Former Villanova runner Haftu Strintzos has big goals for his marathon debut in Hamburg - the Australian record (2:06:22)

Jaryd Clifford wrote:

Twenty years ago, in the mountains of Tigray, a young shepherd boy herded cattle for his family. The rugged terrain was this boy’s comfortable place, his first home. On April 27, that same young boy from rural Ethiopia will stand on the start line of the Hamburg Marathon. The life of Haftu Strintzos has traversed an incredible path from those long days in the mountains to being on the cusp of debuting over the most hallowed of distances. No longer a boy, Haftu has now cemented himself as one of the rising stars in Australian distance running after clocking 60:36 at the Marugame Half Marathon earlier this year. This hasn’t happened overnight, there’s been toil and heartbreak over the years, but also the love of community, an Olympic dream, and a declaration for Hamburg:

“I just want to go for it, go with the front guys, and see how long I can stick it out for.”

Haftu has requested a 63-minute pace group through halfway in Hamburg, a pace that if maintained would threaten the Australian record of 2:06:22 set by Andy Buchanan in Valencia last year.