: first, the rest of the field in the race were all virtual unknowns, even for an avid roocha fan. Secondly, the winning time of 8:13.51 was very slow, some 15 seconds slower than the world record. Kenenisa just followed the pace for the slow first mile (4:11), stayed near the front for the much quicker second mile (4:02), and he still managed to produce a blistering kick that no one could match for the last two hundred meters. He finished with a huge margin of victory.

Kenenisa looked fine but one nagging question remained in my mind. What if the race had real competition? The answer was to come in two weeks time on June 10. Kenenisa's next outing was scheduled to be at the Pre Classic in Oregon, USA. Unlike the race in Hengelo, the 2 mile at Pre is stacked with deep field of strong competitors. Also, it was going to be the first head to head meeting between Kenenisa Bekele and Zeresenay Tadesse following the debacle in Mombasa.

But it was not meant to be. Kenenisa has withdrawn from tomorrow's race citing lack of fitness. Perhaps a good decision, because Hengelo did not assure anyone that Kenenisa of old has returned. We will have to wait until July 10 to see Kenenisa in action at Athletissima in Lausanne, Switzerland. In the mean time, you can read more about Kenenisa's withdrawal from Pre here and more about Kenenisa the man here.

Tamrat Ayalew

Tamrat Ayalew- a professional runner from Ethiopia, now in Colorado, seeking political asylum. He says he has a personal best of 2:12 in the marathon. He also says he was imprisoned and tortured by the Ethiopian government... watch a video clip here.

Back to the Familiar

In a few hours, Kenenisa Bekele and Haile Gebrselassie will be running in the Fanny Blankers-Koen Games (aka Thales FBK Games, named for "The Flying Housewife") in Hengelo, Netherlands. Kenenisa will be running the 2 mile race, originally billed as a world record attempt, and Haile will be doing the 10000M race. Both will be in familiar territory, but only as far as venue is concerned. It is unlikely that either one will come anywhere close to world record setting form they displayed in past years at this very same meet. In fact, I just hope that they will avoid the disaster they met in their most recent outings in Mombasa and London.

I suspect both Kenenisa and Haile have chosen to compete in Hengelo because it is a familiar place to both. Haile has set three world records in Hengelo: 5000M record in 1994, and two 10000M records in 1995 and 1998. Kenenisa broke the 5000M record in Hengelo in 2004. However, both have met some rough roads in recent competition and their performance in Hengelo will be quite telling as to how they will fare in upcoming competitions for the rest of 2007.

Recent news on Kenenisa regarding his ongoing difficulties following the disaster in Mombasa has been troubling, to say the least. Although the story is carried by Kenyan media (with vested interest in seeing Kenenisa's demise), what is reported is most shocking. Other reports state that Kenenisa suffered knee injury in Mombasa, which the Ethiopian Athletic Federation has been concerned about. Kenenisa has faced adversity in the past, including the unexpected loss of his fiancee, and he has managed to rise back to the top. I hope that Hengelo (and Pre Classic two weeks later) will put him back on the right track towards 2007 World Chamionships in Osaka and the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

As for Haile, his appearance in Hengelo is most puzzling. He had said that his days of track running have come to an end following the 2005 World Championships in Helsinki. He was at last concentrating on the Marathon which he said was his ultimate goal through all his years of running. Haile had a successful 2006 marathon season but he had to drop out of the London Marathon last month where he had a high expectation of winning against a strong field that was assembled. Unfortunately, Haile had to drop out after 30 kilometers.

In an interview that I heard several days after London's race, Haile said he encountered sudden difficulty in breathing, which his doctors have later on told him was due to pollen allergy. The unusual warm weather in London had resulted in high level of pollen in the air. Haile said he was very confident of winning as he passed the 25 km mark but his race was unexpectedly over 15 minutes later. Third time was definitely not a charm for Haile in London. Even before the race, I was disappointed to read the defending champion openly stating that he does not fear Haile and that Haile's aura is gone.

Immediately after the news of Haile's DNF in London, many Ethiopians started commenting on internet discussion boards calling on him to gracefully retire from running. These were similar remarks heard after Haile's shocking loss at the 2001 World Championship 10000M race in Edmonton, Canada. This time, however, even Haile's manager Jos Hermens admitted that Haile himself has for the first time talked about retiring after his DNF in London.

Just before this year's London Marathon, Haile had confidently talked about his desire to run until the 2012 London Olympics. Only few days later there was talk of retirement. Haile said that people that he respects have even come to him privately to suggest retirement but it looks his retirement is still far off. Haile says that some will be disappointed if he does not retire and others will be disappointed if he does retire. I just hope that he will get a farewell tour he so deserves when it is time to retire, rather than be forced to walk away with injury or series of embarrassing defeats.

In light of the above, it is quite concerning that Haile has decided to return to track racing in attempts of recapturing glory from yesteryear. I think his decision to run 10000M in Hengelo will be questioned by many if he can not manage to run a 27:30 or faster time and finish in the top three. Haile seems to have ruled out running in the world championships in August but says 2008 Beijing Olympics is a must and will do anything to get ready.

At best, Haile seems to not be thinking clearly, vacillating between retirement and more Olympics, and between marathon and track. He also seems to be distracted by his activities off the track including his business, political mediation, the Millennium Run, and various other VIP appearances. It is great that Haile has all these things that he can focus his attention on after he hangs up his running shoes, but at this time, they may very well be enough of a distraction to prevent him from performing at his best.

Other Ethiopians competing in the 10000M race are Sileshi Sihin and Gebregziabher Gebremariam. On the women's side Gelete Burka (4th in Mombasa) and Mestawot Tufa will face Lornah Kiplagat (1st in Mombasa) and the former Ethiopian Maryam Yusuf Jamal over 5000M.

Best wishes to all. You can watch the race live here.
------------------------

UPDATE:
Men's 10000M: Several Ethiopians started the race- Haile, Sileshi Sihine, Gebregziabher Gebremariam, Deriba Merga, and Ali Abdosh. Haile was all smiles and enjoying himself at the start line, chatting it up with Sileshi. Haile kept up with the leaders and the pace all through the whole race staying in 4th and 5th place. As the bell rang for the final lap, Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge was in the lead with Sileshi, Gebre, and Haile right on his heels. Kipchoge upped the pace immediately and Haile was dropped off along with Gebre. Coming to the last 100 meter, Kipchoge was still in the lead with SIleshi in second and another Kenyan, Moses Mosop (2nd in Mombasa), in third place. Sileshi pushed hard and he overtook Kipchoge in the last 25 meters to take the win with the smallest of margins. Sileshi ran a very fast time of 26:49 and it looked like Mosop in third, Gebre in fourth, and Haile in fifth, all inside of 27:00. I believe Haile justified his entry in the race by running a very fast time but it is clear that he is nowhere close to winning a championship medal in 10000M. On the flip side, with Haile past his prime and Kenenisa having other difficulties, Sileshi's time to come out of the shadow may finally have arrived and he may be collecting Gold Medals in upcoming championship races.

Women's 5000M : Gelete Burka has won the race in 14:38 with a very dominaing performance. She looked very, very good. She will be a challenge to Tirunesh, Meseret, and Meselech. Gelete barely missed Meseret Defar's meet record from last year. Mestawot Tufa finished fourth and Belaynesh Fekadu finished fifth.

Gebrselassie to return to the track in Hengelo

Hengelo, The Netherlands - The Ethiopian running legend Haile Gebrselassie will pay tribute to his name as ‘Mr. Hengelo’ by returning to the track to contest the 10,000m at the 25th edition of the THALES FBK-Games on Saturday 26 May.

Gebrselassie, who after the 2005 World Championship said he would never again run on the track, had a change of heart for a simple reason... more

[You can watch this race from Hengelo, Netherlands live by registering here.]

Kenenisa fails to recover from Mombasa

Daily Nation Online

Story by ELIAS MAKORI in Addis Ababa
Publication Date: 5/20/2007

Has the world seen the last of Kenenisa Bekele’s powerful running in the middle and long distance races? Is this the end of an era?

A couple of months ago, these would hardly have been questions to ask. I for one could never have imagined that the stocky Kenenisa could blow his turbo so soon before the World Championships in Osaka this summer, or next year’s Olympics in Beijing.

But on Friday evening, the Olympic and world champion made a startling revelation: that he has never recovered from the disastrous 12-kilometre race at the 35th World Cross Country Championships in Mombasa in March, leading to the big question of whether or not we have seen the last of Ethiopia’s “pocket rocket.”

In an interview at one of his residences near the embassy of Gabon in Addis Ababa, Kenenisa almost broke into tears as he narrated how he has unsuccessfully tried to pull himself together since falling off in the last lap of the Mombasa race and losing his world title to Eritrean rival, Zersanay Tadesse.

Loss of form

Kenenisa is so off-form that he even doubts his chances of competing at the World Championships in Osaka in August. He has ruled out an assault on the 10,000m and 5,000m double in the Japan meet should he miraculously bounce back.

So low was his morale that as this interview dragged into his 4pm training time, he sat on, pensively, without any sense of urgency. Instead, it was his brother, Tariku, who begged to leave on time for the afternoon run on the outskirts of Addis Ababa, perhaps with an increasing awareness that sooner rather than later the weight of an expectant nation will shift from Kenenisa’s hitherto strong shoulders onto his young, inexperienced ones.

The Sunday Nation also spoke to Kenenisa’s father, 82-year-old Bekele Bayicha, brother Tariku, coach Woldemeskel Kostre and his distance running mentor, Haile Gebrselassie. And all of them were at a loss of words over Bekele’s sudden loss of form.

Bad dream

Not even frequent trips to the doctor have revealed the source of Kenenisa’s loss of the power that endeared him to many fans and made him the athlete to beat in distance running.

As he spoke on Friday evening, everyone around him, including his brother Tariku and his house helps, fought off tears. The story did not seem real. It was like a bad dream.

A combination of the Kenyan coast’s heat and humidity, a bad game plan on his part, knee injury and lack of a lap counter at the Mombasa Golf Course all contributed to the fall of one of the world’s greatest athletes ever.

Throughout the interview on Friday, six words he uttered stood out and summed up his feelings: “I have no power any more.”

Kenenisa’s training plans have never been able to get off the ground since the Mombasa championships, and the man from Bekoji in the Oromiya region, Ethiopia’s athletics breadbasket, is devastated.

“After Mombasa, my leg muscles felt like they were arm muscles,” Kenenisa told his sad tale.

“I felt dizzy, and two weeks later I had pain in my knee. I did not know that when I was running in Mombasa I hurt my knee. I have gone to see many doctors and they say it was a muscle tissue injury, which will get better through massage.

“I have seen many doctors but they all tell me that I’m not ill. But I feel I have no power any more.

“Previously, for example, I was able to lift this table (coffee table in his living room) but now I struggle to do this. I have no power any more?

“When I do hard training sometimes I have this pain in my head which I cannot resist? I don’t have power in my body any more?. sometimes I train well one day and the next day I cannot train well? I need time to recover.”

It was at this point of the interview that the room fell silent as Kenenisa almost broke down.

But he came around and pointed out that his physical condition was so bad that he would have to drastically scale down his international competitions.

“Normally, I run 16 competitions a year but this year I think I will run only five,” he said. “After the World Championships (in Osaka) I will probably run only three.”

He will be only 25 on June 13, but Kenenisa’s international resume reads as though he has been in top flight athletics for the last 20 years.

Sample this: 2001 world junior cross country champion; 2001 world short course cross country silver medallist; 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005 double world short and long course cross country champion; 1999 world youth 3,000m silver medalist; 2000 world junior 5,000m bronze medalist; 2003,2005 world 10,000m champion; 2003 world championships 5,000m silver medalist and 2003 All Africa Games 5,000m champion.

The list goes on: 2004 Olympic 10,000m champion; 2004 Olympic 5,000m silver medalist; 2006 world indoor 3,000m champion and 2006 African 5,000m champion.

Before the World Cross Country Championships in Mombasa, Kenenisa, who runs for the Muger Cement Club in Addis Ababa and is managed by Dutchman Jos Hermens, had not lost a cross country race since December 2001.

Could his sudden loss of form be a burnout, a result of running too fast too soon?

He doesn’t think so: “My schedule in the last four or five years has not changed. Moreover, this is only the beginning of the 2007 season. After a break from 2006, how can I lose power at this time?”

However, the soft-spoken king of distance running said he was happy with the Kenyan crowd at the Mombasa championships, but observed that the lack of a lap counter in the 12km race was partly to blame for his loss to Eritrea’s Zersanay Tadesse.

“There was no lap counter, it was too hot and the opposition was strong. With such weather and conditions, how did they (organisers) expect us to know the number of laps without a lap counter,” he wondered.

“After finishing four laps, I thought I was going for the final lap only to be told at the bell that there was one more lap! I could not control my body any more and I could not afford another kick to the finish and that’s why I dropped off with a few metres to go – I just could not control my body.

“But I was happy with the Kenyans. Wherever I went, in the hotel and everywhere else, they were happy to see me and said I had added value to the championships by coming.

“I love the Kenyan people but I was not happy with the radio announcements and some internet articles that said I was a bad loser in Mombasa. I always try my best to compete. Sport is not only about winning and I will always respect the Kenyan people,” he said.

Like his brother, Tariku also did not finish the 12km race in Mombasa due to the heat and humidity.

“We have never seen conditions like this before,” Tariku said. “It was too hot and I could not finish the race.”

“But although I dropped out in the early laps, I could not believe my eyes when Kenenisa dropped out? I have no words to say how I felt? the course was also very hard, it was like running on a motor racing track!”

Kenenisa and Tariku’s father, Bayicha Bekele, lives with his third wife, mother of the two stars, in Bekoji town, some 200 kilometres outside Addis Ababa in a house Kenenisa built for him.

When the Sunday Nation caught up with him midweek, he read malice in the decision to have the World Cross Country Championships in Mombasa. A deliberate ploy to have his son dethroned.

“The weather was terrible! I could not believe my son dropped out of the race,” he said. “I think having the race under such conditions was deliberate. But its God’s will and God sees everything.”

Recovery

Woldemeskel Kostre, Ethiopia’s award-winning coach of the middle and long distance races, was also unable to explain what happened in Mombasa.

But what has shocked him most is the fact that Bekele has never recovered. “He needs support to get his form back. But from the way I see it, it will take time.”
The sentiments are shared by Haile Gebrselassie, arguably the world’s best ever long distance runner.

“Kenenisa learnt a lot from me and I have also learnt a lot from him. What happened in Mombasa was unbelievable. But I’m sure he will be back,” Gebrselassie said in his eighth floor office of the eight storey Alem Building that he built from his track earnings and named after his wife.

He added: “Kenenisa has achieved a lot. But sometimes when you grow older you lose speed and when the youngsters come up, it is difficult to challenge them.”

The exact extent of Kenenisa’s loss of form and power will be clearer in 10 days’ time when he competes in the 3,000 metres, his first race of the track season, in Hengelo, The Netherlands, at a meeting organised by his manager Hermens.

Maybe only then will the world know whether this is really the beginning of the end of Kenenisa Bekele’s illustrious running career.

But as it stands, Kenenisa is not the same “pocket rocket” that the world knew. His turbo seems to have blown.

On the Home Front

The Great Bahir Dar Run 10K, staged by the Great Ethiopian Run, took place in Bahir Dar, Ethiopia today. It took a sprint finish to decide the men’s race, won by Yetwal Kandie in 29:14.07, while a barefoot Genet Talew won the women’s division by a huge margin in a time of 34:13.78. You can read more on this race here…

It was great to see Ethiopian athletes do well in competitions in Europe and America over the weekend. But nothing makes me happier than reading about my beloved sport of roocha taking a foot hold (no pun intended) back home with grass root level participation races across the country, such as the Great Bahir Dar Run. And this is entirely due to the work done by the Great Ethiopian Run organization, which was founded in 2001, and whose Chairman of the Board is none other than the great Haile Gebrselassie.

The GER organization lists as its aim “the betterment of life in Ethiopia by (i) giving the public opportunity to participate in the country’s national sport (ii) serving as a platform for publicising important health messages, in particular AIDS prevention messages and (iii) contributing to much-needed imaging building for the country.”

These goals are as noble as any listed by any organization working on behalf of Ethiopia and its people. And considering the success of the different races GER has hosted since 2001, and the international renown some of these races have achieved, it is clear that GER is meeting and passing its goals by leaps and bounds.

Although the annual Great Ethiopian Run 10K held in Addis Ababa in November is the most popular race hosted by GER, the organization stages several other races throughout the year. Last month, GER hosted Confidence Women’s First 5K, which is a race only for women, with as many as 8000 participants. It is truly amazing that the organizers are able to get such a large turnout of women for a mass participation road race in a country where women traditionally are not given the lime light and face difficult issues such as violence without much support. The main message of the 5K to “Stop Violence Against Women” is a very important message that needs to be understood by all parts of our society.

This particular message, and the 5K race, could not have happened at a more appropriate time considering the horrific attack carried out on a 21 year old woman Kamilat Mehdi. As senseless and unimaginable as this attack on Kamilat was, it was also wonderful that GER was able to provide support to Kamilat to help pay for transportation and medical expenses for treatment abroad. In addition to support given to Kamilat Mehdi, proceeds from the Women’s First 5K were used to provide scholarship funds for three women.

Considering that GER has successfully hosted many mass participation races across Ethiopia, and in the process have attracted international athletes as well as international television media, and considering GER has used this forum to disseminate important health and social messages, a GREAT KUDOS is in order for everyone associated with the Great Ethiopian Run organization. Well done, indeed!

Stay tuned for GER’s next race: Great Adama Run on June 17, 2007 in Nazareth, Ethiopia.

Speedy Mezzy

Earlier this afternoon I watched Meseret “Mezzy” Defar on live TV break the 2 Mile World Record in the Adidas Track Classic in Carson, California. Meseret won the race in 9:10.47, improving the old record of 9:11.97 held by Regina Jacobs of USA. It is worth noting that Regina Jacobs was banned from track and field few years ago for using banned performance enhancing substances and all her records have been viewed with suspicion as a result. It is nice to have Meseret “clean” that record.

Meseret ran most of the race by herself and her margin of victory appeared to be no less than 150 meters. She was simply in a league of her own and she would probably have run even faster if she had close competition. This is the third world record Meseret has set in a space of one year. In June 2006 she set an outdoor 5000M World Record in New York, and this year in early February she set an indoor 3000M World Record in Stuttgart, Germany.

It was great to see a sizeable contingent of flag waving Ethiopian supporters cheering on Meseret to a new World Record. She returned the favor by going to the crowd immediately after crossing the finish line. The camera showed Meseret blowing kisses to her fans and yelling back ewedachualehu [I love you].

The only other race that Ethiopians participated in at this meet was the women’s 1500M. Meskerem Legesse finished 7th in 4:09.29 and Mestawot Tadesse finished 9th in 4:09.80.

Unheralded Ethiopians Impress

Ethiopian athletes may not be dominant at events such as the men’s 1500m or the 3000m steeplechase but last night’s (19) ‘Gran Premio de Andalucía’ - EAA Permit - held in Herrera (100km east of Seville) on a warm but windy day, witnessed what well could be the rising to the crème of two previously unknown Ethiopians … more

The Ageless Distance Runner

Care to guess who that might be??

When I wrote the last entry on May 15 , about May 15, I did not know that date was also Miruts "Yifter the Shifter" birthday. Supposedly it was his 63rd birthday, but it is not known for sure, and he is not telling. Instead, Miruts gives a great quote:

"Men may steal my chickens; men may steal my sheep. But no man can steal my age."

Most people remember Miruts for his double gold medal at 5000M and 10000M at the 1980 Moscow Olympics. But he also won a bronze medal at the 1972 Munich Olympics, eight years before achieving stardom in Moscow. He was also supposed to compete in the 5000M in Munich, but he is said to have missed the race due to confusion created by poor communication. Of course, he did not compete in the 1976 Montreal Olympics because of Ethiopia's boycott, which may have robbed him of a unique distinction of winning a double-double: 5000M/10000M victory in back-to-back Olympics, which Lasse Viren of Finland managed to achieve in Munich and Montreal, in Miruts' absence.

Here is a summary of Miruts' career as presented by the Olympic Movement. There is also a must watch vintage video of Miruts (with great afro and all) running in the 5000/10000 in Moscow alongside of the great Mohammed Kedir, who sacrificed himself for Miruts in the 5000, and Tolossa Kotu, who is currently an Assistant Coach of the Ethiopian National Team.

If you are interested to read more about Miruts, including his life in the recent past, check out this article from 2004.

Day 45 and May 15

Back in February, I wrote an entry about streakers and asked if anyone would like to join me in attempting a streak. Sad to say, noone accepted and my own plan got derailed before it even started after a slip and fall on ice which resulted in a fractured elbow.

On April 1, with almost no training, I ran the 2007 Cherry Blossom 10 mile run. Though it was absolutely exhausting, that run was a huge confidence builder. In fact, it was such an unexpected achievement to finish that run that I decided it would be a good start for another attempt at streaking.

Today, May 15, 2007, marks day 45 of the streak I started on April 1. I now have run as many days as my previous longest streak of 45 days in 2006. So far, the biggest challenges have been weather and lack of sleep. With the exception of two days last month when winds of 30-40 mph forced me to do my run on a treadmill at home, I did all my runs outdoors in early morning before work. This morning was particularly early because I had an early morning work appointment. So I had to roll out of bed at 4:45AM to get ready and go out on a run. It was nice to log in a 4 mile run even before the high school students of the neighborhood got on their bus at 6:30AM.

So, I plan to continue my daily run until "circumstance beyond my control" brings it to a stop. Although I have not had much chance to add a blog entry for the past month, rest assured it is not due to running taking the back seat. It is just that the entries were being written on the streets...

Many things to catch up on, so we will soon pick up from where we left off. Till then, here is another milestone reached on May 15, infinitely more significant than a trivial running streak.

Ode to Abe..

An uttered phrase has stuck with me for no apparent reason. In was three years ago that the nicely or not so nicely named (depending on your point of view) Atalelech Ketema, who at that time was tearing up the DC road racing circuit had a post race chat with your blogers. She summed up her thoughts about running by saying that it is an addiction (likift she called it). Holding her trophy, she reflected that some people don’t even have good finishing times yet they still run. Then she glanced towards the two of us and asked how we did in the race. That was not a good question for us. Roocha did a great job of evading and I used him as a human shield. We never revealed our time but I am sure she figured we were victims of that likift.

So I could not help but think of the likift comment when I saw Abebe Mekonnen among the finishers of today’s Boston Marathon. The first I heard of Abebe Mekonnen was when his picture jumped out at me on sports page of the Dallas Morning News back in 1989. I clipped that grainy picture and I still have that newspaper clipping. Mengistu was still running Ethiopia then and it was years before we would see Haile, Deratru or Fatuma Roba transform running. I still remember the emotion and pride I felt that day. Abebe Mekonnen went on to complete many more marathons. 32 of his marathons were under 2:15:00, which is a record. His personal best is an impressive 2:07:35 which was set almost 20 years ago (1988) which makes it even more impressive. But Abebe never did well in the World Championships or Olympics. But his modesty and his hard work made me a fan.

Today, at the age of 43, 18 years after winning in Boston he braved the near freezing temperature, rain and gusting winds to finish 177th. Abebe had nothing to prove, there was no money to be made there was no glory in finishing. Yet he finished. I hope the DNF kids who were a disgrace in Mombassa are watching this old lion who goes head on against adversity.

Why Run?

On Sunday February 25, 2007, Tadesse Tola won the Ethiopian Cross Country Trials at Jan Meda in Addis Ababa. I had never heard of Tadesse Tola before then, and when I saw the results I even wondered if it was a fluke win. After all, it is not an everyday occurence where a relative unknown shows up and thrashes a well established runners such as Sileshi Sihine and Tariku Bekele. With that win, Tadesse gained prominence in international athletics.

One month later, on March 24, 2007 I got a chance to see (on TV) Tadesse Tola compete at the 35th IAAF World Cross Country Championships in Mombasa, Kenya. On the initial results, Tadesse Tola was listed as DNF (Did Not Finish). I saw that race few times and it was clear that Tadesse had finished in seventh place (first Ethiopian), yet the results never got corrected. I could not find explanation for this no matter where I looked so it remained a mystery for a while. The official results now show him as the seventh place finisher. Tadesse's result was confirmation that his victory at Jan Meda a month before was no fluke. Just as he had done at Jan Meda, he finished ahead of all the other Ethiopians in the race, including Kennenisa Bekele who did not finish the race. As a side bar, it is worth noting (with heartburn!) that the other Ethiopian men finished the race in 15th, 16th, 17th and 27th places. With the corrected results of Tadesse Tola in 7th place, five Ethiopians finished the senior men's race. However, a minimum of six finishers were needed to get a team score. Therefore, had Kennenisa hanged on two finish in second place behind Zeresenay, Team Ethiopia would have scored 84 (2+7+15+16+17+27) easily outpacing Team Morocco who claimed the Silver Medal behind Kenya with 152 points. Kennenisa dropping out of the race cost the Ethiopian team a most certain Silver Medal!! Anyway, let me go back to my focus on Tadesse Tola. I will do a separate post about other observations from the Mombasa race later on.

A mere one week after the Mombasa race, Tadesse had flown half-way around the world and was at the heart of Washington, D.C. on Sunday April 1st. Never mind the fatigue from a grueling race in Mombasa just a week before, or the jetlag from flying half way around the world, the 19 year old Tadesse was lined up as one of the favorites to win Washington, D.C.'s most popular race- Cherry Blosom 10 Mile Run. And win he did! He turned in one of the fastest times in recent years while our compatriot Teyba Erkesso tore apart her competition in the process of setting a new world record for ten miles.

And this is where the story gets real interesting- at least for me. It just so happened that my blogging partner Welemta and I were also registered for this same Cherry Blossom race. I was in no form to run a ten mile race but still managed to finish the race. I shall not disclose my finishing time here, but let's just say I caught a nice view of Tadesse Tola as he was breaking away from his challengers about half-mile from the finish line. At that time I was somewhere between mile 2 and 3.

So, why run? One can list many reasons but here are ten reasons that is worth considering. I particularly like #8:

Running offers a unique opportunity for recreational runners to mix with world-class athletes. You can't play in a PGA golf tournament, at Wimbledon or for a Super 12 Rugby side, but on almost every weekend, recreational runners compete in the same events with elite athletes.

Six weeks ago, I learned of Tadesse Tola for the first time. Two weeks ago I watched him compete at the Cross Country Championships in Kenya. One week ago, I was in the same race with him- proof positive for Reason #8!!

After the race, Welemta and I walked over to the awards ceremony. We watched the top finishers (several Ethiopians including the two champions) receive their awards to the appluase of an enthusiastic crowd. We then made our way to the side of the stage where the athletes were. They were obviously having a good time amongst themselves but were very gracious to us as we introduced ourselves, shook hands with and congratulated all of them, and took sometime to chat. It was refreshing to see how respectful and polite these athletes were even as they were signing autographs for fans and accomodating reporters, including from The Washington Post, who published a nice piece about the race.

Let me conclude with one final thing worth noting- with heartburn! As Welemta and I walked back to our car, we passed by an adjacent field where a pick up soccer game was in progress. The field was no farther than 200m from where the awards for the race had just been given out. The soccer players were mostly Ethiopians, some of them wearing patriotic warm up suits with the design of the Ethiopian tri-color flag. As they ran back and forth kicking the ball, it was apparent that they were completely oblivious to the fact that world class Ethiopian runners had just won the hugely popular Cherry Blossom race with a world record setting performance. On the following day, I eagerly listened to VOA Amharic's weekly sport program with anticipation of a report on Tadesse and Teyba's great achievement just a day before. VOA, whose headquarter is just a stone throw away from where the race took place, was obviously just as well (ill) informed as the soccer players we passed.

What a fitting image to portray the level of attention Ethiopian runners get when they are not running in the Olympics or World Championships. Never mind that St. George beat Coffee 3-1 in a Premiere League shake up match!

Tariku Update

You will remember Tariku Aboset from my previous posts here. Tariku has continued to struggle with the injury he sustained on his Achilles at the Arizona Rock and Roll Marathon in January this year. Despite the injury, he has continued his training and will be running in the Nagano Marathon in Nagano, Japan this coming Sunday April 15th.

Happy Easter!

"Why do you look for the living among the dead?
He is not here; he has risen!
Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee:
'The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men,
be crucified and on the third day be raised again.' "

Luke 24: 5-7

Showtime in Mombasa

It has finally arrived. Today is the day for the 35th IAAF World Cross Country Championships in Mombasa, Kenya. Withinn the next two hours, we will know if Ethiopia can reclaim cross country dominance away from Kenya and if Kennenisa Bekele becomes the only man to ever win six senior men title.

The live feed from ETV is currently showing men's 10000M race from the 1st All Ethiopian Games at the Addis Ababa Stadium. They will be switching to the meet in Mombasa in the next ten minutes, in time for the senior women's race featuring Tirunesh, Meselech, Gelete, and others. I will be providing updates in the comment section to this post.

Best wishes for Team Ethiopia!!