Interview with Worku Beyi

By Cecil Harris

Worku Beyi, 20, moved from his native Ethiopia to the United States in March 2006, and has already established himself as a major competitor in national and international events. He’ll compete this Sunday in his second ING New York City Marathon 2007. He ran a 2:26:13 in last year’s race, his only previous marathon.

Beyi competes for the Westchester Track Club, a dominant force in New York Road Runners team events. This year, he won the WABC Father’s Day Fight Against Prostate Cancer 5-mile race in a course record 23:07. Recently, he placed third against a world-class field in the Bolder Boulder 10K (30:04). He ran this year’s NYC Half-Marathon Presented by NIKE in a personal-best 1:03:39, after finishing last year’s race in 1:03:41.

Earlier this year, Beyi lived in the Bronx with fellow Ethiopian Demesse Tefera, the 2006 NYRR Fred Lebow Runner of the Year. Beyi still resides in the Bronx, but he now lives with three other runners, including his wife, Buzunesh Deba, a 5K and 10K runner. They married in 2006.

MensRacing.com caught up with the affable Beyi in the stadium bleachers at Van Cortlandt Park in the Riverdale section of the Bronx, where he often runs. Beyi speaks English, but not fluently, so his teammate/roommate Genna Tufa was alongside to help with the translation.

MensRacing.com: You said that before we start the interview you have something important to say. What is that?

Worku Beyi : Yes. I want to thank New York Road Runners and USA Track and Field for helping me apply for my green card. I applied for my green card on May 29, 2007. I got it two weeks ago.

MR: Congratulations.

WB: Thank you.

MR: Are you excited about running your second ING New York City Marathon?

WB: Yes, I am. Last year was my first one. I hope to do better this time.

MR: Do you have a specific time that you’d like to run?

WB: If I run under 2:20, I’ll be happy. I did 2:26 [2:26:13] last year.

MR: That’s a very good result for your first marathon ever, and you were only 19 at the time. Why did you start running marathons so young?

WB: I just wanted to know how it felt [smiles]. It felt good to finish.

MR: Do you enjoy running the other distances more than you enjoy the marathon?

WB: I enjoy all the distances—5K, 10K, half-marathon, marathon..

MR: What are your best times in the 5K, 10K, and half-marathon?

WB: My best times are 13:58 in the 5K, 28:43 in the 10K, and 1:03:39 in the half-marathon.

MR: When did you come to America?

WB: March 22, 2006.

MR: You came here specifically to run professionally. How did you know about the Westchester Track Club?

WB: My cousin, Atalelech Ketema, runs for the Westchester Track Club.

MR: So did you live with her when you came to America?

WB:Yes. I stayed with her.

MR: Do you still live with her?

WB: No. Now I stay with my friends. There are four of us—me, Genna [Tufa], Mohamed Awoud, and my wife Buzunesh Deba.

MR: When did you marry?

WB: Just last year, when she came to the United States.

MR: How long did you know her in Ethiopia?

WB: A long time. She was my girlfriend in Ethiopia. When she came here, we married. She’s 20 years old like I am, but I’m six months older.

MR: Does she run also?

WB: Yes. She’s a fast runner.

MR: A sprinter?

WB: No. She runs 5K and 10K. Not the marathon.

MR: There are so many runners from Ethiopia doing well for the Westchester Track Club. Is the Westchester Track Club well known in Ethiopia? Do people in Ethiopia know what you’re doing now?

WB: No. There are people who know I’m running.

MR: So the newspapers back home don’t write about you?

WB: No [smiles]. Not yet.

MR: Do you like living in the Bronx?

WB: It’s quiet. It’s nice. When I came to America, my cousin lived here. It’s a nice place to run, to train. That’s why I stay here.

MR: Have you traveled to other parts of New York City, to do sightseeing or visit different neighborhoods?

WB: When I ran the marathon last year, I got to see a lot of the city.

MR: You got to see all five boroughs of New York City—Staten Island, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, and Manhattan—in less than two and a half hours. Do you enjoy that part of the race, running through the different neighborhoods of the city?

WB: I like it because it’s my work, but I don’t like the bridge. [The race begins on the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, which extends from Staten Island to Brooklyn.] It’s no good for the legs to start the race on the bridge.

MR: How do you feel about living in New York City?

WB: I like it. Sometimes, it’s busy. Sometimes, I’m busy too.

MR: Do you do any other work besides competing in races?

WB: Yes. Today, I’m training in the morning. Tonight, I’m pacing for the Nike Central Park Track Club in Central Park.

MR: Do you have an endorsement deal with Nike?

WB: When I’m pacing for them, I wear the Nike stuff—the shoes, the shirt, and the pants. When I’m racing, I wear Brooks. In the [ING New York City Marathon], I’ll wear a Brooks shirt and Nike shoes.

MR: Do you have a favorite runner?

WB: Haile Gebrselassie.

MR: Haile broke the world-record at the real,- Berlin Marathon. Did you follow that race closely?

WB: Yes [smiles]. God willing, I will do that one day [laughs].

MR: Do you believe you have it in you to break the world record?

WB: God is responsible [smiles].

MR: Have you ever met Haile?

WB: Yes. One time I met him. We talked about my running and training; it was nice. I like to watch him run.

MR: Do you and your wife plan to have children someday? And if so, would you want them to be runners?

WB: [laughs] If we make enough money, if we save for the future, we’ll see.

MR: How old were you when you started running?

WB: I was in the ninth grade.

MR: Were you winning races right away?

WB: Yes. I was running just for fun. But I was winning the races.

MR: That’s why your cousin told you to come to America to run?

WB: I went to Spain first. I stayed there only for three weeks for races and then I came here.

MR: Did you play any other sports growing up in Ethiopia? Did you play soccer, or football, as the rest of the world calls it?

WB: No. I did not like playing football. I was skinny. I was scared the ball might hit me [laughs]. I prefer to run.

MR: Do you run competitively every weekend?

WB: Before I did, but not now. If I run every day, I may get injured. I get more rest now.

MR: Do you think about running one day in the Olympics?

WB: I don’t know. God knows. Only God knows the future.

MR: Will you watch the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Men’s Marathon in Central Park the day before the ING New York City Marathon?

WB: I don’t know. We’ll see. I think I will walk for 20 minutes or 30 minutes the day before the marathon. That’s what I did last year.

MR: How long did it take your body to recover from the marathon last year?

WB: The next day I paced for the Nike Central Park Track Club.

MR: Really? You recovered very quickly.

WB: Yes. I have been pacing for the club for one year and two months. I could have run faster in the marathon, but my shoes… [He shakes his head.]

MR: What about your shoes?

WB: My shoes did not fit right. My race shoes, I put them in the washing machine on Saturday night and then I put them in the drying machine. Then they didn’t fit right in the race. After the race, I was hurting here [he touches his hamstrings] and back here [he clutches his lower back]. I won’t do that again. The washing machine is good, but the drying machine is bad [laughs].

MR: Well, since you plan to keep your shoes out of the dryer this weekend, you should run a better race.

WB: I will [smiles]. Thank you.

Interview conducted October 27, 2007, and posted November 2, 2007.