Mebrahtom Keflezighi sat high above New York City last month, on a top floor of the Empire State Building, and countered a question with a question.
"What is the definition to be American?" asked the defending champion of the ING New York City Marathon, known as Meb, repeating the gentle rejoinder he has used many times, too many times, in response to allegations that his wins and records as an American distance runner somehow don't count for his country.
Mr. Keflezighi was born in Eritrea and escaped the worn-torn nation with his family, arriving in California when he was 12. He discovered running in America, earned a full scholarship to UCLA and trained through the American system, becoming a citizen in 1998.
Many credit him as one of the athletes who helped to restore United States' prominence in distance running on the world stage —a goal he explicitly set for himself.
Still, after Mr. Keflezighi snapped a 27-year drought for American men in New York's marathon last year, the doubters surfaced again, this time in the mainstream media: Should his victory really count for the United States?
Mr. Keflezighi publicly shrugged off such speculation at the time. He had heard similar things before. And he has heard it since.
But last month, as Mr. Keflezighi contemplated the exchange while he prepares to defend his title in New York City on November 7, his voice broke.
"I was happy, I was so proud," he said. "I was hoping to be on the Wheatie Box, you know? Somebody just says you aren't an American."
He looked away, his eyes filled with unexpected tears.
"I couldn't believe it when he told me that."
He has not let himself feel the pain of constantly fending off those accusations, which he calls "old" in his new autobiography, "Run to Overcome" which will be released November 1. But the subject will be hard to avoid as he returns next month to the New York City marathon course, the site of his most cherished win and most painful memories.
"That was the first time I've seen Meb get emotional in regards to this topic," said his brother Merhawi, who is also his agent and was in the room. "I'm glad Meb let it out, because if you hold it in it's even more painful."
It has been an unusually intense year for the 35-year-old Mr. Keflezighi. Not only has he dealt gracefully with the aftermath of his victory, celebrating his win on a Statue of Liberty float with Miss USA at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade, he was recently inducted into the UCLA Hall of Fame (alongside Phillies second baseman Chase Utley).
He has completed a book, is launching his own foundation to promote health, fitness and education, and has done promotional appearances with Subway and others.
But he has also struggled through injuries most of this year as he seeks to become the first American to repeat a title at the NYC marathon since Alberto Salazar (1980-82).
Mr. Keflezighi slipped and fell on a patch of ice, hampering his training for the Boston Marathon in April. Though he finished 11 seconds off his personal best time, he tore his left quad muscle during the race.
Mr. Keflezighi did not compete again until a half-marathon in San Jose on Oct. 3, which he won with a time that was just 45 seconds off his pace from last year. "I think he's where he should be," said his coach Bob Larsen.
Last year, they were worried Mr. Keflezighi might have peaked too early entering New York. This year, he is building strength and speed every week and is on track, his coach said, to be in as good or better condition in November.
But for a moment last month, Mr. Keflezighi wasn't sure he wanted to compete in New York at all.
"You know how hard you work and it can be taken away like that," he said of the questions about his American citizenship. "This stuff makes me wonder: What have I committed myself into?"
It wasn't the first time Mr. Keflezighi heard such accusations. Early in his career message boards began displaying posts questioning his "real" country, his wife Yordanos Asgedom said. One of the first runners to defend him was a fellow American named Ryan Shay.
"Meb had that special place in his heart for Ryan," said Ms. Asgedom. "Ryan Shay was one of the first people to say, hey, back off, we're all immigrants from one country or another."
Mr. Shay and Mr. Keflezighi, who trained together in Mammoth Lakes, Calif., both entered the 2008 Olympic trials in New York. Mr. Keflezighi was a favorite to advance.
But he stumbled to a surprising eighth-place finish, his side in excruciating pain by the race's end. Shortly after staggering across the finish line, he learned that Mr. Shay had died during the run, suffering a heart attack on the course. Mr. Keflezighi collapsed.
"I just couldn't believe it," he said. "Not making the Olympic team is not a big deal when somebody next to you has just passed away."
At 34, he was also suddenly old, never having won a major marathon. As he approached the 2009 New York City Marathon, the New York Road Runners club had just issued an edict to staff not to predict an American win.
"We had reached that conclusion that, you know what? It takes such an extraordinary day you don't know anymore," said Mary Wittenberg, CEO and president of New York Road Runners.
"I was under the radar, you can say," Mr. Keflezighi said with a slight smile.
Ms. Asgedom started weeping about an hour into the race, when it seemed like her husband had a chance, and didn't stop until he streaked across the finish line an hour later.
"That was just to me so breathtaking, so amazing and so overwhelming," she said. Images of his sacrifices over the past 18 months flashed through her mind for the entire final hour.
She wasn't the only one with moist eyes.
"It was something of a dream come true for all of us sitting here at Road Runners to see not only an American win the race, but Meb," said Ms. Wittenberg, noting that Mr. Keflezighi made his marathon debut in New York in 2002. "It was a day with a lot of smiles and very, very happy tears and a real sense of gratification."
For Mr. Keflezighi, it culminated a dream that he had first articulated more than a decade earlier, in a letter to Mr. Salazar, then at Nike.
"In the near future I am confident I will make a positive contribution to U.S. distance running in the 5,000m, 10,000m, road race and marathon," he wrote, calling the Cuban-born Mr. Salazar a personal "inspiration."
Mr. Keflezighi ended up signing with Nike and went on to set the American record in the 10,000-meters and won the silver medal in the marathon in Athens, breaking a 28-year stretch where American men failed to make the podium. American Deena Kastor won a bronze on the women's side, making the United States the only country with men's and women's medalists in the marathon.
Now he will seek to cement his place in history next month in New York.
It won't be easy with a field that includes world record-holder Haile Gebrselassie, (Ethiopia) making his New York debut, two-time NYC marathon winner Marilson Gomes dos Santos (Brazil) and 2009 World Championships gold medalist Abel Kirui (Kenya).
Mr. Keflezighi cannot predict what people will say if he wins, but despite the flicker of doubt, he is ready to try.
"The tradition is to bring a defending champion in," Mr. Keflezighi said. "And I am the defending champion as an American."
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