Marathon Rivalry: Why Apologize?

Growing up on farm in Ethiopia, Haile Gebrselassie ran ten kilometers to and from school every morning. Now at 34, he runs with a crooked left arm because he was always holding books under it. Recently, Gebrselassie apologized for breaking the Berlin Marathon world record by completing it in 2:04.26 (pictured to the right) which is 29 seconds faster than the previous world record holder and close friend, Kenyan Paul Terget. After completing the race, Gebrselassie could only tell reporters "Don't ask me how I am. It's very special, spectacular." Obviously, Gebrselassie’s accomplishment is admirable because his time in simple terms translates into 4 minutes 45 seconds every mile in comparison to an average person who runs approximately 8 minute miles. But there is more to this story than sheer talent. This sport has unveiled a rivalry between neighboring East African countries, Ethiopia and Kenya, which together hold many running records. Each nation has a completely different training program, but they both share the common goal of performing at the elite level. So with much competition, why would Gebrselassie publicly apologize for beating Terget’s time? I believe that he could be trying to send the message that although each runner has their own personalized way of preparing for races, marathon running is indirectly a team sport because they must work together to complete all 26.2 miles.

To put this issue into perspective, it should be noted that living in a developing country could seem devastating, but some of the world’s greatest come from those locales. Athletics are taken very seriously because when players perform at the top level, then the media is able to focus on something that the people are proud of, even if it is temporarily. Kenya and Ethiopia have two distinct forms of accomplishing this task. Kenya has a free central system in which each player performs for himself. According to Kipchoge Keino, winner of Kenya’s Olympic golds in 1968 and 1972, "Kenyans go where the money is and they're allowed to go where the money is.” When marathoners win races, they earn large monetary prizes such as $500,000, which makes a huge difference in the life of a Kenyan. However, running 26.2 miles takes a great amount of energy, and thus it is difficult to compete constantly without allowing the body to completely recover. Racing is more about quality than quantity, and if the Kenyan team wants to continue performing at the elite level in the future, then they must be particular in which races they choose to compete.

In contrast to the Kenyan’s free approach, the Ethiopian system is structured under the control of Woldemeskel Kostre (pictured to the left), who ran track and studied sports pedagogy in communist Hungary. He understands the commitment and discipline required to achieve victory, and thus he runs his program with low tolerance. For example, before the Olympics in Sydney, Gebrselassie asked if he could treat a nagging injury, meaning he would arrive late and Kostre replied, "If you don't come with us, then I can't put you in the team. So he decided to come with us and he won.” Under Kostre’s training program, this sport calls for complete discipline, trust, and communication. If these three are in harmony, athletes have the ability to accomplish the impossible. I believe that Kostre’s philosophy seems harsh and difficult to sustain, but that is only in the short run. This ideaolgy will have a bigger impact in the long run because he focuses on quality training, performance, and most importantly faith that these athletes have the capabilities to make world history. As a result, this is a strong positioning strategy because these elite athletes compete only in certain races and set records so they are branded as one of the world’s toughest competition.

Similar to accomplishing the impossible, I understand that running marathons is not that simple. Having previous experience in running the Los Angeles Marathon, I am aware of the physical and mental endurance needed to complete the race. Gebrselassie, therefore, has positioned himself apart from the elite runners because especially today, athletes are consistently breaking records, but to break a world marathon record is not very common. As well, when he said after ten minutes of finishing the race that he "really wanted to do this record but […] was a little bit worried about it, worried about attacking my friend's record," I believe he was being sincere because running may seem to be an individual sport, but there is more to it than just running. Marathons require more mental toughness than physical ability because of the longevity. The training requires much commitment so creating friendships with other runners is ideal because they understand the joy and pain.

Despite the depth and appeal of these genuine friendships, the media chooses to exaggerate the rivalry between the two countries. In reality, there is no rivalry during the race. The race is too long to take an extensive lead the entire way so runners must work together for most of the duration-this is a team sport (as pictured to the right). Thus, the media should try to focus less on making running an individualistic rivalry between two countries, but rather, two winning countries competing together to make world history. Watching athletes who come from impoverished nations set world history are emblems that every individual could aspire to and use as a source of motivation. Thus, the skill and dignity of these athletes make them not only exemplars of their sport but also of humankind, which surely is a marketing and public relations blessing.