Roocha

Sunday April 15, 2007

2007-04-15T12:49:00.000-04:00

2 miles @ 19:58

It was raining but I still went out and did my run. Drenched when I made it back home.

Saturday April 14, 2007

2007-04-14T10:00:00.000-04:00

7 miles @ 74:29

Friday April 13, 2007

2007-04-13T07:52:00.000-04:00

2 miles @ 21:16

Thursday April 12, 2007

2007-04-12T22:22:00.000-04:00

2.5 miles @ 25:49

Wednesday April 11, 2007

2007-04-11T23:15:00.000-04:00

2 miles @ 18:51

Tuesday April 10, 2007

2007-04-10T23:38:00.000-04:00

2 miles @ 18:58

Monday April 9, 2007

2007-04-09T17:10:00.000-04:00

2 miles @ 20:37

Sunday April 8, 2007

2007-04-09T17:09:00.000-04:00

2 miles @ 21:36

Saturday April 7, 2007

2007-04-07T15:48:00.000-04:00

6 miles @ 63:38

Friday April 6, 2007

2007-04-06T16:17:00.000-04:00

2 miles @ 20:08

The Streak is on..

2007-04-06T16:04:00.000-04:00

Thursday April 5, 2007
2 miles @ ~21:00

Wednesday April 4, 2007
2 miles @ 21:31

Tuesday April 3, 2007
2 miles @ 20:50

Monday April 2, 2007
1 mile @ 10:46

Sunday April 1, 2007
10 miles @ 122min 06sec
Wahington, D.C. (Cherry Blossom 10 Mile Run)

OK... Streakers- take two!

More ROOCHA

2006-10-14T17:38:00.000-04:00

Visit the other ROOCHA for more news and comments at:

http://roocha2.blogspot.com

2005-10-30T22:55:00.000-05:00

Experience Something!

“If you want to win something, run 100 meters.
If you want to experience something, run a marathon.”
Emil Zatopek (1922-2000)

I am amazed how some people are gifted with the ability to concisely describe complex feelings with few words. The above quote is one of the most well known from Emil Zatopek (aka “The Locomotive”). Zatopek, in addition to his well liked personality and temparement, was a runners’ runner. His legendary career probably reached its pinnacle when he achieved the “triple crown,” winning the 5000meters, 10000meters, and the marathon at the 1952 Olympics in Helsinki, Finland. This is thaught by many as a feat that will never be matched again.

Much can (and will) be said about Zatopek. However, I mention him here for the above stated quote attributed to him. Indeed he boiled down the thrill of the marathon to just two words- “experience something.”

The 30th edition of the Marine Corps Marathon was run today in Washington, D.C. This particular marathon has a special place in my heart because it was at this very race in 1999 (two weeks after getting married!) that I achieved my long held goal of completing a marathon. And, did I ever “experience something”!!

My finishing time was a pedestrian 5hr and 24min- but I got myself from the starting line to the finish line, 26.2 miles later, one step at a time. And in between, I experienced feelings ranging from energetic to utter exhaustion, from excitement to distress, and from hopfullness to being resigned.

Running and finishing the marathon taught me several lessons regarding literal and figurative roocha. First, if you set a goal, write it down on paper, keep it in sight, and are prepared to pay the price, then you can eventually achieve your goal and win your roocha. I have always wanted to run a marathon and I had put this goal down in writing as early as 1992. I had no idea what it was going to take to prepare for and run a marathon, but I knew I wanted to do it as one of my lifetime goals. Everytime I watched a marathon on TV, I would continue to think when it would be the time to run one. In the fall of 1998, a friend of mine (I will call him Al to protect his identity) and I made an agreement that we would train for and run the 1999 Marine Corps Marathon.

For the following twelve months, I can say I had the coming marathon in my mind on a daily basis. I went through many challenging early morning training runs, and a year later in October 1999, my friend Al and I toed the starting line of the marathon, and several hours later, crossed the finish line together. I actually hopped up and down with joy as I crossed the finish line with the realization that my goal had been achieved.

Second, when you feel like you can not go any further, you will be surprised how much roocha you have left in you, as long as you stay determined to put one foot infront of the other. Conventional wisdom says that most runners hit “the wall” in the marathon around the 20th mile. Although I am late for many things in life, I was quite early on this one. Somewhere between the 16th and 17th mile, I had a face-to-face encounter with “the wall”. It was everything I expected and more. The proverbial “piano on your back” or “being jumped by a gorilla” do no justice to what I felt when I hit the wall. I can honestly say that was the most exhausted feeling (even worse than what I felt at the finish line) I have experienced in my entire life. The last drip of energy had been sapped out of my body, and I wanted to just drop to the ground and give up right there and then. However, my friend Al kept urging me “just one more mile”, and as I kept taking one small step after another, I was eventually able to get to the finish line. Al kept warning me that I would forever regret it if I quit and I am so glad I did not quit at that spot. I can honestly say now that in all hurdles I face in real life roocha, I often time look back to the 16th mile of that marathon and tell myself that I can push myself just a little bit further despite the hurdle in front of me.

And this takes me to the third lesson. When you go out for a long roocha, in real life or otherwise, it is great to have someone by your side. Looking back to the ordeal at the 16th mile, I can definitely say that I would have quit had Al (who had already ran a marathon before) not been there to encourage me to keep going. When it was Al’s turn to struggle at the 21st mile, I was there to return the favor and keep him going. Together, we were able to get to the finish line and celebrate the joy of pushing ourselves to the limit and not having quit. In addition to Al, it was energizing to be cheered on by my lovely new bride (I’ll call her Azeb) and her brother (I'll call him Alex). Azeb and Alex ran from one point to another to cheer us on as we crossed certain points, and they were sights for sore eyes each time we spotted them. Seeing them each time seemed to provide a boost of energy for the next mile of the race. Having run many road races alone previously, I am so glad I had family and friends as support during the marathon and as someone to celebrate with at the finish line.

The fourth lesson, and perhaps the most gratifying one, is that your success in roocha will spur others on to be successful in their own roocha. I am currently not doing much roocha, but I am glad to see others continue. After completing my marathon (and talking non-stop about that experience), my younger brother and sister have gotten interested in the marathon and each have successfully completed more than one marathon. I have introduced another friend to roocha, and he has continued to complete one marathon every year for the past five years. But the ultimate joy is seeing young children of friends and relatives take up interest in roocha. Young Michael is tearing up all the competition at different races and he seems to be a star in the making. Young Omedla has taken recent interest in roocha and called me yesterday with the excitement of running a fast time in the mile. I hope that my own two children, Addis and Maya, will develop interest in roocha someday.

I wonder how all this would have been different had I dropped out at the 16th mile of the Marine Corps Marathon six years ago. Would my outlook in roocha and real life have been any different? Perhaps, but I will never know. I don't want to dwell much on that. Instead, I do want to urge you to take the great advise of the legendary Emil Zatopek to go out and “experience something.”

2005-10-24T10:08:00.000-04:00

NOTABLE NEWS

Mystic Places Marathon
East Lyme, Connecticut, U.S.A
Sunday October 23, 2005

Men
1st. Alene Reta 2hr 25 min 51sec

Women
1st. Abeba Tola 2hr 46min 21sec
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Venice Marathon
Venice, Italy
Sunday October 23, 2005

Women
2nd. Leila Aman 2hr 31min 10sec
----------------------------------------------------

Marathon de Reims
Reims, France
Sunday October 23, 2005

Men
1st. Kasine Adillo 2:12:02
3rd.Fikadu Degefu 2:12:45

Women
1st. Adanech Zekiros 2:35:55
------------------------------------

Coming Soon:
New York City Marathon
New York, New York, U.S.A.
Sunday November 6, 2005

Entrant:
Men- Abraham Assefa, Tesfaye Jifar, Kassahun Kabiso, Hailu Negussie

Women- Leteyesus Berhe, Derartu Tulu, Gete Wami

2005-10-22T12:43:00.000-04:00

Roocha- I love that word in a twisted way, as it is probably the single word that defines me best. Roocha means "running" in the Amharic language and it symbolizes my life, and perhaps yours, in more ways than one.

Life itself is one big roocha, especially living in the "convenience" of the western world, with a job, family, chores, etc. And I am barely keeping my head above water managing these on a day-to-day basis.

But roocha also symbolizes my always being in a rush- urgency addiction. I am constantly struggling with making it to my appointments on time and always in a roocha to get to somewhere or get something done.

However, I like the word roocha because I LOVE the world of athletics and road running. It doesn't hurt to be from Ethiopia to have great appreciation for the finer aspects of running, and I have been an avid follower of the sport of roocha for about a decade now. I can (and will in the future) write the defining moment that brought roocha to the fore front of my life.

Finally, I like roocha because it seems to intertwined different facets of life and serves as metaphor for day to day living. I will use this space to discuss roocha from an expatriate Ethiopian perspective. I will provide info on current ongoings on the sport of roocha, particularly Ethiopian roocha, as well as commentary on life as a roocha.

Hope you will enjoy your visits.