Ethiopian women best bets to win

By Jennifer Lade
Standard-Times staff writer
March 16, 2008 6:00 AM

After becoming accustomed to training in warm, dry conditions, the cold and the wind could be the only thing slowing down Meseret Kotu and Abeba Tola, two elite female athletes from Ethiopia who are likely contenders for winning the New Bedford Half Marathon.

Neither has been in the country long; Tola arrived in January in time to win the 2008 Bermuda marathon in 2:51:34. She placed third in the 2007 Los Angeles marathon, running a 2:45:16.
Kotu arrived just a few weeks ago to compete in New Bedford and is setting her sights on possibly running in the Credit Union Cherry Blossom 10 miler in Washington, D.C. or the Atlanta Marathon before returning to Ethiopia, hopefully with money to show for it. A few thousand dollars is a hefty sum in Ethiopia, which can be used to buy a farm or other property and affords them a better lifestyle.

Kotu sat down at the 99 Restaurant on Faunce Corner Road with several other elite Ethiopian runners, although Tola was out running and did not come. Catering to the runners' pre-race needs, the restaurant provided family-style food platters of pasta, rice and steak tips to the runners, who spoke in a mix of English and Amharic, their native language. Kitchen manager Luis Gomez also brought out a plate of Buffalo chicken, which some of the runners had never tasted. It was promptly devoured.

The runners — Kotu, Tola, probable frontrunner Demesse Tefera, Firehiwat Tesfaye and Derese Deniboba — are all managed by Alem Kahsay, an Ethiopian runner with connections to the Westchester, NY track club.

It was in the 1960s when Abebe Bekela launched Ethiopia onto the world running scene, Kahsay said. Bekela won the 1960 Olympic marathon in Rome while running barefoot, then won in Tokyo in 1964 with shoes. Women's running in the country has had a slower start, but has taken off in the past 10 years, Kahsay said.

For women, competitive running generally starts in their late teen years, though an active running culture has usually prepared children for the rigors of the sport from a young age.

Especially in rural areas, running is a way of life and a primary source of transportation.

"Most of the athletes in Ethiopia come from the countryside," Kahsay said.

Kotu started the sport in earnest in high school and began competing seriously at the age of 20. Now 26, she can boast a marathon personal best of around 2:30. She ran in the politically-charged Lahore marathon in Pakistan in January 2006, when Muslim extremists, opposed to men and women mingling publicly, posed a possible danger to runners. She said she wasn't scared.

"Our culture is not that way," she said. Her country has a mix of Christians, Muslims and other religions.

The cold could be the biggest problem for Kotu, who has not yet adapted to the temperature change. She wore a red winter hat in the restaurant to keep warm.

She said the cold is frustrating, but "there's nothing I can do."

Contact Jennifer Lade at jlade@s-t.com