News of Note: 18 January - 25 January

Gelana shocks with 2:07:37 victory as course records tumble in Houston (18 January 2010) - An Ethiopian sweep of the Chevron Houston Marathon was celebrated on 17 January, with Teshome Gelana taking the men's race and defending champ Teyba Erkesso the women's race, both setting new course records.

Gebrselassie fights off back pain and late race challenge to collect third Dubai victory (21 January 2010) - Haile won the Dubai Marathon for the third straight year, but did not achieve his World record attempt. Ethiopian Mametu Daska was the surprise winner of the women's race, over favorites Bezunesh Bekele (4th) and Askale Magarsa (6th). Check out the race in pictures, and read about how Wanjiru wants to grab crown from ‘King Haile’

• PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Ethiopians Magarsa and Bekele gunning for second Dubai women’s victory (21 January 2010)
• PREVIOUS COVERAGE: World record is worth a million to Haile

Jelila continues winning streak, unknown Jida takes shock men’s title - Sululta Cross Country (24 January 2010) - The 3rd Sululta Cross Country meeting took place in Sululta, the fourth part of the Ethiopian Athletics Federation's domestic cross country series. Koreni Jelila, winner of the 2009 Great Ethiopian Run 10K, too the women's senior titile, while unknown Gishu Jida won the men's senior race over favorite Abera Chane.

Komon and Goshu the convincing victors at Elgoibar Cross Country (25 January 2010) - Ethiopian Ferhiwot Goshu won the women's race over Kenyan Ann Karindi Mwangi, while Leonard Patrick Komon of Kenya was the winner in the men's race.

Other interesting running news:

Results from the Kenya Police national championships

How Ebuya ran away from cattle rustlers to global fame

Humans Could Run 40 mph, in Theory

News of Note 11 January - 18 January

The latest happenings in the world of Ethiopian running:

Ebuya, the modest prince who dethroned King Kenny (11 January 2010) - A look at Joseph Ebuya of Kenya, who beat Kenenisa Bekele by a a shocking 36 seconds in Edinburgh.

Ethiopians set course records at Houston Marathon (17 January 2010) - Ethiopian Teyba Erkesso defended her title and broke the women's course record, while fellow Ethiopian Teshome Gelana surprised by setting a record time in the men's race. Also check out Gelana shocks with 2:07:37 victory as course records tumble in Houston

Ethiopian sweep at the Cross della Vallagarina (17 January 2010) - Ethiopia took the win in both the men's and women's races, with Abere Chane and Asmeraworch Bekele victorious.

Komon takes down Gebremariam, business as usual for Masai in Seville (17 January 2010) - Kenya’s Leonard Komon and Linet Masai won the men's and women's races at the 28th ‘Cross Internacional de Itálica', with Ethiopia’s reigning world champion Gebre-egziabher Gebremariam finishing sixth.

• PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Gebremariam and Masai head stellar line-up in Seville - preview (15 January 2010)

Ndiso and Urgesa take Mumbai titles (17 January 2010) - Newcomers Ethiopian Bizunesh Urgesa and Kenyan Denis Ndiso beat the defending champions and top contenders at the Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon. Bizunesh led an Ethiopian sweep, with defending champion Haile Kebebush taking second and Ethiopian women taking the top 10.

Kastor, Bairu, And Naser Set Course Records At P.F. Chang’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Arizona (17 January 2010) - Ethiopia’s Terfe Yea won his second P.F. Chang’s title, while fellow Ethiopian Taaybe Naser set a course record in the women's race with a time of 2:30:39.

Going the distance: Bekele and Dibaba out to maintain domination (18 January 2010) - Kenenisa Bekele and Tirunesh Dibaba spoke to Nicola Bamford of Sky Sports about their goals during 2010.

News of Note 4 January - 10 January

Exciting week in the world of Ethiopian running:

Gebrselassie expected to tower over his opponents in Dubai; competitive women’s field (5 January 2010) - A look ahead at the 22 January Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon.

Cherkos and Kalovics take the honours at the 53rd Campaccio XC (6 January 2010) - Reigning World Junior 5000m champion Abraham Cherkos Feleke from Ethiopia won the Campaccio International Cross Country race in Italy. Previous Ethiopian winners include Haile Gebrselassie (1994), Fita Bayesa (1995), and Kenenisa Bekele (2002).

Fast wins for Keitany and Regassa in Abu Dhabi Half (8 January 2010) - Kenyan's Mary Keitany and Tilahun Regassa of Ethiopia clocked fast victories at the Zayed International Half Marathon in Abu Dhabi. Tilahun set a new career best at 59:19. Also see Zayed Half Marathon Results, Recap, Controversy

Ebuya despatches Bekele, 4th, with ease; Business as usual for Dibaba in Edinburgh (9 January 2010) - In a surprise upset, Kenyans Joseph Ebuya and Titus Mbishei beat eleven-time World Cross Country champion Kenenisa Bekele at the BUPA Great Edinburgh International Cross Country. Ethiopian Tirunesh Dibaba won the women's race.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE:

• Bekele and Dibaba head stellar cast in frozen Edinburgh – PREVIEW (7 January 2010)
• Ethiopian duo raise the bar (7 January 2010)

Other Kenenisa News:

• Bekele back in the mood for Edinburgh International Cross Country race (3 January 2010)
• Haile G. and Kenenisa B. Comparison Charts
• Kenenisa Bekele answers your questions (8 January 2010)
• Kenenisa Bekele story will run and run (8 January 2010)

Mesfin out-sprints World champion Gebremariam in Amorebieta (10 January 2010) - Humegaw Mesfin defeated fellow Ethiopian and reigning World Cross Country champion Gebre-egziabher Gebremariam in a shocking finish at the 56th Cross Internacional Zornotza.

News of Note: 28 December - 3 January

Breaking record is on Gebrselassie’s mind (29 December 2009) - Haile Gebrselassie reveals the training schedule he has in place to prepare for a bid to beat his own marathon world record in Dubai.

Supremacy battle between Kenya, Ethiopia in running continues (31 December 2009) - A look at 2009's mid, long distance, and road race results for Ethiopian and Kenya.

Gebrselassie leads Ethiopian victories in New Year races (1 January 2009) - Haile Gebrselassie wins in Trier; Emebet Anteneh finished second in the women's race. Sule Utura wins the women's race in Bolzano, with Imane Merga taking second in the men's race. Abera Chane and Asmerawork Bekele won the men's and women's races in the Austrian San Silvestre.

Ethiopian runner wins Luanda's yearend marathon (1 January 2010) - Ali Mohamed wins Angola's 10 kilometre yearend race.

Ethiopia’s African meet misses CAA label (1 January 2010) - For the fifth year, the Pan African category B athletics meeting in Addis Ababa has missed the Confederation of African Athletics three-tier competition standard.

Lilesa and Bayisa lead Ethiopian sweep in Xiamen (2 January 2010) - Feyisa Lilesa is victorious in the men's race, followed by Negari Getachew Terfa; Ethiopian Atsede Bayisa becomes the first foreign runner to win the women's race.

• PREVIOUS COVERAGE: World champion Bai Xue and Ethiopia’s Worku lead the fields in Xiamen – Xiamen International Marathon Preview (31 December 2009)

Bekele back in the mood for Edinburgh International Cross Country race (3 January 2010) - Interview with Kenenisa Bekele, in which he discusses training with his younger brother Tariku as he aims for his fourth victory in Edinburgh.

Thursday's Abu Dhabi Half is Loaded - A look at the competition in the 2010 Zayed Half Marathon, to take place on Thursday, 7 January.

Other Interesting Running News:

The Racing Year in Review: The big-picture look back at 2009

The Internet Decade: By Bryan Green

News of Note: 21 December - 28 December

Yelling to take on Dibaba in Edinburgh (21 December 2009) - Briton Hayley Yelling will race against reigning Olympic champion Tirunesh Dibaba at the Bupa Great Edinburgh International Cross Country permit race on 9 January 2010.

Packed domestic season in 2010 (24 December 2009) - The Ethiopian domestic circuit will feature no fewer than 20 competitions in 2010. In addition, Ethiopians will take part in a number of international competitions around the world.

Bekele Targets 3,000 Meters World Indoor Record (25 December 2009) - Kenenisa Bekele hoping to set a fourth world indoor record next year in Birmingham, England. 3,000 meters is the distance he ran to win his only world indoor title in 2006.

Abyu renews rivalry with Gebrselassie (26 December 2009) - British marathoner Tomas Abyu, originally of Ethiopia, will race against his "hero" Haile Gebrselassie at the 2010 Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon on January 22.

2009 - End of Year Reviews - IAAF

• ROAD: Running/Race Walking (26 December 2009)
• LONG DISTANCE, Track (27 December 2009)

The revolution in the marathon - 2009 produces an unprecedented explosion in record times (28 December 2009) - 20 different male runners - from just three countries: Ethiopia, Kenya, and Morocco - ran sub-2:07 marathons in 2009.

News of Note: 14 December - 21 December

Ethiopian Running News:

Burka lines up indoor races to tune up for world title defense (15 December 2009) - Gelete Burka has indoor races lined up in Stockholm, Karlsruhe, Birmingham, and Stuttgart before she races in the 2010 IAAF World Indoor Championships in Doha (7-9 March 2010) in defense of her title.

Tirunesh Dibaba Will Return to Reebok Boston Indoor Games (16 December 2009) - 5000 and 10,000-meter gold medalist at the 2008 Beijing Olympics will be at the Reebok Boston Indoor Games on 6 February 2010. In her 2007 appearance at the Games, she set an indoor 5000-meter world record (14:27.42).

Barros, Gobena, and Akaba Will Race at Osaka Women's Marathon (17 December 2009) - Amane Gobena, who set a sub-2:27 best in 2009 at 2:26:03, will race in the 31 January 2010 Japanese marathon, along with two other women whose sub-2:27 bests were set in 2009 - Yukiko Akaba of Japan (2:25:40) and Marisa Barros of Portugal (2:26:03).

Bekele and Dibaba announce busy starts to 2010 (21 December 2009) - Ethiopia’s Olympic 5000m and 10000m double winners Kenenisa Bekele and Tirunesh Dibaba have a number of races lined up in the early part of 2010.

Other interesting news:

'African runners are excelling because they are natural athletes' (15 December 2009) - Gebreegziabher Gebremariam talks about why be believes African runners are natural athletes.

2009 IAAF Golden League Review (16 December 2009)

Usain Bolt sets world alight again (17 December 2009) - Overview of major running news in 2009.

News of Note: 7 December - 14 December

Ethiopian Running News:

Rotich and Toroitich collect Marathon wins in Las Vegas (7 December 2009) - Kenyans won the December 6 Rock 'n Roll Las Vegas Marathon, with Ethiopians Terefe Yae and Assefa Tesfaye coming in second and third in the men's race, and Serkalem Abrha and Adanech Zekiros third and fourth in the women's race.

Beating the conditions, Manza and Cheptonui take Montferland 15Km wins (7 December 2009) - Kenyan Nicholas Manza wins with a time just two seconds shy of the course record of 42:36 set by Haile Gebrselassie in 2007. Kenyan Wilfred Murgor and Ethiopian Ayele Abshiro round out the top three finishers in the men's race.

Kebede sets record for Marathon triple (8 December 2009) - Ethiopia's Tsegaye Kebede, 22 years old and a marathon runner for only two and a half years, has achieved the fastest average for three marathons in one calendar year: 2:06:24 for 2009.

Gebrselassie and associates to establish a high altitude training camp (8 December 2009) - Haile Gebrselassie, Belay Welasha and Ethiopian-born Canadian Joseph Kibur have begun construction of a modern athletics village in Sululta, 11km north of Addis Ababa this week.

World record ratified (14 December 2009) - 30km 1:27:49 Haile Gebrselassie ETH, Berlin, GER, 20 Sep 09

Bekele lines-up once more for Edinburgh XC (14 December 2009) - Kenenisa Bekele will attempt to regain the BUPA Great Edinburgh International Cross Country title by returning to race in the IAAF XC Permit race in Holyrood Park, Edinburgh, UK on 9 January 2010.

Other running news:

Kenyans winners in 40th Dallas White Rock Marathon (14 December 2009)

Yelling’s golden comeback – European XC, WOMEN’s Races (13 December 2009)

News of Note: 30 November - 6 December

An exciting week for Ethiopian runners!

Ethiopian double at Obudu International (1 December 2009) - Ethiopia's Habtamu Fikadu and Mamitu Deska win the 5th Obudu International Mountain Race in Nigeria on November 28.

Wanjiru and Mikitenko to defend their London titles (2 December 2009) - Kenyan Sammy Wanjiru will race in a competitive men's field which includes Tsegaye Kebede of Ethiopia, who was second in London last year.

Merga plans world 15km record attack in the Netherlands (2 December 2009) - Deriba Merga will attack on his own world 15km record at the 14th Wincanton Montferland Run in the Netherlands.

Ethiopia - Gebrselassie targets record in Dubai (2 December 2009) - Haile Gebrselassie will return to Dubai in January, to defend his title and looking to break the world record at the 2010 Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon.

2:05:18 course record and personal best for Kebede in Fukuoka (6 December 2009) - Ethiopian Tsegaye Kebede successfully defended his title as Fukuoka Marathon champion, setting a new course record and personal best. Full results

• PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Kebede vs Mogusu? – Fukuoka Marathon preview (4 December 2009)

Temam and Tadesse take Beirut Marathon titles (6 December 2009) - Ethiopia's Mohammed Temam wins the BLOM Beirut Marathon. Kenyan Eston Ngira and Ethiopian Abraham Yilma take second and third.

• PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Beirut Marathon reflects growing passion for road running (5 December 2009)

Gebremariam out-sprints Medhin, while Cheruiyot breezes in Alcobendas (6 December 2009) - Gebregziabher Gebremariam, Ethiopia's World Cross Country champion, wins the 28th ‘Cross Internacional de la Constitución’ in Madrid.

Ethiopians Girma-Bekele and Deba win men's, women's CIM (6 December 2009) - Tesafaye Girma-Bekele and Buzunesh Deba of Ethiopia win the California International Marathon in Sacramento.

News of Note: 23 November - 30 November

Interesting happenings in the world of Ethiopian running:

Crazy about running – facts and figures from the 2009 Ethiopian Airlines Great Ethiopian Run (24 November 2009) - A number of records were broken at this year's Great Ethiopian Run, which had three times as many participants as its first year.

Haron Lagat, Alemtsehay Misganaw Win 73rd Manchester Road Race (26 November 2009) - Ethiopian Alemtsehay Misganaw wins the women's race, while Kenyan Haron Lagat takes the men's race.

Comfortable victories for Gebremariam and Masai in Soria (29 November 2009) - Reigning men's World Cross Country champion Gebre-egziabher Gebremariam wins at the Cross Internacional de Soria.

• PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Gebremariam hopes for two victories in a row in Soria (27 November 2009)
• OTHER NEWS: Ethiopia's Gebre-Egziabher will race Edinburgh Cross Country

Fekadu and Deska complete Ethiopian double in Nigerian mountain race (29 November 2009) - Ethiopians Habtamu Fekadu and Mamitu Deska win the 2009 Obudu Ranch Mountain race in Nigeria. Ethiopians Mastawet Tufa and Meselech Hileyesus took second and third in the women's race.

Kipruto holds off Kosgei by a second in Florence (29 November 2009) - Results of the 26th Florence Marathon. Kenya takes first and second in the men's race, with Ethiopian Assefa Reta Girma taking third.

• PREVIOUS NEWS: Record field of 10,000 runners the new barrier for Kosgei to clear – Florence Marathon, PREVIEW (26 November 2009)
• PREVIOUS NEWS: Ethiopian duo target success in Florence Marathon (26 November 2009)

Other interesting running news:

Altitude training may take you to new heights

He might not yet be a household name, but Wanjiru can change running forever

News of Note: 16 November - 22 November

Interesting happenings in the world of Ethiopian running:

Jelila and Regassa win 10km in Addis Ababa (22 November 2009) - Koreni Jelila and Tilahun Regassa both won in new course records at the Ethiopian Airlines 2009 Great Ethiopian Run 10km.

Previous Coverage:

• Defending champion Chala Dechasa leads list of entries for men’s race- Great Ethiopian Run PREVIEW (18 November 2009)
• G. Dibaba the favorite in women’s race –GREAT ETHIOPIAN RUN PREVIEW (19 November 2009)

Bolt and Richards are World Athletes of the Year – 2009 World Athletics Gala (22 November 2009) -Jamaican Usain Bolt and American Sanya Richards named the Male and Female World Athletes of the Year 2009.

Chane and Jelila grab shock victories in Sendafa XC (16 November 2009) - Abera Chane beat favorite Imane Merga, who finished fourth; Koreni Jelila was victorious over favorite Sule Utura, who finished third.

Former Olympic champion leads Ethiopian team in Obudu (18 November 2009) - Accomplished long distance runner Meseret Defar will run the Obudu International Mountain Race and lead the Ethiopian runners at the first African mountain running championships.


Ethiopia's Kenenisa voted for 2009 "Heroes of Running" (20 November 2009) - Kenenisa Bekele one of six inspirational individuals chosen for honor by Runner's World magazine.


Gebremariam and Augusto the victors in Oeiras (21 November 2009) - The IAAF Cross Country Permit Season opens with a victory by Ethiopian Gebregziabher Gebremariam at the Oeiras Cross Country.

Stars come out as IAAF Diamond League is launched in Monaco (22 November 2009) - Kenenisa Bekele one of 9 IAAF Diamond League Ambassadors. The IAAF Diamond League hopes to see greater frequency of competition between the big names.

Great Ethiopia Run

19 Year old Tilahun Regassa won the men's race and improved the course record by almost 30 seconds. Earlier this month Tilahun had finished 4th in the Delhi half Marathon. Deriba Merga winner of the Delhi half was a DNF in this race. Tilahun has had a great year on road races this year winning numerous races.


In the women's race, 23-year-old Koreni Jelila improved the course record by more than 40 seconds. Koreni was the suprise winner of the Sendafa Crosscountry race last week.

News of Note: 9 November - 15 November

Interesting happenings in the world of Ethiopian running:

Radcliffe comes as guest appearance to 2009 Great Ethiopian Run (10 November 2009) - British runner Paula Radcliffe makes her first trip to Ethiopia, as a guest of the 2009 Great Ethiopian Run taking place on 22 November.

Like An Airline: A Behind-The-Scenes Look Into What It Takes To Set An Elite Marathon Field (10 November 2009) - A look at some of the variables in play leading up to the 2009 ING New York City Marathon, which had an abnormal number of withdrawals.

Ethiopia’s Kenenisa Bekele nominated for IAAF Athlete of the Year (13 November 2009) - Ethiopian Kenenisa Bekele is one of the 5 male finalists for IAAF Male Athlete of the Year. The other finalists include Usain Bolt of Jamaica, Tyson Gay of the United States, Steven Hooker of Australia and Andreas Thorkildsen of Norway.

Men’s course record set in McDonald’s Half Marathon (14 November 2009) - Nicholas Kurgat of Kenya set the course record in the men’s division with a time of 1 hour, 6 minutes, 2 seconds. Alemtsehay Misganaw, a native of Ethiopia, won the women's division.

Basweti captures second consecutive SunTrust Marathon title (15 November 2009) - Kenyan Jynocel Basweti wins the SunTrust Richmond Marathon.

• PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Men’s champions from 2008 and 2007 highlight SunTrust Richmond Marathon field (14 November 2009) - Defending champion Jynocel Basweti of Kenya and 2007's winner Mohamed Awol of Ethiopia are favorites to win the 32nd annual SunTrust Richmond Marathon

Kenyan men, Russian women dominate field (15 November 2009) - Gilbert Koech of Kenya wins the second annual Rock 'n' Roll San Antonio Marathon.

Chane and Jelila win Sendafa cross country meeting (15 November 2009) - Abera Chane and Koreni Jelila win at the kick off of Ethiopia’s domestic cross country season.

Dibaba shatters 15Km World record in Nijmegen! (15 November 2009) - Tirunesh Dibaba broke the women's 15km world record at the Zevenheuvelenloop 15Km in Nijmegen, The Netherlands, clocking 46:28 in her first road race since 2005. Her husband Sileshi Sihine won the men's race in 42:14.

Other interesting running news:

India’s grand old marathon man completes 98th run (9 November 2009) - Ashis Roy, age 77, finished his 98th race in Harrisburg and plans to run his 100th marathon in Mumbai Jan 17, 2010.

News of Note: 2 November - 8 November

Interesting happenings in the world of Ethiopian running:

2009 ING New York City Marathon - Derartu Tulu wins the NYC Marathon, three years after the birth of her daughter.

• In second comeback, Tulu wins one for her fans (3 November 2009)
• Behind Tulu's Triumph
• A Brief Chat With Meb Keflezighi and Derartu Tulu (3 November 2009)

Gebru and Tesfaye grab 30k victories in Adama (2 November 2009) - Defense club runners Roman Gebru, a relative unknown, and Dereje Tesfaye were the winners of the second annual 30km race organized by the Ethiopian Athletics Federations (EAF) in Adama.

Gebrselassie, Dibaba, and Sihine plan road returns (3 November 2009) - Ethiopians Haile Gebrselassie, Tirunesh Dibaba, and Sileshi Sihine have planned returns to road running in November and January.

Gebrselassie Eyes World Record, $1 Million, In Dubai (5 November 2009) - Haile Gebrselassie returns to the Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon for a third attempt at a world record.

Gebremariam and G. Dibaba secure Ethiopian double in Atapuerca (8 November 2009) - Ethiopian Gebre-egziabher Gebremariam wins the men's 8.760m and Genzebe Dibaba wins the women's 4.835m at the 6th Cross Internacional de Atapuerca.

Local runners dominate Kenyan cross country opener in Machakos (8 November 2009)

Ngetich, Ozaki prevail in ‘Battle of Marathon’ – Athens Marathon report (8 November 2009) - Despite a promising lead, Ethiopian Alemayehu Ameta cracked in the last 5 kilometres to finish fourth. Josephat Kipkirui Ngetich, in only his second marathon, won with the second fastest time in the race's history. Ethiopian Eshetu Degefa came in second in the women's race.

Other interesting running news:

Caster Semenya given unconditional apology from Athletics South Africa

Are marathon times getting faster or not?

Are running records nearing their limits?

Grayson's Erassa has fastest time at cross country championships - High school senior Kirubel Erassa, an Ethiopian native, is the fastest long-distance runner in Georgia.

Derartu Tulu a Class Act

"She ran alongside me and was like, come on, come on. We can do it, we can do it," a disappointed Radcliffe told reporters.

"Even when the girls took off she kind of waited with me a bit. But that's Derartu, She's always been like that."

Tulu support fails to push Radcliffe to marathon win

News of Note: 26 October - 1 November

Interesting happenings in the world of Ethiopian running:

Feyisa Lilesa, first Ethiopian to win Dublin City Marathon (26 October 2009) - 19-year-old Feyisa Lilesa's marathon debut time was just five seconds outside the course record.

Mengistu victory highlights Ethiopian weekend performances (26 October 2009) - Ethiopian Meseret Mengistu wins the Marsellie-Cassis Half marathon in France; Ethiopia cleansweeped the podium in Morocco's Casablanca Marathon.

Ethiopians to take centre stage in New York, Seoul, and Delhi (30 October 2009) - November 1 is a big day for Ethiopian runners, as they compete in top distance running events across the globe.

• New York:

Derartu Tulu Wins as Radcliffe Struggles to Fourth (1 November 2009) - Derartu Tulu becomes the first Ethiopian woman to win the New York City Marathon.

Keflezighi and Tulu triumph in New York

Paula Radcliffe loses out in New York as Derartu Tulu triumphs

Tulu, Petrova, Daunay Post-Race Press Conference Transcript

• Delhi:

Results – Delhi Half Marathon (1 November 2009) - Top ten men’s and women’s results from the 2009 Airtel Delhi Half Marathon — IAAF Gold Label Road Race. Ethiopian Deriba Merga won the men's race, while Kenyan Mary Keitany won the women's race in 1:06:54 - a new course record. Check out Keitany sub-1:07 again, Deriba Merga defends in Delhi Half Marathon for more race details.

Previous coverage: Merga, Mergia, and Kebede lead strong Ethiopian contingent for Delhi Half Marathon (29 October 2009)

• Seoul:

Kenyans in dramatic sprint finish (1 November 2009) - Francis Larabal of Kenya wins the 11th JoongAng Seoul Marathon; Lee Sun-young wins the women's race.

Previous coverage: Molla returns to defend Seoul title (30 October 2009)


Other interesting running news:



Foundation Helps Young Ethiopian Women Runners - Girls Gotta Run Foundation provides new shoes for girls in Ethiopia who are training to be runners.



Sub-2:07 marathons reach historic point - Robert Kiprono Cheruiyot runs the 100th sub-2:07 marathon.

The Human Body Is Built for Distance

News of Note: 19 October - 25 October

Interesting happenings in the world of Ethiopian running:

Roba successfully defends in Istanbul (19 October 2009) - Results of the 31st Istanbul Eurasia Marathon. Defending champion Kasime Adilo Roba wins the men's race, while fellow Ethopian Busenesh Urgesa claimed victory in the women's division. Also check out Ethiopians sweep Eurasia Marathon honors

Wins for Ethiopians in road weekend (19 October 2009) – Ethiopian runners had a number of excellent races over the weekend, with wins in Amsterdam, Istanbul, France, Portugal, and South Korea.

Kenyan training camps running into trouble (19 October 2009) - Unlike Ethiopia's stable national club system, Kenya's unregulated training camps have been plagued by problems and threaten to tarnish the country's reputation for producing Olympic athletes.

45 Years Ago Today (21 October 2009) - On October 21, 1964, Ethiopian marathoner Abebe Bikila won his second Olympic gold medal at the Tokyo Games. Bikila, the first to win two consecutive gold medals in the marathon, set a world record time. Includes video.

A race against climate change in Ethiopia (23 October 2009) - Climate change in Ethiopia is affecting the country's elite athletes. Crop failures and increasing temperatures are proving challenging to runners in Assela.Young runners like Sisay Adugna are not letting this stop them; Adugna says, “The biggest lesson we learn from Haile [Gebrselassie] is that you cannot get anything easily in the world if you want to become a runner.”

Ethiopians in the running for the IAAF gong (23 October 2009) - Ethiopian athletes are again expected to be in the running for the IAAF World Athlete of the Year awards, with Kenenisa Bekele expected to be a contender for the best male athlete of the year.

Derartu Tulu & Dire Tune to lead Ethiopian Team at 2009 ING New York City Marathon (23 October 2009) – Rundown on Ethiopia's teams for the NYC Marathon.

Kenyans dominate Nairobi marathon (25 October 2009) - Kenyans Moses Kigen and Irene Jerotich won Sunday's seventh Stanchart Nairobi International Marathon in new course records.

Other interesting news:

Gilbert Kirwa Remains Undefeatd For His Life At Marathon and Runs Course Record 2:06:14

Yokohama Takes the Place of the Defunct Tokyo Women's Marathon

Two weeks after Birmingham, Kilel cruises 2:25:24: in Ljubljana

Plodders Have a Place, but Is It in a Marathon?

Happy Birthday- Third Time is Charm!

Today marks 3rd birthday for Roocha. It has been rather slow here in 2009, but we will find out if third time is truly charm...

You can get a more frequent update by following Roocha on Twitter here.

Open Thread: Berlin Women's Marathon

UPDATE: This turned out to be an interesting race, but I have mixed feeling about the result of the Ethiopian team. Aselefech Mergia, who first came to prominence by winning the Great Ethiopian Run in Addis few years ago, turned in an outstanding performance. Aselefech won a bravely fought bronze medal running 2:25:32 which is only 30 seconds off of her PR. Considering it is very rare to run a PR in a championship race, it is clear that Aselefech ran to her full potential.

Now as for the rest of the team, one can at best say they underachieved, keeping with the ongoing pattern in Berlin for the week. Dire Tune fell down after 25K but was able toget up and continue with the run. It is not clear if she sustained injury that impacted her performance.

However, there must be a different explanation for subpar performance of the team as a whole.The coaches and administrators need to take an honest assessment of the entire program including themselves and work to root out the cause of such a mediocre result being turned in by young and talented runners. If anyone needs convincing that there is indeed a systemic problem with the Ethiopian program, simply review the result from today’s race: among the top 15 finishers, China placed FOUR runners, Russia and Japan had three each, USA had two, and Ethiopia had one.

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This race is somewhat open as leading women marathoners Paula Radcliffe of Great Britain and Irina Mikitenko of Germany are out of the competition. Ethiopia brings a group of young marathoners who have won big city marathons but with little or no championship experience. Dire Tune, past winner at Boston and Houston, leads the group that includes Bezunesh Bekele, Atsede Bayisa, Aselefech Mergia, and Robe Guta. All of them have PRs in the low 2:20 range have the ability to win the race.

Look for Dire Tune and Bezunesh Bekele to lead the charge with their determined type of racing they showed in Boston this year. Tune actually passed out at the finish line of Boston having fought hard to the end and being beat right at the line. As the Ethiopian men yesterday, I have high hopes for this young group which are the future of Ethiopian marathoning. Ethiopian women so far have not fared well in Berlin and the marathon represents one of the last two opportunities to win gold in this final day of competition in Berlin.

Other runners to watch are Kara Goucher of USA, Chunxiu Zhou of China, and Yoka Shibui of Japan.

My picks: 1- Bezunesh Bekele 2- Dire Tune 3- Chunxiu Zhou

Open Thread: Berlin Men's Marathon

UPDATE: Kenya 1-2-5 with Kiru, Mutai, Cheruiyot. Ethiopia 3-4 with Tsegaye Kebede and Yemane Tsegay. Good showing for Ethiopia. I really like the young Ethiopian marathoners who are disciplined enough to back off a hot pace and remain composed to work their way back to the front. Great work from both Tsegaye and Yemane. It looks like Deriba Merga blew up and dropped out.


The Ethiopian coach (Shambel Zelalem Desta, whom I met briefly in January 2007) says this year’s team, both men and women, is Ethiopia’s strongest ever and is talking of medal sweeps in both races. In my brief meeting of Shambel Zelalem, the man seemed completely normal but talk of medal sweep in any chmpionship marathon is simply insane! Digging a bit deeper into resumes of the five Ethiopians in the men’s race, it is easy to see that only Tsegaye Kebede and Deriba Merga have solid credentials. The other three only show 2-3 races under their belt with a 2:07-2:08 PR range. One must have an extraordinary day to jump from such credential to a World Championship medal. But then again, coach knows his runners best so I will wait to be proven wrong.

As for Deriba and Tsegaye, I give Tsegaye a very good chance of winning the race while Deriba, as always, is hard to prdict and could excel (Boston) or crash (Beijing). Besides, Deriba has already too many races this year and fatigue could be a factor.

Others to watch closely are Abderrahim Goumri of Morocco (he is due to win a race any day now), four time Boston champion Robert Cheruiyot, and my favorite dark horse Eritrean Yared Asmerom.

My picks: 1- Tsegaye Kebede 2- Robert Cheruiyot 3- Daniel Rono

Your picks? Discuss here.

P.S. IAAF Preview of men’s marathon is found here.

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Team Ethiopia in Berlin- Day 7

The only event for Team Ethiopia on day 7 was women’s 1500M semi-final and it had a very successful outcome. Get used to this name because you will be hearing it a lot: KALKIDAN GEZAHEGNE. As expected, Gelete Burka and Maryam Jamal (the Ethiopian-turned-Bahraini, formerly Zenebech Tola) advanced to the final comfortably. But the real story in this event belongs to Kalkidan Gezahegne.

Kalkidan is an 18 year old teenage sensation who bravely fought her way to getting an automatic qualifying spot in Sunday’s final. Her biography shows that she only began international competition in 2008 and that same year won the silver medal in the 1500M at the World Junior Championships. A mere one year later she has chopped 8 seconds away from her personal best, and now competing as a senior, earned a spot in the final of a World Championship race. Ladies and gentlemen, this is overachievement by any standard!

Whatever Kalkidan does in the final race will be icing on the cake since she has already performed way above any reasonable expectaion. In my first blog at the beginning of these championships, I wrote that “the results from Berlin will be more indicative of the future of Ethiopian athletics than its current status.” Kalkidan Gezahegne along with Imane Merga and Wude Ayalew are the new revelation for Ethiopian Athletics.

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