Week 4

Friday, October 12

Red, White, and True Blue

 

The patriotic, gracious, versatile, fun-loving, composed Abdi

Of the major contenders at this November’s U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Men’s Marathon, none has had a better build up than Arizona’s Abdi Abdirahman. Others may have had individual performances of note, or trained just as well, but Abdi has had two very strong years in a row, and enters the Trials as co-favorite with good friend, Meb Keflezighi, the 2004 Olympic Marathon silver medalist. Twice an Olympian at 10,000 meters, Abdi has run three marathons to date, each one significantly better than the last. If he continues along that improvement curve in New York, one of the three berths on the Olympic Marathon squad will almost certainly be his.

“He feels he can beat anybody,” says his coach, Dave Murray. “He doesn’t care who is in the race. He doesn’t go to be top 10 or top five. He tries to win. He has a better chance in the marathon than on the track to do that. But time means nothing; place is everything.”

“But it’s kinda scary in a way,” Murray admits. “There are only three or four guys out there at his level, but there are some youngsters coming up. Look at Ryan Hall in London—there’s another guy who’s gonna be a factor. If it’s a fast race, Abdi will definitely be in there,” he continues.  “If it’s a strategic race that will take a 2:12 or 2:13, you let a lot of others who are not as good marathoners in the hunt. I’d rather see Abdi in a fast race.”

Conventional wisdom tells us that the marathon begins at 20 miles. To compete otherwise is to dare the fates, especially on what’s considered a tough course. Surprises have become almost expected at the Trials. In 1996, unknown Paul Zimmerman led until 16 miles. In 2004 in Birmingham, AL, Brian Sell of Michigan struck out early, opening a 90-second lead before getting passed at 21 miles by eventual team members Alan Culpepper, Meb Keflezighi, and Dan Browne. 

“You don’t race the course, you race the people,” says Abdi, framed by a ring of mountains on his back terrace in Tucson. “I know the course is a difficult one for everyone, but it plays into my strengths because I am a strength runner. And see my backyard? All those hills? That’s where I train most of the time. Central Park is nothing compared to those hills.”

On New York

In early August, Abdi raced through Central Park in the NYC Half-Marathon Presented by NIKE. Against a world-class field, he took the lead at seven miles, dropping the reigning Boston and Chicago Marathon champion Robert Cheruiyot of Kenya, the reigning Boston and Chicago Marathon champion, and leaving only the legendary Ethiopian Haile Gebrselassie at his side. And though Geb pulled away to win the race in 59:24, Abdi established a personal best of 60:29 in second place. That was a huge confidence booster for the Trials, especially after Gebrselaisse took down the marathon world record by 29 seconds in Berlin eight weeks later.

“I’m not cocky,” Abdi proclaims, “But if you don’t expect to win, you shouldn’t race. If I’m feeling good at 23 [miles], I’d like to push the hills, go for the win. I don’t care who’s there, I’m going.”

His 2:17:09 debut at the ING New York City Marathon 2004 dropped to 2:11:24 in New York in 2005, and then at the 2006 LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon last October, he turned in a 2:08:56 fourth-place finish.

“Eight weeks [of training] is enough as long as I get in my long runs. For Chicago, the longest workout I did was ten times 1000 meters,” Abdi says. “The longest tempo run was 12 miles.  Yet in Chicago, it looked like I had been doing mile and two-mile repeats. As long as I do my long runs, I’ll be okay.”

The other requirement for Abdi is training at altitude in Flagstaff, a three-hour drive from his home in Tucson. For his Trials buildup, he’s been joined by fellow Trails qualifier Brandon Leslie of New Mexico.

“Abdi’s confidence is so high,” says Leslie, a native of the Navajo Nation. “And his training is so good. It’s tremendous to feed off. But he’s going to do what Abdi does, run fast, run hard.”

“I prefer an honest, fast pace,” says Abdi. “I don’t like tactical races. Even though I can run tactical, I prefer fast. It gets rid of everyone that doesn’t belong there. A fast pace has them working hard just to stay up there while, for me, it’s comfortable because I do all of my tempo work around 4:40 pace.”

Risky Business

Abdi took a risk when he went to Japan in August to represent the U.S. at the IAAF World Track and Field Championships. Although he ran with the medal winners in the 10,000 meters until 7,000 meters, and eventually finished in seventh place, Murray wished he hadn’t gone. But representing his country is as special as it gets for the Somalia-born Abdi. 

“I’m as American as they come,” says Abdi. “I came here at a young age. I grew up in the U.S., and started running here. I went to school here. So I think I’m American. If you look at history, everyone’s parents or great grandparents came from somewhere else.  I didn’t come here as a runner or on a scholarship.  It was my choice.”

Abdi represented the USA for the first time at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia, where he placed 10th in the 10,000 meters. “Oh, man, that was the greatest moment of my life!” he says. “The day it hits you is when you come to the stadium in competition wearing the USA jersey. You’re not just running for yourself, you’re running for the whole nation.”

Classic Abdi

Nothing appears to bother Abdi. A nerve conductivity test on Abdi might well reveal that he has no nerves. Or is he downplaying to remove nervous tension? He says he’s recovered well from Osaka, and has since resumed 90-mile weeks.   

“I’m fit,” he says in classic understatement. “The marathon is all about your work ethic for a long time. The main thing is consistency. Now I’m just trying to get some endurance. I did five or six long runs, 1:20, 1:40, two-hours. And nine times a mile, and ten times a mile between 4:40 and 4:45 at 8000 feet with some hills. Then four times two-miles in 9:50 uphill, two minutes rest then go again. Now it’s just four weeks of maintaining.”

Last Sunday at the USA Men’s 10 Mile Championships in Minneapolis, Abdi’s winning performance appeared to be more of a tempo run than competing in a national championship.

“It got hot toward the end,” says Abdi. “I went out hard around 22:50 [for five miles].  No one was with me, so I backed off. I didn’t want to burn myself out.”

Actually, Dan Browne did go with Abdi, but he paid the price, fading to finish 21st. But Abdi didn’t come away completely unscathed, either. “I had a little hip problem,” he admits. “It started a while ago, and I felt it toward the end of the race. So I didn’t push. But I have four weeks to take care of it, and there is no hard work left, just one long run.”

Abdi asked for a scouting report from Chicago that weekend, though not on the outcome of the marathon, but rather on a guy he’ll see in a few weeks in New York.

“I’m just curious about Khalid Khannouchi. How’s he doing? Because if he’s healthy, he’s the man to beat—he’s one of the most consistent marathoners ever,” he says. “This Trials is gonna be interesting.”