From Beijing to Bekoji

Haile Gebrselassie set a new world record on Sunday at the Berlin Marathon, and three days later his hometown was throwing him a party. Damned if I wasn't going to be there...it's not everyday I find myself in the heart of African distance running and with the opportunity to be the only western correspondent within reach of the world's greatest distance runner moments after an epic event.

So, balking all the advice by locals not to go (thieves, breakdowns, accidents, bad water and risk of malaria), I headed south out of Addis.

The road to Asela is one of the best in the whole of Ethiopia. Newly paved and with fewer bandits waiting for stranded passengers (although the full-body frisk by the military at various points feels almost as dangerous), the road south is, amazingly enough, easily traversed.

After only four hours, including transfer in Nazaret from one rickety minibus to another, my pursuit of Ethiopian distance runners carried me to the Oromo region, birthplace of all but one of its best athletes. Gebrselassie, Derartu Tulu, Kenenisa Bekele, Tirunesh and Ejigayehu Dibaba - all of this year's Olympians and the great Abebe Bikila, in fact, were born here or in nearby Bekoji.

While my contacts in Addis were more concerened with my travel between Addis and Asela, it was the ceremony, itself that proved to be my greatest challenge. Although what happened to my body later in my stay may have been the worst I've ever felt, especially while staying in a mud house.

The Oromo people were hosting a program to honor their Olympians. In addition to bestowing flower wreaths and local handicrafts on the athletes, they also gave them land grants with the hope that the current trend of successful athletes investing in the commercial life of the area would continue. Already, there is Haile's restaurant and Tirunesh's hotel. Derartu's was being built while I was there.

At the stadium (a large field with cinder track and seating for, perhaps, 100 dignitaries) quickly became overrun with many, many thousands of people who traversed rutted dirt roads from further in the countryside primarily by foot, but also horse, bus and taxi to catch a glimpse of the country's heroes.

The swarming crowds were pushed up the hillsides and down into the center of the field by baton-wielding militia. Amazingly, no one seemed to get hurt in the melee and all settled down temporarily for the parade of school children, a marching band and a procession of local hopefuls.

The latter got their chance to run in a 5,000m race, with the men's winner running barefoot and most others running in shoes so worn their toes stuck out in all directions.

Men rode bareback in a brief and wild horse race, followed by their friends dressed in a blend of western clothing and animal skins topped off with flowing wigs of monkey hair. After the races, hundreds of children danced in the greens, yellow and reds of the Ethiopian flag. Teenagers performed martial arts moves, scouts waved and sang, adults cheered.

The crowd went wild each time the athletes stepped on the track - to start the races, to had out awards to the local runners, to shake hands with the Mayor. The brief concert by three of the most popular musicians, including Getachew Hail Mariam, was like a non-event in comparison to the athletes' reception. In Ethiopia, runners ARE the rock stars.

Tirunesh Dibaba, the first professional athlete in all of Ethiopia to have her own website, recently wed fellow Olympian Sileshi Sihine. Their late October wedding was hailed as the "wedding of the millennium" throughout the country.

Dibaba is a four-time world champion, a current world record holder and recently added two Olympic gold medals to her collection. She is pictured here in the green and black shirt, her future husband in the black and white striped shirt to her left (photo right). Haile is behind her in the gray suit and red tie. A man heavy in gold medals, Keninisa Bekele (often spelled Kenenisa in the western press) is pictured in red t-shirt and black jacket. The Tiger Woods of Ethiopia these days, Bekele defended his Olympic 10,000m title and set a new Olympic record in the 5,000m in Beijing this summer.

Runners I met in the Bronx, including Abiyot Endale, connected me with their families here. They gave me food, a place to sleep and shared generously with me.

While my contacts in Addis were more concerned with my travel between Addis and Asela, it was the stampede at the ceremony, itself, followed by the intestinal torture that may be related to the food I ate, the water I drank or the fact that on my first morning I woke with my left eye swollen shut from a mosquito bite. Good thing I shoot with my right eye...

Just when they began applauding me for my adaptability to Ethiopian living, I came apart in every direction. Typical American, afterall.

They nursed me to health with "traditional medicine" and rest.

I now believe in the power of tsabel - holy water. More specifically, I saw the power of belief in its curative properties. The locals told me stories of brain damaged children learning to speak again, of crippled men walking, of those with HIV being cured. All from bathing in and drinking the holy water. I'll leave this story for another time...when I have the stomach to tell you all the gory details!