ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia- The drive to Jumo, a small suburb on the outskirts of Addis Ababa, is a short, uncomfortable ride away from the main highway that connects Ethiopia's capital city to the city of Sebeta. Lying along the path to what many Ethiopians conveniently call "the athlete's dwelling" - a place where athletes live that includes various combinations of real estate from mud huts to mansion-sized residential complexes. Vehicular monsters such as the Toyota Land Cruiser, luxury brands such as the BMW X5, donkeys, horse-drawn carriages, and bicycles carry passengers and goods on the gravel road.The journey, which is made uncomfortable by the endless path holes and large rocks on the road, takes us to the home shared by 2009 Houston Marathon champion Teyiba Erkesso and her husband and fellow runner Kassim Adilo. Their residence, a ground-plus-one house located right at the end of the road, is a stone's throw away from a hill that is often used to separate Addis Ababa from the surrounding towns. It is not the most glamorous of homes, but very much welcome in Ethiopia's highly inflated real-estate market.
"The road must have felt difficult coming here," says Erkesso at the entrance to her house. "We are building a new house near CMC (on the other side of the city and very much a high-class residential area) and I hope when you visit next time, you will not have such difficulty getting to our home."
Erkesso's warm embrace and her offer of multiple visits belies a truth hidden in the story of the often-shy runner. Unlike the years she spent as a mediocre track runner with only a fifth place finish at the All-African Games 10000m final two years ago to show for, Erkesso is now winning big races on the road and opening the doors to the fame and fortune that is visiting her and her family.
On Sunday, she will run the Chicago Marathon for the second time and is considered a favorite to finish among the top five. In her first attempt at the distance, she dropped out of the 2007 Chicago Marathon at 30 kilometers.
In 2009, Erkesso pocketed USD 75,000 for winning Houston earlier this year and setting a course record and personal best time of 2:24.18. Further, she has won several shorter road races, including the New York 5k in Albany, New York and was part of the Ethiopian team (Ashu Kassim and Mamitu Deska were the others) that won the Boulder-Boulder team race in Colorado.
Erkesso was also initially part of Ethiopian marathon team preparing for the recent track and field world championships in Berlin before she was dropped from the team due to what officials called "failure to recover from illness".
"I was ill due to food poisoning for just a single day," she says. "I had called Kassim to come and pick me up at the hotel after I told the team doctor that I was not feeling well. Soon after, Dube [Jillo, technical Director of the Ethiopian Athletics Federation] called Kassim and told him that the Federation was not going to take a sick person to Berlin."
A few days later, selectors replaced Erkesso on the team with Robe Guta less than two weeks before the women's marathon. Erkesso did not go quietly, accusing the federation of bias and lack of transparency on radio talk shows.
On one show, Erkesso even questioned the motives of Jillo, a guest on one of the shows, during a phone call and demanded to know answers to why the Federation had dropped her from the team.
"I could not get an opportunity to talk to him because he would not answer his phone or would not be available when I went to talk to him at his office," she says. "So I called the radio station and asked to allow me the opportunity to ask him the questions in front of the public. As you can imagine, he did not have any answers. But now, I really regret doing that because nothing really came out of this."
"Teyiba said she had to recover from illness and was replaced on the team by Robe Guta," Jillo said in an interview in Berlin three days before the world championships. "We had discussed with Teyiba about her illness and we told her that there would be plenty of opportunities for her to represent her country. I was therefore surprised when I heard on the radio and saw in the newspapers that she was complaining."
In her absence, Asselefech Mergia created history by becoming the first Ethiopian marathon medal-winning woman in the world championships courtesy of her bronze in Berlin. Her replacement Guta dropped out of the race.
"I do not want to think about Berlin," Erkesso now says. "That part is history. But it upsets me that I am not given the opportunity to represent my country in international competitions. I have often thought of changing allegiances because this is the second time such a thing has happened to me. In 2007, I was in good shape before the world championships in Osaka and got injured for a few days and lost shape after competing at the All-African Games. I had the second fastest time in the world that year, but the federation dropped me from the team. It was such a sad experience."
Jillo confirmed that questions about Erkesso's fitness were a factor in the decision to leave her off the 2007 team. "It's true she was in great shape before the All-African Games," said Jillo. "She had the second fastest time in the world but she was out of shape when we were selecting the team for Osaka."
Born in Mulesa, around 200km southeast of Addis Ababa, Erkesso comes from the Arsi region, which has produced the bulk of Ethiopia's world-class athletes including Haile Gebrselassie, Derartu Tulu, Kenenisa Bekele, and Tirunesh Dibaba.
"Although many runners come from Arsi, there were very few runners in Mulesa when I started running," she recalls. "I am the ninth child in a family of ten and was raised as one of the youngest. I remember being very fast in completing my chores. I used to help in the farm, fetch water for my mother from the river, and do all kinds of housework. I was very active."
Like many of the kids in the area, Erkesso was first exposed to sport in school where her first passion was football. "We used to play all kinds of games in school," she says. "One day, we were all out in the field when our teacher got us to race one another. I was wearing a long skirt and blushed at the thought of running in the race, but the other kids convinced me to do so. I won the race and decided I ought to do this more often."
Initially, Erkesso had the problem of concentrating on running because she found very few kids to train with. But soon after, 15, she moved to Assela to live with a relative and train seriously.
"I had a lot problems settling in Assela because I had never slept anywhere outside my mother's house," she says. "I moved back home and told my mother to find me another relative to stay with. Then my uncle decided to take me to Addis Ababa so that I can live with him."
Erkesso was just 16 years old when she moved to Addis Ababa in 1998. "It was really difficult to settle because I did not speak the language and did not bond with other kids," she says. "My uncle took me to see Dr. Woldemeskel Kostre [Ethiopian national team coach] and he advised me to join a club. I joined the Global athletics club which was owned by Haile Gebrselassie."
Against her uncle's protestations, she started living in a training camp and move out of her uncle's home. But she did not stay long as the team was disbanded in 2000. Erkesso joined the Prisons Police team soon after.
Erkesso focused on the track and cross country after joining Prisons, but it took nearly four years before she made her first break in 2004. After finishing second and sixth in the national cross country championships over the 8km and 4km respectively, she was picked for the team that would represent Ethiopia in the world cross country championships in Brussels, Belgium.
The Brussels team dominated the championships, winning 14 of the 18 individual titles. Erkesso won bronze in the 4000m behind Kenyan Edith Masai and fellow Ethiopian Tirunesh Dibaba and was fifth in the 8000m long course race a day earlier.
"I had a tactical mistake because I gave a lot of respect for Edith Masai," she says. "After leading in the first lap, I was afraid that the other runners would outkick me and so I stayed behind. But I am happy because I won bronze. It is a historic medal for me."
Erkesso had mixed results on the track. In 2005, she was third in the national championships in the 10,000m, but could not qualify for the world championships in Helsinki. Two years later, she ran a short-lived season leading 31:13.12 for 10,000m before losing her place in the world championship team preparing for Osaka.
But in 2008, she consulted with manager Hussein Makke and coach Hadji Adilo to revert to road running. The suggested she not rush her entry into the marathon distance. "He made sure that my body was ready before I run the full marathon," she said.
In her first full marathon in Houston earlier this year, Erkesso now says she feels confident about attacking a faster race in the full marathon.
"I am very well prepared, but of course you cannot say anything about the marathon," she says. "You can go into a marathon in great shape, but you might not finish the race. You just don't know what will happen."
Erkesso is dealing with the recent murder of the parents and sister of Leila Aman, a member of her running group that includes 2008 Boston Marathon champion Dire Tune. After consulting with Aman and Tune, who is married to Aman's brother, Erkesso received their blessing to run in Chicago.
Chicago's flat course has often ensured fast times. Erkesso has also set sights on improving Berhane Adere's national marathon record time of 2:20.47, which was set on the same course in 2006.
"Two-twenty is not difficult if everything goes according to plan," she says. "In the future, I want to run under 2:20, but for now, I want to get as close to the national record as possible."
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