Nicodemus Naimadu --What is this world coming to??

It's just like the Arkansas guys working at Arby's back when Joe Falcon was on the team.

Yikes.

Are you 100% sure it was him?

I'd rather have him taking jobs away form illiterate snot nosed high school punks than taking running contracts away from hard working American distance runners.

dead poets society- No doubt about it it was him. I had met him at a local track meet earlier this track season. Today I saw him and said "What's up Nicodemus", he looked up smiled and said "hey", he seemed kind of surprised to be recognized.

Those other people working in there had absolutely no idea that a professional athlete was in the back flipping burgers for them!

Other posters- I agree that there is nothing wrong with a man making his own way with an honest job.. But surely, there is some agent that can get him AT LEAST a minimum contract with a shoe company?? There's no doubt the guy deserves that much with his PR's and accomplishments.

That's a real shame. Dathan Ritzenhein is a very high-profile athlete who has run 13:16 and 27:35. Naimadu shouldn't have to work at McDonald's with bests of 13:34 and 28:06.

what?

Call the whambulance

I thought you were talking about the Greek guy who won the 200M in Sydney, then faked the motorcycle crash to avoid the drug test. Now that would have been a fall from grace.

Maybe he wanted a little extra money and his pussy doesn't shrivel up when he works 20 hours a week.

How rude are you?

Is it too much to ask to get some REAL responses??

He has an agent and will run in some meets later this summer in Europe.

He does not work at McDonalds!

It's sort of like Karate Kid training. You know, wax on, wax off kind of shit. His manager knows exactly what he's doing and Nicodemus is going beat that bully at the end of the season.

Crazy. Does anyone know if he graduated?

Professional running is damn hard to make a living at and if you have the misfortune to be from a couple of small east african nations then its damn near impossible. Kenya's success and the rest of the worlds failure to keep up with them has killed the financial side of the sport. Flat out a good kenyan can't make a dime in terms of a shoe deal, a truly great one has a tough time. 28:06 might get him kit. Why? because there is nothing to market he is one of so many and the general running public is board by it. They see a skinny black guy win and go of course he one he is Kenyan. doesn't matter that he is Somalian or Ethiopian or that he has overcome injury or injustice or a supreme lack of talent to become a super runner they assume he was born to run and he is nameless and just one of the pack to them. Now an american or european kid with his times can get a deal if for no other reason then he can run in a pack of africans somewhere either on the roads or track and the average fan who sees that will be stunned and think he is a world beater, it's a easier product to sell.

True story a kenyan kid lives down the street from me, he lives here part of the year as an exchange program through a local church. I coach the local club and we are down at the track for the clubs weekly workout and Ben(the kenyan kid)is working out while my age groupers weekend warriors and what not are warming up. Now ben is a 15:00 type 5k guy, he wins a local race or two makes a couple of bucks on the roads but he is no top notch runner. So a couple of the guys I coach are standing next to me and one says to me "wouldn't you love to be able to run like that" I assumed he meant ben's form, cause he is a smooth runner and I said something like ya he is smooth looking and the guy goes "no I mean be that fast" I laughed, ben was tearing up the track at the time with some 70 second 400's. I didn't know what to say, a humbler man would just smile and let it go. but I'm an ass and I want the world to know that 1. there are some damn good americans out there and 2. that all kenyans are not great and the ones who are got there by working harder then most can imagine.

So I say "Are you kidding me? Ben's a great guy but he can't hold my Jock as a runner" The guy was kinda startled. so I went into a long winded description of the stuff I've said above and about where me and Ben stand in the running world.

So thems the breaks. Its sad but the best thing that could happen to every kenyan runner out there if for Ritz and Hall to medal in Bejing, Teg to win the 5k with mottram in 3rd, abdi and rupp to finish in the top 5 in the 10k, webb win the 1500 and Nick or K.R. to win the 800. Why?? because it will get people watching again and as they watch they will see that the skinny black dude doesn't always win and wait holy shit that guys got a name and a personal story and gee he is a damn hard worker.

Now only after all that happens will a good guy like Nicodemus get a shoe deal for running 28:06.

Thanks for the excellent insightful post, nj

I wonder how many Kenyans have run 28:00 this year? How many runners total?

I would think that agents and shoe companies, who are basically running nothing more than a markeing business, would have little interested in "another 28:00 running Kenyan".

Why do you think you see so many Kenyans from all corners of the country running and winning road races? That's where the "working man's" running is in this sport. It seems like the track circuit is an all or nothing adventure. You're either an Olympic runner or you're not.

Do you know these runners?:

MARTIN IRUNGU

NICHOLAS KAMAKYA

PETER KAMAIS

SIMON WANGAI

DANIEL KIPKOECH

WORKU BEYI

How about these runners:

Robert Letting

John Itati

Moses Kigen

Richard Kiplagat

George Misoi

Linus Maiyo

Daniel Kipkoech

Philip Koech

Lamech Mosoti Mokono

Wegayehu Girma

The top list is a group of Kenyans in the top 10 at the Peachtree 10k, the bottom list is the THE top 10 from the Cooper River Bridge Run.

If you are a 28:00 10k runner and want to make a living you almost certainly have to hit the roads.

Alan