tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-359464892009-11-23T15:23:10.442-05:00Running Related News and Commentary from an Ethiopian perspective.roochahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00125211435159381084noreply@blogger.comBlogger230125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35946489.post-70585913674133865142009-11-23T00:48:00.006-05:002009-11-23T15:23:05.462-05:00

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

Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17382412172461267603noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35946489.post-44599997975122266402009-11-22T10:45:00.005-05:002009-11-22T11:07:49.624-05:00

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

welemtahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17293454447470652037noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35946489.post-35949019279717355342009-11-15T23:17:00.009-05:002009-11-16T01:46:27.503-05:00

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

Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17382412172461267603noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35946489.post-91196577954805659912009-11-08T22:35:00.005-05:002009-11-09T00:57:32.829-05:00

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 TriumphA Brief Chat With Meb Keflezighi and Derartu Tulu (3 November 2009)Gebru and Tesfaye grab 30k victories in Adama (2 November 2009) - Defense

Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17382412172461267603noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35946489.post-38030334475361993422009-11-02T01:04:00.004-05:002009-11-02T01:48:36.311-05:00

"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

welemtahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17293454447470652037noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35946489.post-72854929318742064912009-11-01T21:55:00.010-05:002009-11-02T00:59:30.575-05:00

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

Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17382412172461267603noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35946489.post-91113060329826929932009-10-26T01:46:00.004-04:002009-10-26T02:10:13.799-04:00

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

Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17382412172461267603noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35946489.post-71668719431410387712009-10-13T23:05:00.003-04:002009-10-13T23:49:00.455-04:00

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.

roochahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00125211435159381084noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35946489.post-25076060956069065742009-08-23T06:15:00.006-04:002009-08-23T10:22:27.763-04:00

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

roochahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00125211435159381084noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35946489.post-17029343876955728262009-08-22T02:43:00.004-04:002009-08-22T08:18:21.481-04:00

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 (

roochahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00125211435159381084noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35946489.post-56529139532998255732009-08-22T01:20:00.002-04:002009-08-22T01:25:38.179-04:00

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

roochahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00125211435159381084noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35946489.post-55416631992694198362009-08-21T16:04:00.008-04:002009-08-21T16:38:22.745-04:00

Women’s 5000MDay 5 started with women’s 5000M qualification. Speculation of Tirunesh possibly competing in the 5000M as well as Mesert Defar’s withdrawal due to illness proved unfounded. The qualifying round for this event is almost unnecessary because 15 out of the 22 women would advance to the final.All the Ethiopians have comfortably advanced to Saturday’s final. Sentayehu Ejigu looked very

roochahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00125211435159381084noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35946489.post-61083227518999567102009-08-20T22:30:00.007-04:002009-08-20T23:12:07.167-04:00

I hope the 2013 World Champs will be hosted in the Americas (2011 already given to Daegu, South Korea, so too late for that). Besides may be getting a chance to watch the action in person, the TV schedule will be much easier to deal with. The past few days have been challenging to watch the events on tape delay at night, while staying away from hearing the results during the day. Of course, as

roochahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00125211435159381084noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35946489.post-81874027727561007262009-08-16T10:05:00.004-04:002009-08-16T11:40:54.258-04:00

The one bit of downside to having a dynasty is that the ending is always painful. End of a dynasty pretty much describes fate of Team Ethiopia on Day 1 in Berlin, and perhaps the entire meet. Please forgive my grumpy attitude but Roocha has always questioned the viability of an entire national athletic program resting on a shoulder of superstars you can count on half of one hand, especially when

roochahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00125211435159381084noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35946489.post-26918652539897228212009-08-15T12:30:00.004-04:002009-08-15T12:52:26.342-04:00

With Tirunesh Dibaba, two time defending World Champion and reigining Olympic Champion, out of the race, the question is who will take the most advantage of Tirunesh's absence. Meseret Defar will be interested to put her stake down on a new territory, but Meselech Melkamu with her recent second all-time fastest 10000M outing will be looking to step up to the top podium also. The Kenyans led by

roochahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00125211435159381084noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35946489.post-66241743552691236012009-08-15T12:00:00.004-04:002009-08-15T12:25:45.985-04:00

One year ago today, all the attention of the world was focused on Beijing Olympics, and Track & Field took center stage with Women’s 10000M final. Who can forget the riveting performance Tirunesh Dibaba turned in that day while dueling Elvan Abeylegesse and the hot weather of Beijing!!Well, we are a year of time and a continent of a distance removed from that superhuman perofrmance by Tirunesh,

roochahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00125211435159381084noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35946489.post-64355389242387367052009-08-15T04:00:00.003-04:002009-08-15T04:23:37.885-04:00

I happen to be in Addis and I am finding it quite a challenge to blog. Now I am feeling like there is nothing like having broadband at home. Second there is nothing like having reliable electric service. Right now power is on on alternating days. On the days you are supposed to have power you may or may not have power. Any help with blogging on this site will be much appreciated.There was a neat

welemtahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17293454447470652037noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35946489.post-88065526571735591492009-08-07T11:30:00.004-04:002009-08-07T11:54:34.739-04:00

Long time no post. It's been a bit difficult trying to find the time to write a regular blog, but micro-blogging has come to the rescue. Roocha, the blog, will be revived this coming week, in time for the World Championships from Berlin. In the meantime, Roocha has been up on Twitter for several weeks so please follow by clicking here. There are several tweets there today including the following:

roochahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00125211435159381084noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35946489.post-85973346524967360932009-03-28T10:08:00.003-04:002009-03-28T10:33:13.697-04:00

There are some post you never wish you made. I wish I had not dismissed Gebre-egziabher Gebremariam's recent success so quickly. But again his performance of the last few years was so disappointing for a guy with so much talent. Gebre-egziabher Gebremariam ran a very very smart race. For a change it was fun watching him. I am happy to see him finally win a title that he has always been capable of

welemtahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17293454447470652037noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35946489.post-59676752672926756022009-03-28T01:17:00.002-04:002009-03-28T02:27:39.768-04:00

Here we are again. Another year another world cross championship. This may also be another year of excuses by the Ethiopian Athletics Federation. We have commented on the danger of EAF's overeliance on a handful of superstars rather than an organic approach to developing runners is dangerous in the long term. With Kenenisa and Tirunesh out with injury the EAF's approach will be tested at the

welemtahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17293454447470652037noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35946489.post-231342519206941172009-01-18T10:58:00.004-05:002009-01-18T11:33:52.414-05:00

I am getting to like this guy. Some may ridicule him for his collapses but one thing Deriba has going for him is that he runs his own race. Deriba is fun to follow because he does not settle for safe. He set an ambitious goal of 2:05 at the Houston Marathon. He was off his goal by more than 2 minutes but nonetheless set a course record.Deriba is different. While others were afraid of the heat in

welemtahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17293454447470652037noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35946489.post-43922415420227942182008-11-23T12:39:00.003-05:002008-11-23T12:50:35.006-05:00

A relative unknown Chala Dechassa won the Men's Great Ethiopian Run. While Wude Ayalew defended her title. Upto this point Chala Dechassa's only brush with fame was a surprising 3rd place finish at this years Ababe Bikila Marathon. He has a bright future.

welemtahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17293454447470652037noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35946489.post-72177821497210101162008-10-27T13:12:00.003-04:002008-10-27T13:23:35.794-04:00

In what was billed ad The Big Millennium Wedding Bash Sileshi got hitched to Tirunesh over the weekend. There is a moment by moment account of the wedding from Tirunesh's website (the website is quite good). The website claims that 500,000 greeted the bride and groom at Meskel Square. What a year Tirunesh has had!

welemtahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17293454447470652037noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35946489.post-18061568575516720452008-10-13T22:29:00.003-04:002008-10-13T23:15:55.039-04:00

Of course, you should vote, if eligible, in the upcoming US Presidential Election on Nov. 4. But that is not what this post is about. It is about voting for 2008 World Athlete of the Year. Last year's winners (Tyson Gay of USA and Meseret Defar of Ethiopia) didn't even make it to the list this time. However, you can vote for Haile or Kenenisa for men and Tirunesh Dibaba for women. Make sure you

roochahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00125211435159381084noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35946489.post-85306462275208225332008-10-13T22:06:00.006-04:002008-10-13T23:21:05.013-04:00

After 205 posts over the past 24 months, ROOCHA, the blog, today turns TWO years old! It has been a remarkable year with lots of emotional ups and downs, victories and defeats, but it has been a lot of fun writing about our beloved sport of running from a personal, national, and international perspective. Looking forward to the next 12 months as we count down to Berlin 2009. Your comments and

roochahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00125211435159381084noreply@blogger.com0