“One of the reasons I like going to Ethiopia,” Abdi says, “I can focus without having obligations — meeting with people, doing things around the house, just running errands — you always find something to do when you’re in your town, regardless. So when I’m in Ethiopia, at least I’m with people who have the same goals, who are there for training camp, and all we do is run and focus on running.
“You go run and come back… You take a nap, eat lunch, and you do the same thing in the afternoon. There’s nothing else. There’s no social life, there’s no night life. You can find it, but you’re there for a reason and the reason is to train.”