Gete Wami successfully defends in Berlin (© Bongarts)
Addis Ababa, EthiopiaMore than 20 years ago when Ethiopia’s Gete Wami first joined her first professional running club, she was “out of this world with happiness” after receiving a meagre ETB 127 (USD 14) as a first month’s salary with the Omedla Police sports club.
Now more than two decades later and after a world 10,000m title, one silver and two bronze medals from the Olympic Games, and various World cross country titles, the 32-year-old is in line to win USD 500,000 for finishing atop of the 2006/07 World Marathon Majors (WMM) series which links top Marathons in New York, Berlin, Chicago, London, and Boston and marathons in the Olympic Games and the World Championships.
Difficult double looms
It is therefore easy for her to get carried away at the thought of winning one of athletics’ top cash prizes, but Wami is surprisingly calm about the prospects of collecting her biggest payday.
“Of course 500,000 dollars is a big motivation,” she says with less than two weeks to go before she runs in the ING New York City Marathon. “But I try not to think about the money a lot. I am just concentrating on preparation.”
Given the high stakes involved, Wami does need to put her feet on the ground. Only 35 days after winning the 2007 Real Berlin Marathon in another fast time of 2:23.17, the fourth sub 2:24 of her career, she is 10 points ahead of her closest challenger, Jelena Prokopcuka of Latvia, in the WMM current standings. While Wami is in her ‘recovery period’ after her exhaustion in Berlin, Prokopcuka travels to the Big Apple with fresh legs after running her last marathon in April.
“My first goal will be the competition,” she says. “I will also be looking out for Jelena when finishing the race, but I want to concentrate on the competition and try to win.”
Besides Prokopcuka, Wami will have her hands full trying to cope with a world class challenge that includes former Cross Country archrival Paula Radcliffe and World champion Catherine Ndereba.
“It will be the first time in six years,” she says of her race against Radcliffe. “She is a strong athlete and a hard worker. If Paula is in shape, I know she will try to go from the start. The course will make it difficult for fast times and will make the race tactical, but with Paula and Catherine in the race, you cannot say for sure.”
But despite the presence of many world class runners in the field, Wami’s decision to run two big city Marathons in the space of five weeks puts her in the spotlight of this lucrative series which has attracted some of the world’s top Marathon runners in the two years.
“At first, I was training only for Berlin and it is only after talking with Getaneh (husband and coach) that I made the decision to run both races,” she says. “We decided only two months ago and had initially decided to wait and run New York after seeing Berlin.”
In the German capital, Wami put in a tough effort until 30kms upon which, she says, she realized that she did not need to exert maximum effort. “I was running with New York in mind,” she says. “When I saw that the runners could not follow me, I knew that I did not need to push myself and eased up after 30kms.”
Suited for difficult courses
Unlike other Ethiopian Marathon runners, Wami does most of her training sessions alone or with a close-knit training group headed by her husband and coach, Getaneh Tessema, also an athlete manager with Global Sports Communication.
Her race in New York comes in a productive year where she finished second in the 2007 Flora London Marathon in April behind China’s Zhou Chinxiu in addition to her impressive victory in the German capital. Berlin was Wami’s third Marathon victory, with all her wins and impressive performances coming in flat-course races.
But Wami says that despite her poor record on tough Marathon courses, her running style and training methods will suit a tough, hilly course like New York.
“In Ethiopia, we have the advantage of high altitude and very uneven terrains to train on,” she says. “We have training venues here to train for places like New York. In fact, it is difficult to train for fast times and flat courses in Ethiopia.”
Wami is also convinced that her training methods and style are more suited for running two marathons in such a short period of time. “Even before Berlin, I do not rest completely without training after a marathon,” she says. “I always jog lightly and then slowly increase my training load for the next race. This has helped my preparations.”
But despite her active resting period, Wami says that the perfect balance between training and rest has to be maintained. “I spend most of my time at home either sleeping or helping out in the housework,” she says. “I sleep a lot and drink a lot of water. However, I do not have much of an appetite.”
Winning the WMM series and its ultimate cash prize would be a big statement for Wami who was dropped from Ethiopia’s team for the 28th Athens Olympics despite having a qualification mark. She says her training and its setup - she does not train with the national team or as a team for the Marathon during a Marathon - has reaped rewards.
“Results are reflections of hard work and systematic training,” she says. “I do not want to train as part of a big team, but I would love to represent my country in major championships and the Olympics.”
Beijing preparations on the horizon
As a track runner, Wami has represented her country in two Olympic Games winning three medals, out of which none was gold. After running New York, she says she plans to cancel all her full Marathon preparations and focus solely on preparing for the Beijing Olympics.
“I do not want to run a full Marathon after New York,” she says. “I want to focus on preparations for Beijing.”
Although the Marathon is regarded as the King of Athletics by many top Ethiopian runners, the country’s last major championship marathon victory came in 2001 when Gezhagne Abera won gold in the 8th IAAF World Championships in Edmonton, Canada. Most recently, the Ethiopian succumbed to one of its worst showings in major championship Marathon history with none of the runners able to even obtain a top 10 finish in the 11th IAAF World Championship in Osaka, Japan.
“It was not a good result and we should all work hard for Beijing,” says Wami who claims similar conditions could hamper the team’s chances in Beijing. “Personally, I have not thought about Beijing a lot until now. But I will definitely do something different to my preparations.”
For now at least, New York is what will obsess Wami for the next 10 days. But what will she be doing with the money if she manages to win the WMM in the Big Apple?
“Of course getting the money will give you many thoughts,” she says. “But I want to construct a building in Addis Ababa. That would make me happy.”
Elshadai Negash for the IAAF
