Saturday, January 28, 2006
Haile Gebreselassie
We didn’t meet Haile Gebreselassie on the trip, however I did get some insight into how he can run so fast. Obviously there is some underlying talent (quite a bit!), but the environment, along with it’s many hindrances (such as lack of food during various points of the country’ history), gives many benefits to the athlete. The capital city itself is at an altitude of about 2500m and the mountains are even higher… up to 4533m on Ras Dejen. Only a small part of the country in the East lies at lower altitudes (the Danikil depression is actually 116m below sea level). And there is barely a flat spot in the whole country, so it’s a great training ground for hills.
The culture also plays a part. Most people do not have a car, and since many people have little access or funds to catch buses, in the main people get about by foot. It’s not uncommon for a 10 year old child (they all said they were 10 years old… why was that?) living in the mountains to walk 10 km to and from school each day. When the children are not at school, then they are working in the fields or carrying goods to or from the market. And with a diet free from western junk food, this all seems to add up to good potential runners… if they’re given the opportunity.
And after the trip, how was our running style? Well a number of my companions were already very good runners, clocking up 15 km training sessions in the gym in Addis before we started on the trek. Some even did some extra miles after our day's effort on the trail. My own running is a little more amateurish. My “regular” training sessions involved a roughly 5km trot around Richmond Park 2-3 (2 if I’m, honest) times a week, with the running time interrupted by a short walk for 2 out of every 12 minutes. And how did I go after getting back… well obviously I was much improved. I must admit though, I did struggle a bit the first day I went running again in London - I put this down to the very low temperatures (barely 5C in London vs 25C in Ethiopia) and the high percentage of oxygen in the air – I felt like I was choking there was so much! But the second run was much better, and I can keep going for considerably longer than before I went away, even though I’m still slow. Is this the altitude, or is it just that we spent 6-8 hours per day walking? Whatever, I’m pleased with the outcome!
The culture also plays a part. Most people do not have a car, and since many people have little access or funds to catch buses, in the main people get about by foot. It’s not uncommon for a 10 year old child (they all said they were 10 years old… why was that?) living in the mountains to walk 10 km to and from school each day. When the children are not at school, then they are working in the fields or carrying goods to or from the market. And with a diet free from western junk food, this all seems to add up to good potential runners… if they’re given the opportunity.
And after the trip, how was our running style? Well a number of my companions were already very good runners, clocking up 15 km training sessions in the gym in Addis before we started on the trek. Some even did some extra miles after our day's effort on the trail. My own running is a little more amateurish. My “regular” training sessions involved a roughly 5km trot around Richmond Park 2-3 (2 if I’m, honest) times a week, with the running time interrupted by a short walk for 2 out of every 12 minutes. And how did I go after getting back… well obviously I was much improved. I must admit though, I did struggle a bit the first day I went running again in London - I put this down to the very low temperatures (barely 5C in London vs 25C in Ethiopia) and the high percentage of oxygen in the air – I felt like I was choking there was so much! But the second run was much better, and I can keep going for considerably longer than before I went away, even though I’m still slow. Is this the altitude, or is it just that we spent 6-8 hours per day walking? Whatever, I’m pleased with the outcome!
// posted by rachelle @ 4:13 PM 
