16 yr old who ran 12:54.19 now moves up and debuts in the marathon!

I trained in Westchester County NY, where I am from, with the Westchester Track Club. Some people might know this name because of all the Kenyans and Ethiopians that dominate that club. They have some legit people on that club, Girma Tolla, 27:13 10k, Abiyot Endale, Alena Reta...DRUG CHEAT. Anyways, I trained with them for a few years, and know for a fact, that they lie about their ages all the time. If you look at a lot of results from the past few years, the guys on the team who do the same races every year never seem to have a birthday. They have been 24 years old for like 7 years. It is quite amazing. They have confirmed with me many times that when they are younger, they really don't know exact birth dates and use, a lot of times, averages. They will also say that they are younger so they can get into some big races where their travel, food and everything is paid for. One of the guys told me is is 27, then said but really I am closer to 35. I just laughed, because that is the way it is.

I can remember rooming with a Kenyan athlete at a race a few years back. Trying to make conversation, I asked if he had ever run on a Kenyan national team. He informed me that two years ago he had run on a WJXC team. The conversation progresses and we yaked away. I ask him how old he is and he informs me that he is something like 23 or 24. So, remembering all the rumours about overage African juniors, I ask him how he could have run the WJXC two years prior. He non-chalantly replies that he let the Federation work that out.

As raised earlier, a lot of birth records are not kept nearly as accurately as in more developed nations. Sometimes, birth records are irrelevant if your federation wants you on the team.

Now to set the record straight about our friend Abraham, I think that it is as impossible for a 16 year old man to run 12:54.19/8:16 as it is that someone can run 2:06 in the heat of Beijing. There must be some slight of hand or drugs or falsified papers. HA! Next thing you will tell me is that a woman ran 2:15.

There maybe cases of that but I'm not gonna take the word of Letsrun posters as fact. You guys act like Africans have to lie about their ages and they don't have actually teenager athletes who can mop the floor against American and European teenagers.

Newflash there are some African juniors who are just that darn good!

inspire wrote:

victoy wrote:

oh my God how do they train those kids in ethiopia.. anybody iknow

They train like men. As soon as we go back to what this country used to be, we too will run like these other countries. Stop reading the books, run 30 milers at a strong pace, do the long intervals, rest when you need to not when a book tells you so.

Simplicity is the key to brilliance

Bruce Lee

___________________________________________________________

So true! I had a friend from Trinidad & Tobago who was a 5000m runner. Twice a month he went to some nice trials and ran for 2 hours and 30 minutes around 6:30-6:59 pace. Once I visited with him for a week during the summer and he invited me and some of his teammates to go on one of those runs and none of us wanted any part of 150 minutes of running. His junior or senior year he made the NCAA; however, he did pick up wins his senior at their conference meet in the

Steeple 8:56

5000m 14:27

10000m was barely sub 31

and 2nd place in the 1500m around 3:55

(don't remember times exactly as it's been over 15 years but those times are pretty close)

over a 3 day span. There are many Americans who train like beast but FAR MORE foreigners do so because running is really their best way for a U.S scholarship or out of proverty!

NewsflashThisJustIn wrote:

There maybe cases of that but I'm not gonna take the word of Letsrun posters as fact. You guys act like Africans have to lie about their ages and they don't have actually teenager athletes who can mop the floor against American and European teenagers.

Newflash there are some African juniors who are just that darn good!

Yes--like Wanjiru. Look what he did as a junior. He is better now than he was then. But Feleke did not improve from the time when he was supposedly 16.

wqqqqqqq wrote:

Feleke did not improve from the time when he was supposedly 16.

His 2:07 marathon at age 16 was amazing.

InYourDreams wrote:

And to the poster who said he trained with the best in the world. Sir in your dreams don't actually count!

boy, if you only knew, rolling 40km long runs at 3.00-3.05, (at altitude).

You weren't special if you had run a 2.08 marathon, where 2.05/6 guys grow on trees.

Olympic gold medallist dropping like flies.

Geez, that was some livivng.

CrackIsWhack wrote:

correction

*7th grade female who ran 2:07

A 12:54 as a 16 year old would be more like a 7th grade girl running 2:00.

am an african and this age is a damn lie, i used to be a runner and i damn sure that this dude must be near 28 or lets say 25....i swear to God he aint no 1989....lets say 1889

Your about as African as the couch with the tag made in China which you probably very seldom leave and never to actually exercise. Some posters just can't comprehend that there are alot of gifted individuals who work hard and actually become great recreational/club runners, very good national runners, world class, and then there are a few super elite phenoms.

Yes, and you are about as literate as the couch.

Grow up this website has no Mensa members. Do you come to Letsrun to read about running or have English lessons?

Now back to the subject. Abreham Feleke seems to be one of those teenagers that ran mega miles and had a couple great years early but then stalled at the 3000m/5000m. He should return to the track and see what he could do at 10000m and run one marathon a year. He may just be able to run 26:50 but he haven't given the track 10000m a serious try lately.

I met this guy when I was in Addis Ababa this summer. At that time, he told me he was doing medium distance road races and training for a fall marathon. He was training with a big group of marathoners--I don't remember most of them, but I know there were some 2:06-7 guys in there. Nice young man, took time out after a workout to talk to me about his career and took some pictures with me. He was very humble... I didn't find out how fast he was until I googled him and found out he was fifth in Beijing!

You realize 2:07 is a worse performance than 12:54?

i am flabbergasted wrote:

wqqqqqqq wrote:

Feleke did not improve from the time when he was supposedly 16.

His 2:07 marathon at age 16 was amazing.

Rakanishu wrote:

This just shows running isn't about hard work, it's just simply about talent, which is why it's such a lame sport.

This is one for the debate club (minus the 'lame sport' bit). The very 'purity' that we runners cherish so much is actually a major reason its not a popular spectator sport - there's only so much you can dissect it unlike, say, baseball or football.

his times are not even that fast.

Did you guys hear about the 8 year old that ran 14:02 for the 5K in a cross race?

Has it come to this? wrote:Now to set the record straight about our friend Abraham, I think that it is as impossible for a 16 year old man to run 12:54.19/8:16 as it is that someone can run 2:06 in the heat of Beijing. There must be some slight of hand or drugs or falsified papers. HA! Next thing you will tell me is that a woman ran 2:15.

1) You're an idiot for quoting the 8:16 instead of the 7:32 3k.

2) People miss the point of lying about age. Ethiopia doesn't have to lie about age to win. The individuals have to lie about age to get noticed. A 12:54 16 year old will get the golden treatment...until they never get any faster because they aren't really 16. It's not always about the country, sometimes it's about the individual trying to make his/her way into the world of track and field.

BtA, you are correct, "in your dreams" is most certainly high on the crackpipe. As another poster mentioned, abraham is quite a nice guy, as is KB's little bro Tariku. I was generously given the opportunity to train with them on a few occasions when I went to addis, and yes, i had to ask the age question....Abraham stated he was 24, and iirc, tariku said 25...this was two years ago so i'll let you all do the math. and fyi, my information seems to indicate that it's not so much the athletes as it is the federation officials who want medals, thus they "tell" the athletes how old they are going to "be" which they then have to "officially" carry on from thereon....cheers, dude-

Been to Africa wrote:

InYourDreams wrote:

And to the poster who said he trained with the best in the world. Sir in your dreams don't actually count!

boy, if you only knew, rolling 40km long runs at 3.00-3.05, (at altitude).

You weren't special if you had run a 2.08 marathon, where 2.05/6 guys grow on trees.

Olympic gold medallist dropping like flies.

Geez, that was some livivng.